Raging Rex 2

Raging Rex 2: Slot Overview

Dino-aficionados, Rex is back, and he is raging harder than ever in a sequel to Play'n GO's popular slot Raging Rex. For the follow-up, Raging Rex 2, Play'n GO has made the wise move of keeping all the things that made part one a success, added to them, and significantly cranked up the winning possibilities. This means lush, prehistoric visuals, plenty of walking wilds, multiplier wilds, and an extra free spin bonus round to choose from, with vastly increased winning potential across the board.

Graphically, there hasn't been a huge shift between the two games in terms of standard. The same bold visuals return, except this time the nature background has a jungle feel to it rather than the forestry one of before. The 6x4 game grid is certainly teeming with life, too, covered in fearsome beasts, though with rocks instead of the insects in amber symbols the first game stocked. What's cute is that in the interim between games, Rex has been sowing his wild oats and is joined by a couple of hatchlings. Well, we say cute, but these hatchlings aren't like harmless leatherback turtles scuttling down to the sealine, but creatures honed into ruthless killing machines after millions of years of evolution. Not the sort of baby animals you'd want to pat, in other words.

What else has grown to Jurassic proportions is the game's potential, though RTP has taken a slight hit to 96.2% in the default configuration. Volatility, a little surprisingly, has dropped as well, and part two has been rated as 6 out of 10 in this regard, putting it squarely in the medium range. Rex's rampaging remains available to play on any device, with bet levels varying from 10 p/c to $/€100 per spin.

With 4,096 ways to win, players pocket coins when at least three matching symbols form a winning way from the left-hand side. For the low-value symbols, we get 6 stone dino footprints worth 1-1.4x the bet for six of a kind, while four dinosaurs make up the high pays. These are pachycephalosaurus, stegosaurus, brachiosaurus and ankylosaurus, paying 4 to 6 times the stake for a six-symbol way. That brings us to the Rex and the Hatchlings wild symbols, which land on reels 2-6 to substitute anything except the scatter.

Raging Rex 2: Slot Features

Four bonus features come with Raging Rex 2, including walking wild respins and three free spin bonuses players can pick.

Respins

When a Rex wild symbol lands fully in view, it triggers the Respins feature. Rex is sticky and moves one reel to the left per respin. Moreover, Hatchlings wilds are also sticky, so they walk in front or behind the Rex. Depending on where the Rex symbol originally landed, up to 5 respins are possible via this feature.

Free Spins

Free spins are triggered when at least 3 egg scatter symbols are present on the reels. The number of free spins awarded depends on the bonus game selected and the number of triggering scatters. However, whichever free spins round is chosen, landing 3, 4, 5, or 6 scatters automatically awards a 5x, 10x, 25, or 100x the total bet payout. Before the round starts, players are presented with three options:

• Primal Fury awards 8, 12, 16, or 20 free spins for 3, 4, 5, or 6 scatters in view. In this one, Rex is sticky and moves either left or right; however, the Hatchlings are not, so they leave on the next spin. Landing 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 scatters in this feature awards an extra 6, 9, 12, 15, or 18 free spins.
• In Hatchling Mania, the Hatchlings are sticky and can move in any direction. Rex does not appear. Hatchlings may possess x2 or x3 multipliers which are multiplied together if they take part in the same win. Landing 3, 4, 5, or 6 scatters in the base game award 7, 9, 11, or 13 free spins. While the bonus is active, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 scatters retriggers 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12 additional free spins.
• Jurassic Mayhem starts with 5, 7, 9, or 11 free spins when triggered by 3, 4, 5, or 6 scatters. In this one, all wilds are sticky and move in any direction during the feature. Landing 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 scatters awards an extra 2, 3, 4, 5, or 5 free spins.

Raging Rex 2: Slot Verdict

At first, each direction we cast our gaze, we found some things that had changed, some which had stayed the same, and others that had somehow managed to do both. The Hatchlings wild are an example of the latter. Instead of being a brand-new addition, they are essentially just the non-stacked version of Rex found in the first game, so no major breakthrough as such, despite adding character. The dinosaur visuals haven't altered much either, yet they are different enough to feel like you're exploring another part of the world. It's all sort of new-ish, but kind of not so much.

And yet, it feels like we're splitting hairs really, because what counts, Raging Rex 2's gameplay, is every bit as good as the original. Even better, in some crucial ways. For one, there's the new bonus game to try, Jurassic Mayhem, where the sticky Rex/Hatchlings invasion can occur. It's hard to go past Hatchling Mania, though, where it's possible to build a colossal 243x multiplier with enough x3 Hatchlings in view. Impressive in part 1, but even more so in part 2 since Play'n GO has opened up the winning possibilities. Now, Raging Rex 2 is capable of hitting 30,000x the bet, compared to the 5,000x of part one. About as good a reason as any to choose this version over the previous release.

In the end, some bits of Raging Rex 2 go larger, some less so than the original. The bottom line is that part two is the more enticing prospect, and the massive increase in winning potential is sure to more than make up for any perceived shortcomings elsewhere.