Wolf Gold Ultimate Slot Review

The Wolf Gold Ultimate Slot Game

Pack your travel bags and don adventure boots as you enter this Pragmatic Play release, which takes you to North America. For clarity, you don’t have to spend your money yet, as you can practise the demo version for free here!

If this slot title sounds familiar, it’s because it’s a continuation of a 2017 original, Wolf Gold. However, Wolf Gold Ultimate assumes a bunch of upgrades that make it a more engaging experience.

The 5 by 3 reels are more centralised, allowing you to admire the backdrop. It includes towering rock formations and only a few plants that can survive the prairie’s harsh weather. The clear skies reveal a bright constellation of stars amid the pastel colouration. In the meantime, the audio includes a combination of wild animal sounds and a thematic melody.

Symbols and Payouts

This video slot adopts symbols typical of an American Prairie-centred slot. As such, you’ll come across various wild animals and the playing card royals. There are eight regular symbols in total and two specials.

All the 25 paylines pay from left to right, beginning with the outermost left side, when at least 3 identical symbols land adjacent. Be sure to check for the corresponding winning symbol alongside its payout from the paytable.

Wolf Gold Ultimate uses the Jack, Queen, King, and Ace royals for its low-paying category. They all pay 0.2x, 0.8x, and 2x the bet when 3+ of the same hit.

Then, the high-paying tier has the following thematic animals:

• Mountain Lion - 0.4x, 2x, and 8x the bet.
• Horse - 0.6x, 4x, and 12x the stake.
• Eagle - 0.8x, 6x, and 16x the bet.
• Bison - 1x, 10x, and 20x the stake.

Finally, you get the Wolf Wild, which appears on all reels and substitutes for all the symbols except the Money (Moon) symbol. The latter can also appear on all reels and take a random value from 0.4x and 15x, Mini (20x), Minor (50x), Major (100x), or Grand (1000x) the total bet.

Wolf Gold Ultimate Slot Bonus Features

This video slot includes an improved Money Respin feature, an ante bet and a bonus buy option.    

Money Respin Feature

Hitting 6+ Money symbols anywhere on the Wolf Gold Ultimate reels triggers this feature. The standard reels fade away at the beginning, and instead, 3 grids of 5x3 and one grid of 5x1 appear. Only money symbols and blanks can appear during the round.

The bonus starts with 3 respins that reset to the original whenever you land a 1+ Money symbol. Further, all the visible money symbols remain on-screen for the rest of the bonus.

When the bonus starts, it unlocks the first 5x3 grid while the rest remain locked. However, 9 money symbols on the first grid unlock the 2nd 5x3 grid. Then, 18 money symbols on the 1st and 2nd grids unlock the 3rd 5x3 gameboard. Finally, 32 money symbols on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grids unlock the last 5x1 grid.

The money symbols on the final 5x1 grid can have special values:

• Collect - accumulates all the money values from the same reel it’s on all grids. If other money symbols appear in the same column at future respins, it also collects those values.
• Plus Cash - appears with a random +3x, +5x, +8x, +10x, or +15x total bet value and adds it to all the money symbols on the same reel on all grids except the Mini, Minor, Major, and Grand.
• Multiplier - has a random x2 to x5 multiplier applied to all the symbol values from the same reel on all grids.

This Wolf Gold Ultimate feature ends after consuming all the respins or filling all the grid positions. Then, all the money values on the unlocked reels are added and paid.

Ante Bet & Bonus Buy

To activate the ante bet, you can select the stake multiplier from 25x to 40x. Consequently, the chance to win the Money Respin naturally grows. However, it turns off the Buy Feature option.

On the other hand, the Buy Feature lets you instantly trigger the Money Respin feature from the base game for 80x the total bet. When buying the feature, 6-8 money symbols will randomly land on the triggering spin.

How to Win at Wolf Gold Ultimate Slot

One of this slot’s biggest flexes is its straightforward gameplay. First, it adopts a traditional look of 5 reels, 3 rows, and 25 paylines, which should be typical for most players.

To win, you have to spin the reels and hope that a winning combination with 3+ identical yet adjacent symbols hits along the predefined paylines from the furthest left column. Since the wins are random, limit the bets by setting an ideal amount between €0.20 and €400.

Press the Spin button or Spacebar/Enter from your keyboard to manually spin the Wolf Gold Ultimate reels. Otherwise, you can use the Autoplay to set several auto-spins. The game could award up to 5,000 times your selected bet if you're lucky enough!

You can boost the reel spin speeds by enabling the Turbo/Quickspin functions and accessing the paytable using the “i” key.

Wolf Gold Ultimate Slot RTP & Volatility

This slot’s expected RTP of 96.47% changes to 96.54% and 96.56% when using the ante bet and buy options. It has medium to high volatility, translating to a steady payout rate.

The Final Thoughts

According to the internet, ‘ultimate’ refers to the end of a process. It begs the question if this slot marks the end of Pragmatic Play's Wolf Gold series. Well, whatever the meaning, I didn’t think it was a solid finale, considering it wasn’t very different from the original.

This experience still banked on the Money Respin feature, a rendition of a lock-and-win bonus. However, its multi-reel setup translated to extra action, especially once you unlock the 4th 5x1 grid, which can award special symbols and features.

However, Wolf Gold Ultimate was bland in the base game. It meant that the chances to hit the 5,000x bet win cap were a reality only during the bonus feature. While the round doesn’t land regularly, you can use the ante bet or buy features to hasten your way into it. Ultimately, the game isn’t exactly fit to be an ‘ultimate’ creation.