Wild Portals Megaways™ Slot Review
Slot Provider: Big Time Gaming
RTP: 96.58% | Variance: High | Maximum Win: 116,030x
Our Score: 8.8
WHY YOU CAN TRUST THIS REVIEW: The information and opinions on this page are the result of an comprehensive process of information gathering and live game testing by the gambling experts who work at allslotsites.com. Find out more here.
About Wild Portals Megaways™
Reviewed by:
Published Date: 1st March 2022
How We Review Slot Games
We test and rate all slot games across 5 criteria, assigning a score out of 10 for each and an overall score that is an average of the 5. To build an accurate assessment of each game we gather information from the supplier and play in real play or demo mode. Find out more.Big Time Gaming go back to the source of all goodness with Wild Portals Megaways™, released to the best slot sites in March 2022. This game includes many features that BTG fans know and love – the expanding reels, the super-high variance, gemstone symbols, a strong soundtrack with a pulsating beat, and a dancefloor / space-vibe backdrop that draws on both Mega Clusters and Danger! High Voltage.
But crucially, it adds in a feature that we haven’t seen before – Wild Portals. It’s yet another way BTG have found to ratchet up the tension as 2×2 Wilds land with the power to trigger cascades where low paying symbols are removed and replaced on the reels whilst progressive multipliers grow simultaneously.
It is fast, furious and futuristic with an outstanding maximum win of 116,030x. Spins start at 20p per play.
Wild Portals Megaways™ Game Information
- Release Date: March 2022
- RTP: 96.58%
- Variance: High
- Maximum Win: 116,030x
- Progressive Jackpot: No
- Reels: 6
- Rows: Up To 7
- Paylines: Up to 117, 649
- Minimum Stake: £0.20
- Theme: Gems
- Features: Wilds, Free Spins, Progressive Multipliers, Expanding Reels
Testing Notes: Here’s What Happened When We Played Wild Portals Megaways™
IMPORTANT: To give you an accurate assessment of the games we review our writers play 200 spins. Whilst this is a useful tool to help us review games and to give an example of what might happen when you play, keep in mind that 200 spins is only a very small sample and cannot be used to accurately predict what might happen over another 200 spins. The outcome of all slots play is always random.
Boom Or Bust? Our Session By The Numbers
I played 200 spins on Wild Portals at Casumo to test the game and this is what happened.
- Stake Size: £1
- Start balance: £1,000
- End balance: £918.95
- Biggest Win: 24.4x
- Free Spins rounds: 0
- Wild Portals: 19
- Session Time: 19 minutes 6 seconds
Without many features to speak of I rattled through 200 spins on Wild Portals fairly quickly. The portals themselves were regular occurrences, dropping on the reels 19 times, nearly once in every 10 spins. The best win was a 24.4x which came with an 11x multiplier shown in the screen shot below. There was also a 20.6x win with a 12x multiplier. The free spins round didn’t appear and only once did I land 2 gold scatters to get close. These numbers are what you would expect from a really high variance slot with just one headline feature and overall it was hard to stay with it after 100 spins. But it will suit those who like to get their head down and just spin whilst waiting for one of those golden moments to drop.
What We Liked
- Unique Wild Portals with big multipliers
- Multipliers do NOT reset in free spins
- Massive 116,030x maximum win
- Super sleek design and soundtrack
- Simple gameplay is easy to follow
What We Didn't like
- Very volatile and tough to crack
- Can take 100s plays to get free spins
Wild Portals Megaways™ Review Scores
- Theme and Design 8
- RTP and Variance 9
- Maximum Win 10
- Symbols and Paytable 9
- Features and Gameplay 8
What Our Reviewer Says ...
"Megaways™ with a unique new twist - no win cascades but a clever and compelling variation with Wilds and HUGE winning potential."
Overall Score: 8.8
Theme & Design
Our Score 8
In the BTG canon of online slots, where visuals are concerned, Wild Portals sits alongside games like Megaclusters for its simplistic design. It has a futuristic feel, from the techno-electro soundtrack that builds in alignment with the pace of the game, to the space-ship style backdrop with its gleaming metals and neon lights. The style matches the sleak, sci-fi style theme and gamplay too. In fact, I found it helped me to focus solely on the one thing that mattered here – landing Portals and unlocking free spins.
In short, this is not a complex game, and neither is the production. But altogether, it works well.
RTP and Variance
Our Score 9
What is RTP?
RTP (Return to Player) refers to the amount a game will pay out in cash prizes expressed as a percentage of all the money wagered on that game. For example, a 96% RTP means a game will pay out £96 for every £100 wagered. This is an average number and will vary from one session to the next. Read more here.What is Variance?
Variance refers to how far a game will deviate from its RTP over time. High variance games deviate a lot and produce uneven win distributions and unexpected windfalls. Low variance games provide a more stable and even distribution of wins. Read more here.Wild Portals has an RTP of 96.58%. That is well above average for an online slot game which is about 96%. It is also higher than popular Big Time Gaming slots like Bonanza (96%) and Danger! High Voltage (95.67%).
It is without question a high variance slot so it can be highly unpredictable, but that is the nature of this kind of slot. Expect long runs of slow paced payouts with little or no return. The flip side of course is that Wild Portals can also kick out astounding win sequences triggered by the features we will come onto next.
