Wild Worlds (NetEnt): Review

Wild Worlds is a 5×5 cluster slot from Swedish studio NetEnt that puts a big emphasis on pure entertainment. It runs smoothly on all devices, offers stakes from 0.20 to 400 Eur per spin, and draws its inspiration from superhero comic books. This vibrant title uses an Avalanche mechanic where any win of at least 3 matching symbols in a row disappears and is replaced by fresh symbols, potentially triggering chain reactions and multiple consecutive payouts. There’s a solid set of features on offer, plus a multi-stage free spins bonus in which you’ll take on monsters of every kind.

Going in without any real expectations, we launched Wild Worlds and were immediately impressed by the slick art-deco intro, which is genuinely outstanding. The in-game visuals keep that quality level too, and it quickly becomes clear this is far from a classic-style slot. The action plays out in what looks like a command centre, where three colourful superhero vertebrates sit at their monitors, busy saving the planet while huge monsters wreak havoc behind them—all backed by a looping synth soundtrack.

Taking up only half the display, the reel symbols include low to mid-value green, purple, and blue gems featuring feathers, lightning-bolts, waves, and the heroes’ beaks. There’s also one premium symbol and a wild, and both pay 100 times your stake for landing 5 of a kind.

Wild Worlds (NetEnt): Features

Wild Worlds is packed with action and comes loaded with different mechanics. During the base game, the Destroy Feature can randomly trigger after a dead spin—only symbols of a single colour remain on the reels while the rest are cleared away, with the exception of scatter symbols. New symbols then fall into place, greatly boosting the odds of forming winning combinations.

Also in the base game, when you hit winning combinations made up of medium-win symbols (Hero symbol), every other symbol of that same type turns into wilds. This mechanic is called the Hero Wilds feature.

The real excitement kicks off when 3 scatter symbols land anywhere on the reels, launching the bonus with 8 free spins. The bonus consists of three levels, each bringing its own special mechanics, while the Hero Wilds feature remains active the entire time. You advance by defeating monsters using Hero Attacks and Hero Special Attacks. The three worlds are:

• Dark Forest – Spreading Wilds are placed randomly on the reels when the weak spot of a monster is destroyed.
• Ice World – a stack of 2 Heavy Wild symbols is placed randomly on the reels when the weak spot of a monster is destroyed.
• Fire Lands – between 2 and 4 random wild symbols are placed randomly on the reels when the weak spot of a monster is destroyed.

There are two types of alien monsters in Wild Worlds:

• Captains (15 health points) – when defeated, the wild feature of the particular level is activated.
• The Boss (105 health points) – cannot be damaged unless all Captains have been defeated. If The Boss falls, the feature is re-triggered and the player is transferred to the next world to do battle with a set of new monsters and with 8 free spins in the bag.

To take the monsters down, our feathered superheroes rely on their powers. Any winning combination made up of Hero symbols will inflict damage on the monsters and also charge the matching Hero meter shown beneath each super hero. Once a meter is fully charged, a Hero Special Attack is unleashed, dealing varying amounts of damage depending on which hero lands the hit.

Wild Worlds (NetEnt): Verdict

As you can see, Wild Worlds is a fairly complex slot, though it’s much easier to follow in play than it sounds on paper. That said, the free spins bonus comes with a pretty sharp learning curve, and the first few rounds will probably be a wtf moment for plenty of players. It can feel like a lot at first, and it’s definitely not the sort of game you casually leave on auto-spin while you step away to make coffee. It asks for your attention and does a great job of making you feel part of the action. In that respect, Wild Worlds has a video game vibe, which is clearly the direction the developers were aiming for.

The priority here is keeping players entertained. Multi-level slots aren’t exactly new, but NetEnt has genuinely pushed the concept further (no pun intended). Wild Worlds has a lot of depth, with multiple layers to explore, and even if modern slots aren’t usually your thing, there’s a strong chance it’ll hold your interest for at least a few spins. With medium variance, it’s also not overly punishing on your bankroll. Surprisingly to us as well, it gets a thumbs up.