While some online casino games are deliberately designed in a cartoon fashion, or have simple symbols on them, the Jungle Spirit: Call of the Wild video pokie from Net Ent is incredibly realistic and it takes a while to work out if the images are real or drawings.
Snakes, bears tigers and crocodiles are joined on the 5 reels of this game by high card symbols designed to look like the ruins of an ancient city, while lush trees and flowers surround the main game giving it a lavish appearance and arguably making this one of the best-looking pokies around.
It could be absolutely gorgeous to look at and still have poor gameplay however, so fortunately Net Ent have filled this jungle with butterflies that cause symbols to expand, and up to 20 free spins where the odds of getting a high-value win are boosted.
Instead of conventional paylines that symbols need to land across to get a win, this pokie has 243 ways to win as symbols only need to be in any positions on adjacent reels running from the left side to create a winning combination. While free Jungle Spirit: Call of the Wild video pokies can be used for practice purposes, at least 0.20 will be needed to play for real money, while the maximum wager is 100.00 per spin.
The relative values of each symbol are detailed in the pay table and in an unusual step, all the playing card symbols 10, J, Q, K and A are worth the same amount, with wins of 10 coins for landing the same type across 3 reels, 20 for runs of 4 and seeing a card symbol on all 5 reels will result in a payout of 30 coins.
Each animal is worth a different amount, running from the cobra that’s valued at 20, 30 or 60 coins, through the crocodile, bear and elephant to the top paying tiger who’s worth 50, 80 or 150 coins when landing on 3, 4 or 5 reels from the left side.
A glowing butterfly can appear next to random symbols in any spin and if that symbol is then part of a win-line it will expand to cover the whole reel it’s on, potentially completing extra lines, although it’s not guaranteed and in practice this Symbol Expansion feature seems quite tricky to benefit from.
A Butterfly Boost feature is far more interesting, as wins are guaranteed when they flutter around the reels, settling on between 1 and 3 symbols. These will also expand, but those clever butterflies only choose symbols that will then make up a winning combination.
A pink flower acts to trigger the main bonus feature however when it appears in any 3 or more places at once. If 4 scatters appeared, there’s an initial reward of 15x the bet paid out, while 5 scatters equals a 50x the stake payout before players are taken to the free spins round. Even these games are preceded by a picture of the 5 animals each standing or sitting or slithering on top of an ancient column in the middle of a jungle pool. Players get to pick an animal and whichever they choose will become the only high value symbol on the reels throughout the bonus games, making the odds of getting a win with it much higher.
There’s the option of high-paying wins, but only 4 spins with the tiger, while choosing the elephant sees 8 spins play out, but smaller wins with this lower-value symbol and the pattern continues with 12 bear spins, 16 with the crocodile and the snake option consists of 20 free games with just the snake and card symbols on the reels. Some players like to risk getting a big win in a few spins while others take a more cautious approach, but many will opt for the bear, as this is the middle option.
Whatever round is chosen, the reels expand from 3 to 4 symbols high and there are now 1024 paylines running across them, so landing those all-important wins should become a little easier.
The design and style of this online casino pokie is beyond criticism, so we shall focus on the more subjective elements such as the potential for landing some big wins and the bonus features. There isn’t much to complain about here either, as the 243 ways to win format usually results in plenty of payouts although often of slightly lower value.
The special expanding symbols can be quite useful, while the extra lines in the free spins should certainly help players to get real cash wins in this amazing-looking game.