Icy Wilds Slot - Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

First impressions of Icy Wilds

Icy Wilds arctic-theme, involving Ice Queens, gorgeous gemstones and a succession of cute - albeit dangerous - animals, is perhaps designed to appeal to female players, but with that said, we think there will be plenty of men who will fully appreciate the Ice Queen’s stunning looks, even before they get to see the array of generous cash prizes on offer across the reels!

The game opens against the backdrop of a starry winter sky. We know straight away that the game is set in the frozen North, because the magical and mysterious Northern Lights are shining out to either side of the reels, lending the game an ethereal kind of beauty. Against a backdrop of snowy pine trees, the reels are set out within an icy frame, featuring a midnight background, which allows the colours of the symbols to really stand out, for maximum effect.

Low-paying symbols take the form of the usual playing card symbols, here represented by the A, K, Q, J and 10. They’ve all been depicted in jewel-bright colours, and given a dusting of frost, so that they tie in with the game’s overall theme. Higher-value symbols are represented by animal species found in the frozen North, such as the ermine, snowy owl and snow leopard. And higher in value still are the Ice Queen’s possessions of a jewelled ring, a beautiful pendant and an ornate icy crown.

Paytable

Whether or not you’re playing for real cash, we strongly advise checking out the paytable of every slots game that you intend to try out. Just as the volatility of slots games varies widely, so too do the paytables, and what one slots developer sees as generous, another might view as being rather stingy.

Low-value symbols on the reels of Icy Wilds are represented by playing card icons. Spin up three matching examples on adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost reel, and across one of the 50 paylines, and you’ll be awarded a cash prize worth 2x your line bet. Note that this is a multiplier against your line bet, not the total bet. So if you bet 50.00 in total for each spin, your line bet is 50 divided by 50 paylines, meaning you’re playing at just 1.00 per line. That’s an altogether different result than if it acted as a 2x multiplier across your total bet! Four matching symbols will reward you with 10x your line bet, with five of a kind delivering 25x your line bet. So even if you spin up the maximum number of symbols, you won’t win back enough money to cover the cost of your spin.

The ermine, owl and snow leopard all pay out much better odds. Spin up three matching symbols to be awarded 10x your line bet, and spin up four matches to increase the prize to 20x your line bet. But hit five of a kind with any one of these animal symbols, and you’ll start to see a profit, with a cash reward of 100x your line bet.

Next comes the heart-shaped ruby pendant, which pays our 15x, 25xx and 125x the player’s line bet for spinning up three, four or five of a kind respectively. Then comes the jewelled ring, which pays out 15x, 30x and 125x for spinning up three, four or five matches. The elegant crown tops the paytable for the main symbols, paying out 15x, 30x and 150x the player’s line bet for matching three, four and five symbols across one of the paylines.

The beautiful Ice Queen is a fully stacked symbol, which always appears four rows high, although she may not spin up onto the reels in her entirety. She pays out slightly differently from all of the other symbols in the game, using a completely different mechanic that makes her work a little like a Scatter. However, Ice Queen icons must appear on adjacent reels, and conform to the payline structures to trigger a win, although unlike all the other symbols in the game she doesn’t have to appear on reel 1, and you only need to match two examples, on adjacent reels, to win a cash prize worth 5x your line bet. But two stacked Ice Queens appearing on adjacent reels in full will trigger a flurry of cash prizes, since they cover so many paylines.

Three Ice Queens will award you with 25x your line bet, four matches will give you 100x your line bet, and if you’re lucky enough to spin up five Ice Queens then you’ll benefit from the game’s top cash prize which is worth 500x your line bet.

How to Play Icy Wilds

Playing Icy Wilds is quite straightforward, and you’ll soon get to grips with the gameplay. Before you spin these sparkling reels you’ll need to decide on a line bet and any other game personalisation that you prefer.

Sometimes choosing your wager can seem unnecessarily complicated, but the clean and intuitive interface and the decision to use fixed paylines mean that it’s simple to select a single line bet that is played across all 50 lines. Icy Wilds isn’t for the faint-hearted or the penny player, however - stakes start at 0.50 but rapidly and steeply rise to 1000.00 per spin, which puts this slot firmly in high-roller territory. To select a wager that suits your bankroll, just click on the Total Bet box below the reels to select a coin bet for each spin.

