Wild Rails (Play’n GO): Review

Starting up a fresh Play’n GO release, given their well-known tendency to “borrow” ideas from other studios, often turns into a little detective exercise where you try to spot what they’ve copied this time. In this instance, though, Wild Rails feels like one of the more original titles to come out of the Swedish factory in a while. Yes, you still get the familiar 5000x max win advertised (with odds that are basically astronomical), and if you really want to draw comparisons you might notice some visual echoes of Yggdrasil’s Cazino Zeppelin and Oriental Express. Either way, it’s at least not yet another spin on Moon Princess or an unscrupulous imitation of someone else’s game, so that’s something.

Built with 5 reels and 30 fixed paylines, the reel setup is a bit unconventional here—rather than spinning vertically, the reels slide horizontally across the display. Set during the golden age of rail travel, the game can throw out enough wilds to blanket the entire screen, plus a free spins feature where you can expect wild trains to show up on every spin. Available on all devices with stakes from 30 cents to 90€ per spin, it uses an industry-standard RTP of 96.53%—though note that this can be reduced in certain markets.

Visually, it’s a pleasant-looking slot with a strong sense of atmosphere. Styled like a four-tier railway bridge, the reels sit inside a gorge linking two mountain faces, where train carriages roll in carrying the symbols. There’s a light steampunk vibe, with low-value royals from A down to 10 alongside four notable travellers. The top-paying one is the woman with the handheld fan, awarding 20 times your stake for 5 of a kind. A wild symbol also plays a crucial role in the game, and landing a full line of them pays 30 times your total .

Wild Rails (Play’n GO): Features

On any base game spin, Wild Trains can randomly trigger. As many as 4 Wild Trains may stop on the reels, and each one can deliver up to five Wilds. In practice, this works much like fully stacked wild reels. If you manage to hit a full screen of wilds in the base game, you’ll collect 900 times your total stake.

The main attraction is the Free Spins feature, activated by landing 3 or more golden train scatter symbols—3, 4 or 5 scatters award 5, 7 or 10 free spins respectively. You enter the bonus with a guaranteed Wild Train on every spin. Every set of 3 scatters awards an extra Wild Train and an extra free spin. Once all 4 Wild Trains have been gathered, you receive 3 additional free spins, and you’ll keep earning 3 more spins for every third scatter collected until you eventually run out of free spins. On top of that, during free spins the scatter symbol also functions as a wild.

Wild Rails (Play’n GO): Verdict

Wild Rails’s time-warping free spins mechanic is clearly the headline act, while the distinctive presentation, steady pacing, and generally fun gameplay help prop up a base game that—like many high variance slots—can feel a little slow-going at times. That said, it still fits the typical Play’n GO mould in terms of volatility, max win, and RTP, so seasoned players will probably recognise some familiar rhythms.

All in all, we had a good time with Wild Rails. It’s put together nicely and the production values are strong. The path to a big hit is to gather as many scatter symbols as you can during the free spins round. If you unlock all four wild trains, you might even find yourself staring at a full screen of wilds for the rest of your spins.

If you’re a fan of Play’n GO, also be sure to check out our reviews of Firefly Frenzy, Demon, and Rise of Merlin.