Fairytale Legends Red Riding Hood

Not all slots can pull off the stickman look, but then again, NetEnt was never shy about exploring their possibilities. Red Riding Hood is the first entry in the new Fairytale Legends series, which is the developers take on a set of old fantasy tales that we’ve all heard. Although I think the people who worked on it took fairy tale a bit too seriously, as the wolf has been replaced with a fairy, who brings a slew of special features to the doorstep alongside a few that come from the game itself. But, at least you can lean back into your chair and not have to worry about any pesky wolves coming up trying to eat you while you’re trying to take home some of the prizes.

Credit where it’s due, NetEnt knows how to make gorgeous looking graphics. It isn’t overloading the screen with too many flashing effects, but what it does put down is done rather tastefully. The backdrop slowly moves and the Red Riding Hood also walks along as the reels spin, as small fireflies dance about the screen as you play. Alongside very smooth animations, the developers show us just how far we’ve come in a few short years.

As far as gameplay goes, the slot is all about the special features. You have three random bonuses that come from the fairy’s appearance on the playing field, one that’s associated with Wilds, and then three more that are triggered by Scatters, one of which is an entire bonus game on top of what you already have. In our experience playing, they aren’t shy about awarding them from time to time to keep you interested, which certainly helps keep things smooth.

Without a progressive jackpot, Red Riding Hood will, unsurprisingly, want you to score all your big wins through the myriad of bonus features that it so carefully laid out for you. Not that wins during base gameplay can’t be competitive, in fact, with a 400x jackpot, you can walk away with a $80,000 win if you’re playing at the largest wager, which is hardly a small amount of money.

Regardless, you can get a lot more from the bonuses. Between Beware the Wolf, Sticky Wild re-spins, the Fairy’s magical moving about, and the prizes lying in the Scatter chests, you would be hard pressed to find something that won’t leave your pockets heavier by the end.

Still, despite the immersive visuals and the enchanting look of the slot, we can’t help but feel a bit of said immersion broken when poker icons come out to play. While their design is well done, it stopped us from really letting our minds wander in this different, new world. We doubt most players will have that much of an issue with them, especially as they look quite nicely alongside all the unique symbols you can find.

To start off the special feature extravaganza, the fairy will be our first benefactor. She can flood the reels with a certain number of medium win icons for the duration of one spin. These will always come as a cluster, and as such, can be a near guarantee win.

Alongside the Magic Spin, the fairy can also Surprise you. It randomly activates when you have a no-win situation, in which one medium winning symbol is chosen. Then other lesser icons will slowly be transformed into that symbol until a win is awarded.

Finally, the fairy can do a Wild Spin, in which three or four Wilds appear on the second, third and fourth reel. After the reels stop and a win has been paid out, it activates a Sticky Wild Re-spin as a parting gift.
Sticky Wild Re-spins occur when two or more Wilds during the main game appear on the reels. This triggers a re-spin, while the Wilds remain in place, which improves your odds at winning. Wilds can only appear on the second, third and fourth reel.

Three or more chests can also activate several different bonuses. Two of them are rather simple. Coin Win will simply give you your wager multiplied by 15x and free spins grants you 10 extra turns, with the ability to extend it further.

The big win here is the Beware the Wolf. Here, you navigate a pseudo board game in which how many fields you move is random – as is whether or not you get snatched away by the wolf. You can pick up coin wins, doubles, arrows, jackpots and collects, and if you reach the end of grandma’s house, you also get an additional bonus.