When I first saw I was to review the Release the Bison slot from Pragmatic Play, I hastily assumed this would either be a clone of Release the Kraken or some follow-up. However, after a few minutes of research, I quickly learned it’s neither; aside from having a similar name, this slot is a one-off. Well, aside from being yet another animal-themed slot to join the ranks of the many Rhinos, Wolves, Pandas, Horses, Bulls, Lions, and more that already feature heavily in the developer’s portfolio. That said, with close to 600 slots to their name, I imagine unique themes are starting to run thin. What can we expect from Release the Bison? Well, I might as well start with the core specs, which are a 5×3 reel configuration offering 20 paylines, a 96.54% RTP, and a 3,000x max win.
This slot has several interesting aspects, starting with a Wild Respins feature that turns wild symbols into roaming wilds, gives you additional respins as new wilds drop onto the reels, and potentially even increases a win multiplier by 1x at a time. The base game can also hand you guaranteed wins of up to 40x your stake on any random winless spin. The free spins bonus is the ultimate aim, however, and here, a spin of a wheel could give you up to 18 starting spins and win a multiplier of 5x. As that feature plays out, wilds roam the reels and collecting additional wild symbols can reward more spins and increase that global progressive multiplier.
You’ll learn more about this slot as you work your way through my review, but if you’re the impatient type (or just bored of my ramblings), you might prefer to check out the slot for yourself via the Release the Bison demo slot below.
| Provider | Pragmatic Play |
| Reels | 5 |
| Rows | 3 |
| Paylines | 20 |
| Bonus Rounds | 1 |
| Bet Range | 0.20 - 240 |
| Volatility | High |
| Max Win | 3,000x |
| Bonus Buy | Yes |
| RTP | 96.54% |
| Our Rating | 7.2 |
Release The Bison Casino Bonus
Release The Bison Demo Slot
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Release The Bison Slot Theme, Stakes, Pays & Symbols
I’d bet that most slot developers have at least one animal-themed slot in their collection, which is not a bad thing at all, considering how popular some have become. Microgaming’s Mega Moolah is probably the most iconic progressive jackpot slot released to date, whilst the Big Buffalo Megaways from Skywind is a more modern slot that’s performed well since its release. There are, of course, many more, including Blueprint Gaming’s Bison Rising Megaways and the fantastic Buffalo Blitz from Playtech. Animals definitely appeal to gamblers and sell these slots, or so it would seem, so let’s see what we’ve got to look forward to in Release the Bison.
We’ll kick things off with the paytable, headed by the Bison himself as a Wild symbol that returns 12.5x the stake if it’s lined up five times across a payline. Topping the regular symbols is the Wolf, who, for five in a row, is worth a solid 10x, whilst the Eagle can soar to payouts as big as 4x. Next comes the Hyena, who could have you laughing all the way to the bank with returns of up to 3x, with the Cheetah wrapping up the premium section, which is quick to pay as much as 2x for a completed line of five. As for the low paying symbols, the royals are in play, and the Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten can deliver top wins of 1.5x, 1x, 0.7x, 0.6x, and 0.5x, respectively.
There’s quite the betting range available on Release the Bison, with players having minimum/maximum stake limits of €0.20 and €240 to choose from, respectively. This is another impressive showing from Pragmatic regarding stake sizes, and low, mid and high rollers should comfortably be able to find a suitable selection here.
Release The Bison Slot Base Game & Modifiers
Although Pragmatic Play has been fond of scatter pays, Megaways, or cluster pays slots in recent years, the developer has returned to basics on the Release the Bison slot. There are 20 paylines across the 5×4 reel setup, and when matching symbols land across them, you’ll get paid. You’ll need at least three (two for the Wolf and Wild symbols) matching symbols from left to right to receive the payouts listed in the paytable.
Wild Respin
As well as offering the best payouts, the wild symbols perform a couple of other roles. First, as most of you will expect, they’ll step in for other symbols to complete winning combinations. Furthermore, if four or more land on the same spin, they trigger the Wild Respin feature.
The Wild symbols roam across the reels before settling in a new position as all remaining positions respin. If the spin leads to another wild appearing on the reels, another respin is given and a progressive win multiplier increases by 1x. Additionally, any scatters that land are collected, and should at least three land by the time the feature ends, the free spins bonus game triggers. The Wild Respin Feature will continue until no respins remain.
Guaranteed Win
Triggered randomly on any non-winning spin, the reels will give you a guaranteed win of between 10x and 40x your stake.
Ante Bet
For 25% on top of your current spin bet, you can spin the reels of Release the Bison with an increased chance to trigger the free spins bonus.
Release The Bison Slot Bonus Features
Aside from the Wild Respin Feature, you can also trigger the free spins bonus on any base game spin. You’ll activate the bonus game once three or more scatters appear anywhere in view.
Free Spins Feature
Before the free spins bonus starts, you receive a spin on a wheel that will determine how many spins you receive and the starting win multiplier. The values possible from the wheel will change depending on how many scatter symbols triggered the bonus.
- 3 Scatters: You can win 8, 10, 12, 15, or 18 free spins and a win multiplier of 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x.
- 4 Scatters: You can win 8, 10, 12, 15, or 18 free spins and a win multiplier of 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x.
- 5 Scatters: You can win 10, 12, 15, or 18 free spins and a win multiplier of 3x, 4x, or 5x.
Once the bonus is underway, any wild symbol will stay on the screen for the duration of the bonus and roam to a new position on every spin. Each new instance of a wild symbol is also collected in a meter above the reels. Once you collect five, all new wild symbols will reward you with an additional free spin and increase the global win multiplier by 1x.
Bonus Buy
Players can use the buy bonus option to purchase three scatter symbols for 80x, four for 150x, and five for 300x the stake, respectively.
Pros
- Roaming wilds with progressive win multipliers makes for a good combination.
Cons
- High variance and just a 3,000x max win - nope, not for me.
Release The Bison Slot Review Final Thoughts
When I discovered Release the Bison, it was in no way a clone of Release the Kraken; it was music to my ears. Give me something original to try, and I’m all for it. However, the slot still fell short of what I was hoping for, especially the ultra-low max win, but there are still some entertaining features within the gameplay that I'm sure many of you will appreciate. If that is not the case, head to our Pragmatic Play demo page, where you'll have over 300 other slots to play from this tier one developer.
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