It’s time to dust off that cowboy hat, saddle up the stallion, polish up your six-shooters, and kick those spurs as we’re back with yet another Western slot. Buckshot Wilds is the latest release from NetEnt, a slots developer that has enjoyed plenty of success via this theme in previous slots, such as Dead or Alive, its sequel, Dead or Alive II, and the Wild Wild West: The Great Train Heist. I’m intrigued to see if that success continues with Buckshot Wilds, a slot with 5 reels, 4 rows, and 20 paylines as standard but can increase to a 5×8 configuration with 48 paylines. The RTP is 96.04%, and the max win is a rather poultry (not a good start) 859x the stake.
The ‘Wilds’ in the title would have given the most attentive among you some rather significant clues about what to expect from NetEnt’s latest release. You’d be correct, too, as this slot is all about different wild symbols and the modifiers they carry. In short, there are Roaming Wilds, an Expanding Reels feature with additional wilds and an Expanding Wilds feature. They all play a part in both the base game and the free spins bonus, which takes place across the full 48-payline reel format.
The Wild West theme has delivered many epic slots over the years, arguably the best of which, Dead or Alive, NetEnt developed – so can Buckshot Wilds earn itself a place among the meanest in town? There are a few ways to find out, but the quickest is to use our free-to-play Buckshot Wilds slot demo below.
| Provider | Netent |
| Reels | 5 |
| Rows | 4 |
| Paylines | 20 |
| Bonus Rounds | 1 |
| Bet Range | 0.20 - 500 |
| Volatility | Low |
| Max Win | 859x |
| Bonus Buy | Yes |
| RTP | 96.04% |
| Our Rating | 6.2 |
Buckshot Wilds Casino Bonus
Buckshot Wilds Slot Demo
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Buckshot Wilds Slot Theme, Stakes, Pays & Symbols
I’ve mentioned NetEnt’s previous with this theme already, but it’s not the only provider to enjoy huge success off the back of the Wild West theme. The Wanted Dead or a Wild slot demo from Hacksaw Gaming is a popular free play game on our site that received a high score from us and countless other online review sites and, like this slot, was heavily focused on wild symbols – it also has three excellent bonus games. The Money Train series from Relax Gaming is another I highly recommend, while notable mentions go to Wild West Duels from Pragmatic Play and Tombstone RIP, an extreme volatility Nolimit City slot.
Before checking those out to see which slot is the fastest win-slinger in the west, let’s aim our sights at the Buckshot Wilds paytable. As a wild-focused slot, it is no surprise that the Wild symbol will become your Most Wanted on the reels – especially as it tops the payouts with 15x for a five-symbol combination. The Two Pistols offer the second best, paying up to 10x for five across a payline, while the Cowboy in the purple attire returns 7.5x. The Cow-Lady and the Blue-dressed Cowboy are the final premium symbols worth up to 6.25x and 5x, respectively. The unimaginative playing card symbols are where the smaller payouts will come, with the Ace paying up to 1x, the King 0.75x, and the Queen, Jack, and Ten all returning 0.5x.
When the time comes to place your bets, you can opt to wager between €0.20 and €500.00 per spin, a range that should accommodate the bankroll of any real money player wanting to try the game.
Buckshot Wilds Slot Base Game
I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting too much when the Buckshot Wilds slot first loaded up, as while decent, the graphics were not of the usual NetEnt quality, and the reels looked quite bland. I was expecting a straightforward and, quite frankly, boring base game. However, I was quickly proven wrong when I realised several base game features could trigger – all based around the wild symbol. I’ll get into those in a bit, but first, you should know you’ll need three or more matching symbols across a payline from left to right to receive payouts.
Roaming Wilds
The first of those features is roaming wilds. On any spin, up to three wild symbols can appear in any position on any of the reels. These symbols will drop one-row position on each subsequent spin until they drop off the reels.
Expanding Reels
Next up is the Expanding Reels Feature, which can trigger on any base game spin. Any wilds on the reels will move their one position down before the reels double in height to eight positions, increasing the paylines to 48 along the way. Additionally, the same number of wild symbols on the original rows of the triggering spin are added to the bottom four rows.
Expanding Wilds
Finally, there is the expanding wilds feature, which kicks into action whenever a wild symbol lands on or moves down onto the Two Pistols’ high-paying symbol. All adjacent symbols, whether vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, will transform into wild symbols.
Bonus Bet
Before I get into the free spins bonus, I want to explain the optional Bonus Bet you can place on any given spin, as it can reward more free spins than a spin at your standard bet. It costs 2.5x your current stake and gives you a guaranteed wild, more expanding reels, an increased chance to trigger free spins and, as mentioned, more free spins if you trigger them.
Buckshot Wilds Slot Bonus Features
The grand finale on the Buckshot Wilds slot from NetEnt is a free spins bonus that triggers when three or more scatter symbols land anywhere in view.
Free Spins Feature
Depending on whether 3, 4, or 5 scatter symbols trigger the bonus, you’ll receive 6, 10, or 15 free spins, respectively, or 8, 12, or 20 with the Bonus Bet activated. The bonus is played with all reels extended to their maximum height of eight positions and with 48 paylines. The first spin guarantees between 1 and 3 wild symbols, while each new spin promises another wild. Plus, you receive an additional free spin each time a scatter lands.
Bonus Buy
If you enjoy playing bonus buy games and want to take a shortcut into the free spins bonus rather than taking the scenic route, you have two buy bonus options that allow you to do so. You can purchase 6 free spins for 100x the stake or 6 free spins with the bonus bet for 125x.
Pros
Cons
- It's a disappointingly low max win.
Buckshot Wilds Slot Review Final Thoughts
Buckshot Wilds is an enjoyable slot that will make a great companion during any gaming session, but I just cannot get my head around such a low potential max win. In a modern slot world where other titles are offering 100k+ plus in some instances, less than 1,000x just doesn't cut it.
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