Name: Wild Unicorns
Item: Wild Unicorns
Rating: 5.0
Author: Chris Howlett

Casino Bonuses

Provider	Big Time Gaming
Reels	6
Rows	4
Paylines	4,096
Bonus Rounds	1
Bet Range	0.20 - 16
Volatility	High
Max Win	56,800x
Bonus Buy	Yes
RTP	96.53%
Our Rating	5.0

Latest Slots

Regal Inferno Dream Drop Slot — Regal Inferno D...Relax Gaming

Game Overview

At one time, the Big Time Gaming brand was synonymous with high-quality online slots. The developer’s popular titles Bonanza and Extra Chili kicked off what can only be described as the “Megaways Revolution”, marking the beginning of a new era in online slots. Since then, BTG has tried their best to match their previous success with a new payout mechanic, but those attempts – including, most notably, Megaclusters – have so far proven unsuccessful for the developer. Wild Unicorns doesn’t attempt to do anything quite so adventurous, but it does offer 4,096 pay ways, a 96.53% RTP, and an impressively large maximum jackpot of 56,800x the total bet.

You can’t fail to notice the unusual design of Wild Unicorns immediately after first opening the game. Reels one and six are swung out sideways, and this isn’t just for aesthetics – the centre four reels are the only part of the playfield where many of the game’s features will operate. The wild symbols, for example, only land on reels two through five and will expand outwards in one direction until they hit the edge of the 4×4 box. A maximum of three wilds can land as multiplier wilds with maximum values of 10x, theoretically making a 1,000x multiplier a possibility. The main bonus round is an ascending multiplier free spins feature with re-triggers, a bonus buy facility, and the option to trade wins of over 75x for a set of free spins.

What’s your opinion on Big Time Gaming and its recent output? Is the developer already past its prime with hits as rare as the unicorn itself, or is their best still to come? Why not give our Wild Unicorns demo slot a few spins to help you decide? It’s available to play below.

Wild Unicorns Theme, Stakes, Pays & Symbols

Wild Unicorns paytable

As I understand it, the Unicorn is an exceptionally rare animal – other than the one allegedly found by North Korea’s dear leader back in 2012, there have been no confirmed sightings of these beasts. That hasn’t stopped them from popping up in online slots, however – Hacksaw’s Double Rainbow was a good blast, whilst Magic Mirror Deluxe 2 was somewhat more ropey. The rareness of the unicorn makes Big Time Gaming’s decision to use the animal for the wilds in this game particularly apt, as we all know just how rare those symbols can be when you need them! Many of the other assets used in Wild Unicorns look extremely familiar, so much so that I wouldn’t be surprised if they have been imported directly from Bonanza or another earlier BTG title. This isn’t a huge issue, but it does feel a little bit lazy coming from a developer who certainly has the resources to create fresh graphics for its games.

I could forgive the repurposed graphics if the payouts were exceptional, but that doesn’t look to be the case at first glance. The highest-paying diamond symbol, for example, only returns 5x the current stake for a complete payway of six of a kind, whilst the second-place mushroom offers even less at just 1x for all six symbols. I understand that this game has big multipliers on the reels as well as stacked symbols for increased odds of hitting many payways simultaneously, but those returns are even more shocking than those of a typical Megaways game! Of course, things only continue downhill from here – 0.5x for a full payway of horseshoes, 0.3x for the four-leaved clovers, and 0.25x/0.2x for the two groups of low-paying royals.

The betting range is much tighter than I’ve seen offered in previous Big Time Gaming slots, perhaps suggesting that this is another developer who is pre-empting likely regulatory changes coming shortly. As it stands, we get minimum/maximum permitted wagers of €0.20 and €16.00 per spin, respectively.

Base Game & Modifiers

Wild Unicorn base game

The reel set used in Wild Unicorns is on the large side, although not quite as large as a Megaways game with a large number of active rows. There are six columns of four rows each, making for a total of 4,096 payways, with reels one and six appearing to swing outwards, similar to BTG’s previous game Outlaw. When a winning combination does form on the reels, the included symbols will be removed from the reels immediately after your winnings have been evaluated. This allows new symbols to drop into view from the top of the screen, potentially creating new winning combinations and repeating the entire process.

Unicorn Wilds

Wild symbols are only present on reels two through five. Whenever one of these symbols lands, it will move up, down, left, or right, leaving a trail of additional wilds behind it. The trail stops when it reaches the edge of the central 4×4 box.

Up to three wilds created in this way can act as multiplier wilds with values of up to 10x each. If more than one of these symbols appears as part of a single payway, the product of their values will be applied to your win.

Wild Unicorns Slot Bonus Features

Wild Unicorns free spins feature

Some Big Time Gaming slots include at least a couple of different special features, but the developer has opted for just a single bonus this time around. There are three ways to trigger the bonus – first, you can hit two or more scatters when they land on reels one and six; next, you can trade wins of 75x or greater in return for a set of free spins; finally, you can purchase the bonus directly from the base game for 75x the current stake.

Free Spins Feature

However you get here, you’ll usually only receive eight free spins. According to the paytable, it is possible to win more than eight spins by hitting multiple scatters on reels one and six, but I never saw more than one scatter per reel during the time that I was testing the game, which makes me think such combinations are particularly rare.

During the free spins mode, every round is guaranteed to have at least one unicorn wild landing during the initial symbol drop. Furthermore, the bonus round starts with its own multiplier of 1x, increasing by 1x every time a winning combination forms on the playfield. Together with the multiplier wilds, this extra multiplier could prove extremely valuable and is likely the only way players can hope to get close to the advertised jackpot of 56,800x the total bet.

Hitting two scatters on reels one and six during the bonus will add an extra eight spins to your remaining total, plus four spins for any additional scatters.

Bonus Buy

If you want to skip straight to the bonus round, a bonus buy facility is available from the base game for 75x the total bet. If you win more than 75x during regular play, the game will offer you the chance to swap 75x of your win for a set of free spins. Wins between 25x and 75x can be traded in full for a chance of winning a set of spins, with bigger wins offering better odds.

Pros

Huge jackpot of 56,800x – I’m not sure how realistic hitting it might be though.
Multiplier wilds should make it possible to hit something big from the base game too, although probably not a jackpot.

Cons

The unicorn wilds have a nasty habit of moving in the least generous direction possible.
I tried the bonus buy facility over 30 times whilst writing this review and still only managed to make a profit on 3 occasions.

Final Thoughts

I’m not sure what could have gone wrong for Big Time Gaming in recent years – the developer created some true classics when they first hit the online casino scene back in the day, but since then, they appear to be struggling to match their earlier successes. Wild Unicorns doesn’t do anything to change my opinion on this, and I suspect that the 56,800x jackpot will likely turn out to be just as rare as the animal that this game is based on.

5.0

Seen Better

Author Bio

Article by Chris Howlett

11 Years Slots Playing Experience

About Chris Howlett

Not made an account yet? Register here to join the conversation.