Players have come to expect a high level of customisation from modern video slots. Unfortunately, the free play version of Icy Wilds doesn’t have autospins, so the only effective change you can make to the gameplay is to mute the sound, which would be a shame with such a delightful soundtrack. But we always recommend spending a few minutes looking at the paytable, reading the game rules and checking out the paylines, and that’s easy to do in this slot - just hit the Paytable button to the left of the Total Bet.

It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to memorise all 50 paylines, but it’s a good idea to have a sense of where they fall so you can look out for winning combinations. The paytable info in this slot follows the rest of the design in being clear and well laid out, so you have a good idea of how the game modifiers and bonus features will impact on your spins.

Once you’re happy with the way everything is set up, hit the spin button underneath the reels to play Icy Spins.Welcome Wilds

As the name suggests, this game is all about the wilds. The wilds can show up anywhere of their own accord, but if you land a stack of snow leopards, crown, snow owls, the ermine, pendant or the ring, the stack will turn wild for the next spin. With one whole reel guaranteed as wild, players playing all 50 lines can expect a windfall. It just depends if that’s a three, four or five combination win. Icy Wilds is also packed full of free spins and bonus features. Find three or more polar bear symbols on three different reels to activate the free spins feature.

If you’re lucky enough to see polar bears across all five reels, you’ll be rewarded with 20 free spins. See those polar bears again during this free spin feature and the new spins will simply be added to your account and you can keep on spinning for free.

RTP and Volatility

According to IGT themselves, the theoretical RTP of Icy Wilds falls between 92.15% and 96.15%. But to fully understand the term, you need to know what it is, and how it’s calculated. We often hear it said that RTP, which stands for Return to Player, gives an indication of the returns that players can expect from their gaming session. And that would seem to make sense - after all, it is called Return to Player.

When people first start playing online slots games, they tend to think that they all operate in the same way. It’s a reasonable assumption to make, of course, but it’s actually not the case - in fact, far from it! Nearly all online slots games come with a volatility rating, although you might have to dig pretty deep to find it. But it’s really important to know, as it could make or break your online gaming experience.

Medium volatility slots games, such as Icy Wilds, are designed to appeal to all types of player. There’s usually a wide range of betting options, so that penny-slots fans and high rollers alike can find their betting sweet spot. These games are designed to deliver up a few modest wins, interspersed with some Big Wins, to keep the jackpot-chasers happy. But these games, more than any other, can be deceptive, eating through your available budget pretty quickly if you’re not careful. So always play medium-volatility slots games in demo mode before venturing into an online casino and wagering real cash on them. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say, and a little knowledge can go a long way towards improving every player’s online slots gaming experience.

How To Win

Icy Wilds is a five-reel, 50-payline slot that’s playable across all devices. Winning is as simple as spinning up three or more matching symbols across one of those 50 fixed lines to receive a payout that increases the greater the number of matching symbols. The outcome of every spin is governed by random number generators or RNGs that ensure the result of each spin is completely random and can only be replicated by chance.

In Icy Wilds the highest-paying symbols are the animals and jewels of the upper paytable. The three snow creatures pay 100x for five symbols on a payline, while the heart-shaped jewel and the diamond ring carry a reward of 125x for a full house. Most lucrative of these symbols is the crown with a top payout of 150x for five symbols across the reels. All the royals reward the player 2x, 10x or 25x your line bet for three, four or five on a payline.

The most rewarding icon is the Princess herself, who lands on the reels as a full-length stacked symbol and carries a 2x, 25x, 100x and 500x multiplier depending on whether two, three, four or five symbols land for you.

We’ve talked about the game modifiers in more detail, but all six high paytable symbols can turn wild to deliver huge wins by substituting for all other symbols except the polar bear. And he can deliver up to 45 free spins if you stack the reels with Ursa maritimus symbols.

Max-win 500x

Volatility Medium

Top RTP 96.15%

Free Spins Bonus Feature

To trigger the Free Spins bonus feature round in Icy Wilds, you first need to spin up polar bear Scatters on at least three reels. The Scatters come stacked, so it’s perfectly possible to spin up to 20 Scatters with one single spin, and the more Scatters you see on the screen, the more Free Spins you’ll be awarded. Three polar bear Scatters, spread across three reels, will result in 10 Free Spins. But for every additional polar bear icon, players are awarded an extra 2 Free Spins, with the top award of 45 Free Spins achieved by players who manage to spin up 20 polar bear Scatters with a single spin.

