The Ultimate 5: Slot Overview

From the outset, a hold & win slot set on the African plains doesn’t exactly scream originality, and much of The Ultimate 5 does feel fairly standard. That said, Pragmatic Play knows this territory well and has worked in a handful of touches that add a bit of freshness. On this savannah trip, you’ll run into a Hold & Spin Super Boost, free spins that remove symbols, and a smart extra that pays when the five animals form a winning combo.

The scene will look familiar when The Ultimate 5 appears, with a five-reel grid front and centre against a grassy African backdrop featuring trees, water, mountains, and more. To the right sit five different prizes available during the Hold & Spin feature, which gives off a slight Wolf Gold vibe. Naturally, the theme and cast have been swapped, moving from wolves to the big five. The Ultimate 5 could have been very predictable (and it still leans that way), but Pragmatic adds a lively, physical slot-style feel through punchy visuals and an energetic soundtrack, which should suit players who enjoy this kind of presentation.

By the numbers, The Ultimate 5 is another solid Pragmatic Play outing, starting with a default RTP of 96.5%. Be aware that lower RTP settings may also exist, while volatility stays high regardless. Gameplay runs on a 5-reel, 3-row layout with 20 fixed paylines. Wins typically land when three or more identical symbols connect from the leftmost reel across adjacent reels.

With stakes ranging from 20 p/c to $/€100, the paytable features low-paying 10-A card ranks alongside the big five African animals: buffalos, rhinos, elephants, leopards, and lions. Five low symbols on a line return 1-2x the bet, while five premium symbols pay 4-20x the bet. The standout line win is 100 times their stake when all five animals appear in any order on a payline. Finally, the acacia-in-the-sun icon acts as the wild, replacing any paying symbol, but it does not count toward the 100x all-animal wins.

The Ultimate 5: Slot Features

The Ultimate 5 comes with two bonus features: a free spins round that uses symbol removal, and a hold & win-style feature that includes upgrades.

Free Spins

Diamond scatters can land on any reel, and seeing 3, 4, or 5 awards 5x, 25x, or 50x the bet plus 8, 10, or 12 free spins, respectively. In free spins, the reels randomly level up by removing the lowest value symbol from them. After the fifth random level up, it’s possible to remove all of the low-value symbols. Each time a random level up happens, a wild symbol is guaranteed to hit. Lastly, the feature can be extended by landing little diamond symbol overlays. If 2, 3, 4, or 5 appear at once, they award 2, 4, 6, or 8 additional free spins.

Hold & Spin Super Boost

African heat is one thing, but the burning hot sun money symbol might be taking it a bit far. Either way, money symbols can land on reels 2, 3, or 4 in the base game, and on all reels during the Hold & Spin feature. These money symbols carry random values of 1-10x the bet or one of the five prize values: the Mini, Minor, Major, Maxi, or Mega, paying 25x, 50x, 75x, 100x, or 500x the bet. Landing at least 3 of them activates the Hold & Spin Super Boost feature, clearing all other symbols while the triggering money symbols shift into the centre of the grid.

The feature begins with 3 respins, and the counter resets whenever additional money symbols land. When a new money symbol lands next to another money symbol vertically or horizontally, they link to form a group. Each time a new symbol joins the group, all symbols already in that group have their value increased. For instance, an 8x becomes 10x, the 10x becomes Mini, a Maxi would become a Mega, and so on.

The round ends when respins are used up or the grid is completely filled. Money symbols that land without linking won’t pay at the end of the feature. If every position is filled and linked, all money symbols shown are boosted to the Mega.

The Ultimate 5: Slot Verdict

On first impression, The Ultimate 5 doesn’t appear to push the genre forward much, and that view largely holds after spending time with it. Still, it does hide a few clever ideas that more experienced players may enjoy. That goes for both the base game and the bonus features, although free spins—triggering noticeably less often than the Hold & Spin—generally felt like the quieter of the two.

Free spins includes symbol removal, but because it’s random, it doesn’t feel as interactive as a collect-and-upgrade approach like the one in Pink Elephants. The removals simply occur (or don’t) without much player-facing logic. Only low-paying symbols can be removed, which can be helpful if it opens the door to those five-animal 100x line wins. They showed up more often than expected, although they still weren’t especially frequent.

The Hold & Spin twist can be genuinely thrilling when upgrades start chaining together. The dream outcome is filling the grid, where every position turns into a Mega prize. It’s slightly strange, though, because a full screen of Megas would theoretically total 7,500x, yet Pragmatic has capped winnings at 5,000x, meaning the final return would be limited.

In the end, The Ultimate 5 is a respectable slot with a touch of novelty, even if the theme and overall look feel mass-produced. It’s not a genre-defining release, but it offers something worthwhile for players who want a polished Pragmatic Play game with a couple of newer angles on winning.