Wicked Tales: Dark Red

Wicked Tales: Dark Red appears to be set in an enchanted wood, complete with quaint little cottage in the background, billowing animated smoke. Though the name harkens back to the childhood bedtime story, this slot has a darker twist to it that some players will enjoy.

It also boasts an unusual reel format, which Microgaming has capitalised on through the features it has built into the slot game. We will be taking a close look at all these additions in this review, alongside further details on what players can expect from this 2018 slot.

• 5 reels, 3-3-4-4-4 rows, 25 paylines
• Default bet levels 1-10
• Bet minimum of £0.25; maximum bet £200
• Maximum win 5,000 coins on a single betline
• Special features include Wilds, Scatters, Wandering Reels, Free Spins and Wolf’s Wheel Bonus game
• Return to Player of 96.1%

Wicked Tales: Dark Red bonus features

Wicked Tales: Dark Red has taken the childhood tale of Red Riding Hood and turned it into an exciting slot, with updated characters and an intriguing reel format.

Starting off with the symbols, there are 10 regular ones in this slot. Six low value symbols include four card suit letters, a bag of coins and a map with some candles. There are also 4 high-value symbols which are the wolf, the pendant, a hunky shirtless woodsman bearing a torch and a sexy Red Riding Hood. This last symbol rewards a x20 win when 5 fill up a payline.

With the symbols covered, let’s examine each of the many features that set this game apart.

Wandering Reels

The first thing you’ll notice about this Microgaming slot is the layout of the reels. Weird, right? Well yes, a little bit. But it’s not hard to see how they can work to a player’s benefit after a spin or two.

The Wandering Reels feature is a 3-reel group that spins together. It can stop across the first three, middle three or last three reels and includes Jumbo Blocks. These are 3×4 blocks of high-value symbols that drastically improve the chances of landing a win. The Jumbo Blocks make it possible to end up with a full screen high value symbol, resulting in a win of x1,000 the initial wager.

Wilds

The Wilds symbol takes the form of the Dark Red logo. It can substitute for any other symbol except the Scatter.

Wolf’s Wheel Bonus game

This bonus feature is triggered when 3 Full Moon Scatter symbols land anywhere on the main game reels. When activated, players are guaranteed a reward on the Wolf’s Wheel, which can be a coin win, a feature or even both.

Rewards include coin wins up to x20 the initial stake, free spins and a click-and-pick game. After each prize is awarded, the multiplier increases by x1, with the feature ending when the player has uncovered all 10 coin win prizes or if the wheel lands on a stopper space.

Landing on any of the character/high value symbols on the reels will trigger 9 free spins, during which all the high value symbols in the free spins rounds will be replaced by that character symbol. This increases the chances of landing wins as the selected high value symbol will appear more frequently.

When the Wheel stops on the treasure chest, the player is taken to the Forest of Fortunes Pick Bonus, where more cash prizes are waiting to be uncovered.

Wicked Tales: Dark Red Free Spins

When the Bonus wheel lands on the high-value character symbols, players receive 9 free spins, with all the high value symbols turned into the character symbol seen on the wheel. This increases the chance of landing a whole screen full of that symbol. With a x1000 win possible on each of the free spins, the theoretical payout for 9 successive, successful free spins is a huge x9000.

Wicked Tales: Dark Red jackpot

There is no progressive or local jackpot available for Wicked Tales: Dark Red.

RTP

The RTP for this game is 96.1% – around the average for modern slot games. With lots of bonuses to trigger, players can look forward to plenty of win potential.

Wicked Tales: Dark Red on Mobile

Take this Wicked Tale with you anywhere you go – it is fully mobile compatible!