Jungle Spirit: Call of the Wild Slot Machine

Animal themed slots have long been among the most popular games in the casino industry, whether they be about wild beasts or our favorite household pets. There’s something about the familiarity of animals that transcends age, language, or nationality, making them a common denominator that can bring a lot of different kinds of players to the same table.

One of the latest machines that uses this sort of theme is Jungle Spirit: Call of the Wild. Created by NetEnt and launched in early 2017, this is a game that uses the always exciting “all ways” format of play in order to provide the maximum amount of action on every spin. With free spins, expanding symbols, and surprise bonuses, this is a game that offers up extensive replay value and the chance to win some fantastic prizes each time you play.

Many Paths Through the Jungle

Jungle Spirit is a five-reel machine that uses the common 5x3 layout. There is no reason to worry about paylines, as the 243 ways system is utilized, meaning that any left-to-right combination of identical symbols will pay out in a win. Players must match three in a row of the same icon in order to score a prize; the longer the lines they make, the bigger the associated payouts.

In this game, the smallest wins come from one of the most common sets of symbols in the slots world: the poker ranks that range from tens through aces. For bigger wins, however, you’ll need to get into the more thematic symbols: the animals themselves. Throughout the reels, you’ll see snakes, alligators, bears, elephants, and tigers, all of which earn larger prizes. There are no real “high value” icons in this machine; instead, players can earn large wins when they manage to score big combinations over dozens or even hundreds of lines at the same time.

Butterflies Offer an Instant Boost

One thing you might be surprised to hear about this machine is that there are no wild symbols, meaning you’ll need pure combinations in order to score prizes. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some icons on the reels that come with special characteristics. In particular, you’ll want to watch out for the butterflies that can sit in the corner of particular symbols. If such marked positions are part of a winning combination, they can extend to fill an entire reel, multiplying the number of wins by at least a factor of three, and potentially triggering truly massive combinations of prize-winning lines.

Related to that gameplay feature is the Butterfly Boost. At any time, this special perk can be randomly activated in order to make anywhere between one and three symbols on the reels expand into full reel-covering expanded versions of themselves. This only happens with the higher-paying animal symbols, and it also will only occur when this expansion will guarantee a win, making it a particularly valuable surprise.

Become King of the Jungle

Finally, you’ll want to take the time to watch out for the flower symbols that will occasionally appear on the reels. Hit three or more, and you’ll instantly earn yourself a trip into the free spins feature; hit four or more, and you’ll win a bonus instant prize along with entry into that special round.

When this occurs, you’ll be given the option of playing one of five bonus games, each of which is attached to one of the five animals that appear in the game. The idea here is that the animal you choose will be the key one that appears during your bonus plays. Picking a more valuable animal will result in fewer spins being rewarded, but will make the potentially winning much higher. Essentially, you have to choose if you would like a lot of low volatility spins, or a few high volatility plays instead. The options along with the number of free games you get are as follows:

• Tiger: 4 Spins
• Elephant: 8 Spins
• Bear: 12 Spins
• Alligator: 16 Spins
• Snake: 20 Spins

Once you’ve entered the feature, you’ll be granted another treat: all of your free plays will take place on expanded reels that feature four positions each. This 5x4 layout mean that there will now be 1024 ways to win, increasing the potential paylines by more than four times what you’ll see during standard gameplay. This greatly increases your chances of winning on each bet, and makes the maximum payouts much larger, making play during the bonus round particularly lucrative.

Unleash the Animal Within

When it comes down to it, Jungle Spirit: Call of the Wild doesn’t have many features you won’t have seen before if you’re a slots veteran. Having the ability to get into a free spin round is almost a must on any modern five-reel machine, and the 243 ways system is something that many developers have now explored multiple times, so most players are familiar with this style of play.

Where this game really shines is in two particular areas. First, there is the theme, which is both immersive and engaging, making this a machine that is truly fun to play. The combination of the animals in a jungle setting and the highly-detailed artwork makes this a joy to look at, and really pulls you into the action more than a generic slot would. Secondly, there are the little gameplay tweaks that add replay value: the fact that the bonus round takes play on expanded reels, for instance, or the butterfly boost, which adds a random element that can make any spin more exciting.

While this may not be a game for every player, we think animal lovers will find a lot to enjoy here. And even if the theme doesn’t speak to you, the combination of straightforward gameplay with just enough added complexity to keep things interesting should keep even slots veterans satisfied for many long sessions, making this one of the better new slots we’ve played in 2017.