Scruffy Duck from NetEnt: Slot Review - a rewarding transformation!

NetEnt have been quite successful with their latest slot releases as of late, in particular, those based on fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel. For their latest release Scruffy Duck, they decided to focus on the classic fairy tale of the Ugly Duckling. This story is about a homely little bird who is mocked and abused by the other birds for looking different but as the bird matures, he becomes the most beautiful swan in all of the land. So does this game blossom the more you play it or is Scruffy Duck worth leaving all alone in the pond?

This game is a 5 reel slot with 25 paylines that includes Free Spins, Expanding Wilds, Stacked Wilds, Colossal Wilds, Random Wilds, and a Double Feature.

Special Features

The first feature that I noticed while playing this game is the symbol of a suave looking duck holding a mobile phone!. This symbol is quite important as it is the highest paying symbol in the game. Manage to land 5 of these symbols on an active payline and you’ll be awarded a nice payout of 400 coins. It is also worth mentioning that all of the duck symbols that appear on the reels come stacked.

The Wild symbol is represented by the Scruffy Duck and it substitutes all other symbols except the Free Spins symbol to help form winning combinations. The cool thing about this symbol is that it expands to cover an entire reel when it is part of a winning combination on the reels. As the symbol expands to cover a reel, you’ll notice the magnificent transformation of Scruffy Duck as he turns into a beautiful swan, much like the Ugly Duckling fairytale.

The standout feature of the game is Free Spins. To trigger this game, you need to land 3 Free Spins symbols on reels 3, 4, and 5. The Free Spins symbol is represented by the words “Free Spins” with an orange background. When this feature is activated, you’ll be taken to another screen where you have to pick a duck from a set of 5 ducks. As soon as you have picked a duck, one of 5 random features is activated during Free Spins. The features are as follows:

• Multiplier Feature: You’ll be given 15 Free Spins with a 3X multiplier.
• Symbol Removal: You’ll receive 12 Free Spins and lower value symbols are removed.
• Colossal Wild: You’ll receive 10 Free Spins with a huge 2 x 2 or 3 x 3 Colossal Wild on reels 2, 3, and 4 only. The Colossal Wild can also split into 2 to 9 single Wilds when part of a winning combination.
• Random Wild: You’ll receive 8 Free Spins and 2 – 5 random Wilds are added on each Free Spin. Unfortunately, the random Wilds do not expand in this feature.
• Double Feature: You’ll be awarded 6 Free Spins alongside 2 of the above features that are randomly chosen.

Theme, Graphics and Sound

The graphics have a charming cartoon-like quality to them and are superbly rendered on screen. The game is set on a surface of a lake with lily pads, frogs, and flying insects moving slowly in the background. Symbols comprise of an assortment of ducks ranging from ducks holding mobile phones to ones who are wearing shades and a hat on backwards! The animations are excellent, in particular whenever the Wild symbol pops up and expands as it is a fine tribute to the Ugly Duckling fairy tale as the Scruffy Duck transforms into a beautiful looking swan complete with a crown on his head.

The music is bouncy with a cheery tone with lots of saxophone and drum sounds. It complements the quirky theme of the game nicely.

Win lines, Payouts and Jackpots

The game has 25 paylines, an excellent RTP of 96.38%, and a fine maximum payout worth 1,200X your wager.

Below is a summary taken from the PayOut Table from the game. The amount won for each combination depends on the value of the bet when you spin the reels.

Bet Range: 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, 1.25, 1.50, 1.75, 2.00, 2.25, 2.50, 3.00, 3.75,..250.00

• Duck with Phone Symbol: 20 for 3X, 100 for 4X, 400 for 5X
• Duck with Gift Symbol: 10 for 3X, 60 for 4X, 250 for 5X
• Duck with Radio Symbol: 10 for 3X, 50 for 4X, 200 for 5X
• Kid Duck Symbol: 10 for 3X, 40 for 4X, 150 for 5X
• A Symbol: 5 for 3X, 35 for 4X, 70 for 5X
• K Symbol: 5 for 3X, 30 for 4X, 60 for 5X
• Q Symbol: 4 for 3X, 25 for 4X, 50 for 5X
• J Symbol: 3 for 3X, 20 for 4X, 40 for 5X

Our Verdict on Scruffy Duck

Scruffy Duck is made by NetEnt and it is a really fun slot to play. The game features a bit of a silly theme and it does not take itself too seriously (ducks holding mobile phones etc..). The Free Spins feature is the standout attraction of this slot as it provides excellent replay value. The most rewarding feature of Free Spins is Colossal Wild as if you manage to land a huge 3 x 3 Colossal Wild and get some expanding Wilds on reels 1 and 5 on top of that then you are in for a massive payout! I found this game to be of Medium variance so you'll find that wins occur quite frequently the more you play.

Help Scruffy Duck transform to land a huge cash payout on the reels!