Cheetah Wild

Cheetah Wild: Slot Overview

Software provider Pragmatic Play is not averse to a bit of globetrotting, and for its current escapade the studio has taken to the wilds of Africa in the online slot Cheetah Wild. The African countryside is not the most original theme, with numerous slots using this subject matter, from Hacksaw Gaming's Great Game Serengeti, Prag's own Great Rhino Megaways to Games Global's classic Mega Moolah and beyond. As well as an oft-used theme, Cheetah Wild keeps to the safely trodden path in terms of features as well, delivering a money symbol collection feature, wild multipliers, and a levelled free spins bonus round that upgrades pay symbols to money symbols, feeding the collection process. It's not a trip to find undiscovered species perhaps, but let's see what does pop up on the savannah. 

Cheetah Wild looks… like an African wildlife slot. It's gone big on the baobab trees, one adorning either side of the screen, with their towering trunks and branches that fan out at the top like nature's umbrella from the sun. Cultural items appear here and there: a spear by the grid, a shield elsewhere, and plenty of animals dot the place for players to do some wildlife spotting. It's not a slot which dares to be outrageously visually different, but Cheetah Wild is easy enough on the eyes, showcasing some wild cutscenes, even if much of it also has a dated look. 

When designing Cheetah Wild, Pragmatic Play has utilised a low volatile math model, with a maximum theoretical RTP of 96.5%. A 5x4 area is where the animals roam, creating winning combinations left to right across 1,024 ways, starting from the leftmost reel. A large number of bet options are available, from a minimum of $/€0.20 per spin, up to a maximum of $/€240.

The pay table has 9-A card ranks as the low pays, then gazelles, zebras, rhinos, and elephants as the high pays. A winning line of 5 OAK in size pays 1.5x-2.25x when made up of royals, and 2.5x-4x for the 5 matching premium symbols.

Cheetah Wild: Slot Features

Cheetah Wild's list of features includes wild symbols and multipliers, a Collect feature, free spins, feature buys, and an ante bet.

Wild Symbols & Multipliers

Free Spins 

Scatters appear on all reels. Landing 3, 4, or 5 scatters awards 1x, 6.25x, or 11.25x the bet, plus 8, 15, or 20 free spins, respectively. Level Up symbols may land during free spins. Landed Level Up symbols are collected in a meter and then transform into Money symbols. The round starts at level 1, and after 4 Level Up symbols have been collected, it moves to level 2, where all elephant symbols are transformed into Money symbols on the reel strips. After 3 more Level Up symbols are collected, the round moves to Level 3, where Rhino symbols are transformed into Money symbols. After another 6 Level Ups are collected, Zebras are transformed at Level 4. Then, finally, after another 2 Level Ups are collected, gazelles are transformed into Money symbols at Level 5. Level Up symbols are not collected after that. Hitting 2, 3, 4, or 5 scatters awards an extra 5, 8, 15, or 20 free spins, respectively.

Feature Buy & Ante Bet

The free spins round can be bought for 100x the bet, or super free spins, which start from at least level 3, cost 500x to buy. Activating the ante bet increases the stake to 2.5x the base bet, to have a higher chance of landing Money symbols with higher values. Also, free spins rounds triggered with the ante bet on have reel strips with more wilds, a higher chance of x3 multipliers, and bigger Money symbol values landing.

Cheetah Wild: Slot Verdict

Cheetah Wild takes players on a fairly eventful African safari, with a few interesting sights to scope along the way. The sights aren't exactly never-before-seen phenomena, though. Instead of shocking players with the new, Cheetah Wild is closer to a patchwork of previous effects brought together under the hot savannah sun. Not bad effects, for fans of money-collecting games, and this is an audience that Pragmatic Play has a considerable understanding of, most famously through its unstoppable Big Bass range. The game therefore is less about introducing a revolutionary new way to collect prizes and more about seeing how Pragmatic Play can rearrange some familiar pieces into something with appealing playability for the right crowd.

As for the patchwork, the adjacent Money symbol requirement brought to mind Mummy's Jewels, before getting a boost from multiplying wild symbols, which induced a minor The Dog House memory; then there's the levelling up in free spins, with its Pink Elephants and Eye of Horus-like effect. The levelling up difference here is that instead of transforming into the highest-paying symbol, the converted symbols become Money symbols on the reel strips. It's different and fits well with a prize symbol collection game. Money symbol values are not enormous, but multipliers can improve final results. Furthermore, with a win cap of 5,000x the bet in place, there is a decent potential waiting for players who are able to get the collection mechanics, symbol upgrades and multipliers working in harmony.

Cheetah Wild ended up being a competent mix of familiar features with a fitting Money symbol twist. The combination of mechanics makes sense and is likely to find their way onto appreciative gamblers' screens. The level-up dynamic gives some extra depth, but it's not a slot that really stands out in its genre, and is unlikely to be the first safari slot players think of when looking for blazing innovation. Yet, for fans of collection mechanics and evolving free spins, who prefer volatility on the low side, there should be enough here to make the trek entertaining.