Wanted Wildz Extreme: Slot Overview

Hard-hitting Western slots have earned their stripes over time, with NetEnt’s Dead or Alive 2 often seen as the genre’s top dog. In the middle-to-late stretch of 2022, Red Tiger associates Max Win Gaming threw their hat in the ring with Wanted Wildz, a title capable of dishing out some hefty sticky multiplier wild moments during its free spins bonus. Wanted Wildz didn’t quite unseat DoA2, as it didn’t pack the same punch, but Max Win Gaming has returned and turned the dial up with Wanted Wildz Extreme. By and large, Wanted Wildz Extreme earns the “Extreme” label, coming across as a tougher, more dangerous slot than the first game. If you want to know what’s changed, it’s time to pull on the Stetson.

For starters, the theme has been seriously reworked. While the original leaned into a classic Wild West backdrop, Wanted Wildz Extreme adds cyberpunk vibes—like the frontier story has been relocated to Shinjuku instead of the United States of America. A futuristic Western mash-up isn’t exactly unheard of, showing up in films like Cowboys vs Aliens, shows like Firefly, and slots such as Lucksome’s 6 in the Chamber. The blend of the two styles is a fun combination, and Max Win Gaming has fused them into an appealing mix of dust, tech, and neon.

Like its predecessor, Wanted Wildz Extreme is a highly volatile online slot, though the RTP has been bumped up to a default 96.21%. That figure applies when staking 20 c to $/€4 per spin, and it increases slightly to 96.25% when using the feature buys—there are two available. Despite being able to unleash a storm of firepower, Wanted Wildz Extreme stays fairly straightforward overall, running on a familiar 5×3, 20 payline layout.

Payline wins land when matching symbols connect from the left side of the grid across consecutive reels. The low-value symbols are Western-styled 9-A card ranks, paying 1.5 to 2 times their stake for 5 OAK combinations, while 5 boots, hats, bitcoins, or badges return 5 to 25 times the bet. The bony outlaw from the first game is back as the wild symbol, appearing on every reel. Along with substituting for all standard pay symbols, the wild also awards 100x the bet for a 5-wild combination.

Wanted Wildz Extreme: Slot Features

Wanted Wildz Extreme’s feature set is pretty easy to grasp. It covers the Random Wilds Multiplier, free spins, and bonus buys.

Random Wilds Multiplier

This feature can activate randomly during the base game. When it kicks in, for that spin, wilds multiply any winning lines they help form by x2, x5, x25, or x100. If multiple wilds appear in the same winning line, their multiplier values don’t stack together. The applied multiplier is always the current level displayed on the Wild Multiplier Ladder, regardless of how many wild symbols are involved in a single line win.

Free Spins

Landing 3 or more scatters starts the free spins bonus. When wild symbols land, they become locked in position for the entire round. Wilds boost any line wins they’re part of by x2, x5, x25, or x100, based on the current Wild Multiplier Ladder value. Each scatter that appears is collected on the ladder, unlocking higher multiplier levels once certain thresholds are met. The bonus begins with 5 free spins, and +5 free spins are granted whenever a new level is reached—those newly unlocked higher multipliers apply to the retriggered set of spins. On top of that, hitting 3 or more scatters also awards +5 free spins at the current ladder level.

Buy Feature

Wanted Wildz Extreme includes two buy options, and each costs 100 times the bet. One option purchases a standard free spins round, while the other buys 10 spins where the Random Wilds Multiplier is guaranteed to activate on every spin.

Wanted Wildz Extreme: Slot Verdict

To begin with, Wanted Wildz Extreme has plenty going for it. It doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel at every turn, but the features are engaging and can be seriously potent. A big part of the step up from Wanted Wilds to Wanted Wildz Extreme is the refreshed look and feel, and it works extremely well. Max Win Gaming has built a slick futuristic Western playground for its skeleton cowboy to cause chaos in. In gambling terms, the move from Wanted Wildz to Wanted Wildz Extreme is a bit like Money Train shifting from a straight Western setting into the Steampunk atmosphere of Money Train 2. It’s a reminder of how trends roll in, drift out, evolve, and reshape into something new—and it’s easy to picture a world like Wanted Wildz Extreme: a kind of William Gibson’s Neuromancer frontier brawl, where the prize is cryptocurrency instead of gold bars.

Beyond the strong visual overhaul, Wanted Wildz Extreme’s gameplay stays largely in line with the earlier game, with not much in the way of mechanical changes to track. In truth, the main additions are the two feature buys, which will suit players who like purchasing bonus rounds. Otherwise, it’s much the same formula—wait for the Random Wilds Multiplier to pop in the base game for potential multiplier hits, or reach free spins for the chance at even more multiplier action. As before, the fact that wild multipliers don’t multiply or add together when more than one wild contributes to a win may, at first, feel about as enjoyable as wearing assless chaps on a cold day. Still, even with only a single multiplier value applying no matter how many wilds are involved, Wanted Wildz Extreme offers a hefty maximum win of 25,000x the bet (up from 15,000x previously).

There’s definitely a lot to dig into here, though Wanted Wildz Extreme isn’t totally without flaws. The biggest drawback is the non-stacking nature of the wild multipliers, and on top of that, the spinning action felt oddly lacking in drama—particularly in turbo mode (if available)—while the win count-ups could have delivered more excitement. Even so, the stats are impressive, the theme has been handled well, and in a dusty street showdown, Wanted Wildz Extreme would be a seriously threatening rival.