Free Play and Demo Mode

Another great way to get to know your slots is to try them in free play or demo mode here at Slots Temple. You’ll get to understand the way a slot works and how the bonus features are triggered without running down your bankroll, so it makes sense to take advantage of the opportunity to play a few spins and avoid making a costly error by picking the wrong slot.

Different software providers all offer their own tweaks on themes and gameplay, with some offering unique features and others their own proprietary game engines. With free play you can take the time to explore different studios and shortlist the ones you prefer. It all helps to make an informed decision when you decide to play slots for real money.

Even if you prefer to experience the thrill of slots without putting any of your hard-earned cash on the line, playing free play slots can save you all the hassle of creating an account. You’ll have the peace of mind knowing you can play with total confidence while still getting the adrenaline rush of landing that massive jackpot!

Icy Wilds gives you a very generous virtual bankroll, so you can keep spinning until you’ve thoroughly tested all the different bonus options and won the top prize of 25,000 coins!

Mobile

Icy Wilds is one of the new breed of online slots designed to be played on all your devices, from laptop to mobile and tablet. Created using HTML5 technology, Icy Wilds is designed to open directly into a browser window and will scale to fit any size of screen and play in portrait or landscape orientation with no loss of functionality.

We tried a few spins of Icy Wilds on mobile and were really impressed with the speed with which this slot loaded and the impression the graphics made on an HD screen. Icy Wilds really does sparkle in this format, offering a rich and rewarding mobile player experience.

Review & Rating

Even if you’re one of the few people who hasn’t been bowled over by the Frozen phenomenon, you’ll still enjoy everything Icy Wilds has to offer. With 50 paylines offering plenty of ways to win, this IGT slot is a well designed and beautiful-looking five-reel game with some incredible potential.

Despite the name, the most lucrative feature in this slot is the free spins bonus. There’s a possibility of triggering 45 free spins straight off, although you’ll have to be incredibly patient to do that, but landing just five polar bear symbols anywhere in view will deliver a very generous 20 free games. These are played with the Wild Rule in operation, which means that every time you spin up a stack of high paytable symbols they’ll transform into wild icicles and freeze in place for the next spin. This feature is also available in the base game, giving every spin plenty of potential.

So what’s not to like about this slot? Nothing, unless you’re too macho to be caught dead playing a slot with such a pretty, sparkly theme and a gorgeous Princess. Everything about Icy Wilds oozes quality, and IGT have done a great job bringing something new to the ice queen theme. Highly recommended, but penny players should beware that this medium- to high-volatility slot will eat your bankroll fast with spins beginning at 0.50 a game.

If You Liked Playing Icy Wilds You’ll Also Enjoy…

There are plenty of slots around with an icy theme from this developer and other great studios. For example, if you haven’t played Siberian Storm with its Siberian tiger theme, do yourself a favour and try the Dual Play variant with two sets of reels.

Cool as Ice: Genesis Gaming’s arctic-themed slot features reels packed with plenty of fun characters like a Hawaiian-shirt-wearing Walrus and a shades-sporting Polar Bear. You’ll also find an expanding iceberg wild and some igloo free spins. Watch out for the huskies, who scatter further wilds in their wake!

Frozen Diamonds: Rabcat have created a truly mesmerising slot with gems encased in ice that shatters as winning combinations appear. This is a cool variant on the tumbling reels mechanism and delivers some sizeable payouts when you trigger a chain of wins. With free spins and glittering graphics, this slot is well worth a spin.

Fruity Frost: prefer your slots in a classic three-reel format? Then this Boongo slot is packed with frozen tropical fruit just waiting to thaw out and deliver some hot wins. With up to 21 free spins on offer, some sticky wild action and plenty of other goodies in store, why not get fruity in the freezer?

Ice Cave: this Playtech slot is a breathtaking recreation of Viking life with stunning graphics and the great bonus gameplay we expect from this innovative studio. With multiplying hammer wilds and sticky ice wilds, this slot offers huge potential to match its incredible visuals.

Disclaimer: Icy Wilds trademark / license is owned by IGT. This site is not endorsed by IGT.