Wild Plunder from NextGen Gaming: Slot Review - a game of great bounty!

Hoist the mainsail and get ready to uncover a bounty of riches at sea in this latest pirate-themed slot from premier software developer NextGen Gaming. This slot revolves around an adventurous pirate queen known as Wild Rhonda as she guides her ship full of fearless pirates through choppy waters on the hunt for hidden treasure. Many obstacles stand in her way such as giant octopuses, ghost pirates, and a fearsome looking kraken but that won’t stop Wild Rhonda one bit from seeking out vast riches on the high sea! Let’s climb aboard Wild Rhonda’s sturdy ship and see what fortune might await us far out on the seven seas?

Wild Plunder is a 5 reel slot with 25 paylines that includes Wild Spins, Roaming Wilds, Extra Wilds, Respins, and Wild Currents.

Special Features

The first feature to mention is that the game features not one but 2 Wild symbols. The first one is the Wild Plunder logo which replaces all other symbols apart from the Jolly Rhonda Wild. The second one is the Jolly Rhonda Wild symbol which is Wild for all symbols and is also the most valuable symbol in the game. Land 5 of these Wilds on an active payline to enjoy a fine payout worth 16X your original bet!

The Jolly Rhonda Wild symbol is an extremely important symbol as it is also used to unlock two bonus features in the game. For example, if you get 2 Jolly Rhonda Wilds on the reels then you will trigger the Wild Spins feature where you will be awarded up to 5 Wild Spins. The Jolly Rhonda Wilds will then turn all adjacent Octopus, Ghost, Treasure, and Mug symbols into Wilds for the current spin and will begin to roam 1 reel to the left on each Wild Spin. Once the Wilds reach reel 1 then they will drop off the reels on the next Wild Spin. The Wild Spins feature continues whenever 1 additional Jolly Rhonda appears on the reels and ends when there are no more Wild Spins or Jolly Rhonda Wilds left on the reels. This can lead to lots of Wilds appearing on the reels and if you manage to fill the entire screen with Wilds then you will win the top prize worth 400x your initial wager!

If you land just one Jolly Rhonda Wild on the reels then you might trigger the random Rhonda's Respin bonus feature. When activated, the Jolly Rhonda Wild is held in place while all other reels are respun once. This is especially beneficial to triggering the Wild Spins feature as all you need to do is land one more Jolly Rhonda Wild in this feature to activate it.

During the main game, stormy weather can make the globe spin rapidly in the background and if the island lands above reel 3 then you will be awarded 3 to 9 Wild symbols on reels 2, 3, and 4. This is known as the Wild Currents bonus feature.

The final bonus feature to discuss is the Release the Kraken feature. This is a random event and when it triggers then a gigantic Kraken will appear and replace 1 or more symbols with the Jolly Rhonda Wild symbol. If you get 2 Jolly Rhonda Wilds here then you will gain instant access to the lucrative Wild Spins feature.

Theme, Graphics and Sound

The presentation of the game is visually stunning as it takes place in a 3D ocean environment with islands, ships, and octopuses all swirling by as you spin the reels. The graphics are bright, colourful, and cartoon-like in nature and display beautifully on screen. Symbols are wonderfully designed and consist of Jolly Rhonda, a Ghost Pirate, Mugs of Ale, an Octopus, a Treasure Chest, as well as a collection of Skull and Bone coins. The animations are superb as symbols move up and down the reels rapidly and flash brightly when part of a winning payline. In particular, I enjoyed when the tentacles of the Kraken appear at the bottom of the screen from time to time and then proceeds to throw a Wild symbol or two onto the reels!

The music is jaunty which is accompanied by pirates shouting in the background and seagulls squawking too. It ties in nicely with the pirate theme of the slot.

Win lines, Payouts and Jackpots

The game has 25 paylines, an impressive RTP 96.76%, and a maximum payout worth 400X your stake.

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, 2.50, 5.00, 6.25, 12.50, 25.00, 50.00, 62.50, 125.00, 250.00, 500.00, 625.00

• Jolly Rhonda Wild Symbol: 40 for 3X, 200 for 4X, 400 for 5X
• Octopus Symbol: 30 for 3X, 150 for 4X, 350 for 5X
• Ghost Pirate Symbol: 25 for 3X, 125 for 4X, 300 for 5X
• Treasure Chest Symbol: 20 for 3X, 50 for 4X, 150 for 5X
• Mugs of Ale Symbol: 20 for 3X, 50 for 4X, 150 for 5X
• Gold Skull Coin Symbol: 5 for 3X, 10 for 4X, 50 for 5X
• Silver Skull Coin Symbol: 5 for 3X, 10 for 4X, 50 for 5X
• Bronze Bones Coin Symbol: 5 for 3X, 10 for 4X, 50 for 5X
• Wooden Bones Coin Symbol: 5 for 3X, 10 for 4X, 50 for 5X

Our Verdict on Wild Plunder

This game comes from NextGen Gaming and is a rather enjoyable game to play. It features wonderful 3D graphics, a catchy soundtrack, and a nice set of bonus features to keep you entertained for countless hours. The Wild Currents random bonus feature can be lucrative especially when you are awarded up to 9 Wilds on the reels but sadly it does not trigger too often. The most rewarding feature by far is the Wild Spins feature which also takes a bit of time to trigger but is worth sticking around for as you can benefit from Roaming Wilds and a whole of Extra Wilds on top of that. When it comes to variance, I found this slot to be Low to Medium so it won’t take you too long to rack up a few decent wins on the reels. For slots with a similar Pirate theme, check out Pirate's Charm and Wild Seas.

Ride the Wild Currents to win a massive cash payout on the reels when you play Wild Plunder!