Maximum Win
Our Score 10
What Is Maximum Win?
Maximum win refers to the maximum amount a player can win from one spin. It is expressed as a multiple of the stake. For example, where the maximum win is 100,000x, from a £1 stake, the maximum win would be £100,000.The top payout from this game is 116,030x. That is huge. Few online slots top the 100,000x mark and this is right up there amongst Big Time Gaming’s highest paying games. That list includes recent releases like Max Megaways 2 (147,620x) and the awesome Wild Flower (114,100x).
If you want to play more slots with super-high potential then check out our list of the highest paying games.
Symbols and Paytable
Our Score 9
So, if you are familiar with Megaways then you won’t have any problems understanding how the Wild Portals engine works. It utilises the standard 6 reel set up with between 2 and 7 rows per reel on each spin. The number of rows is chosen at random. The important part is that it is a Win Ways game. That means, wins are triggered by landing 3 or more identical symbols across adjacent reels from left to right, regardless of their row position.
That gives you up to 117,649 paylines per spin (7x7x7x7x7x7).
When loading up the game I noticed one difference between Wild Portals and other Megaways games. This one does NOT have an additional 1×4 row above the middle three reels. It doesn’t affect the win ways, but worth noting.
As far as the paytable goes, the values of symbols are low, but that is offset by the power that comes with the Wild Portal itself. That feature can significantly boost the value of a standard win as multipliers come into affect. So don’t be too concerned about base symbol values.
Low value icons are represented by the cards, 9 through to Ace. They are valued at from 0.1x for 3 10s up to just 0.5x for 6 Aces. Premiums are classic BTG gemstones in purple, green and red. These are valued at from 0.25x for 3 greens up to 10x for 6 purples.
I was unimpressed by those numbers, but then I saw how the portal worked. This always lands as a 2×2 wild symbol and it is very powerful as I will explain in the features section. Meanwhile, keep your eyes out for gold scatters too, 3 or more of which trigger the free spins.
Features and Gameplay
Our Score 8
Firstly, I should say that whilst I love the innovation here, Wild Portals is not a feature-rich game like the latest Nolimit City slots, or even some of BTG’s own more complex early releases.
Instead, it’s all about just one key event – the Wild Portal itself. That means, no Cascading Wins, which may put some off, but in truth, it doesn’t detract from the thrills and I wasn’t overly concerned that this classic feature has been omitted because the Wild Portal itself triggers something similar when it lands.
First of all, note that the Wild Portal only appears on reels 2 to 5. When it does, after any wins are paid out from the spin, it will reveal one of the low paying symbols. ALL instances of that symbol are then removed from the visible reels and replaced with new ones. And for each instance of the symbol that is removed, the Wild Portal progressive multiplier increases by 1x.
At this point, wins are calculated, and any that include the Wild Portal itself (which acts as a wild) are subject to the multiplier value.
Once this cycle has completed, then the Wild Portal reveals a new symbol. Again, any instances are removed and new ones drop in to replace them. Each one increases the multiplier by 1x.
And so on.
The feature stops only when no instances of the symbol revealed by the Wild Portal are visible on the reels.
That is the basics. Essentially your goal is to keep growing that multiplier as high as possible, scoring wins as you go. But there is more … a free spins round.
Free Spins With Guaranteed Wild Portals
This is where things can really go off and it’s no surprise that triggering this round is very, very tough.
You’ll need THREE gold scatters to trigger 8 free spins (with 2 extra spins for EVERY additional scatter that drops). When you get there, Wild Portals are GUARANTEED on EVERY free spin, with multipliers carried over between free spins. They DO NOT re-set. That is massive because those multipliers can just become huge and keep applying to every win during your free spins.
What is more, Free Spins can be re-triggered by landing three extra scatters during the round, with another 2 spins for each extra scatter after the third.
If you have been playing BTG slots, or indeed any high variance slots with big multipliers, you will probably understand the mind blowing potential of that configuration!!
The Final Verdict
When checking out the configuration of this game it very quickly became clear that Wild Portals is built for a specific type of player. Namely, those who love going after those big wins driven by multipliers and free spins and who aren’t too bothered about the quantity of features on offer. Because there really is not much else to it. Spinning through your balance you will soon notice that not much happens until a portal drops, and then you may get lucky and land a good series of wins and a sizable multiplier, or you may not. Then it’s back to the grind, spinning, waiting, hoping. And so on. Even the music seems to follow this pattern, fading out between spins before kicking back in again when you hit the spin button. Then rising in pace and volume when good things happen.
In short I’m saying is that this is not a game for your casual slots fan but more the kind of high risk fanatics who want that hit of fast gambling where it’s all or nothing and the stakes are high. If you spin enough sooner or later you will hit that free spins round and maybe a 100,000x win, but it will be a grind getting there, and take a toll on your balance. But for those who enjoy that style of game, Wild Portals is a potential thriller.
Useful Resources
Compare Wild Portals Megaways™ With Similar Slots Picked By Us
Here are more games like Wild Portals Megaways™ compared on configuration and features. Click through to read a review of each one.
Slot Game | Provider | Theme | Min. Stake | Max. RTP | Variance | Paylines | Top Payout | Jackpot |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Big Time Gaming | Fairytale | £0.20 | 97.24% | High | Up to 248,832 | 13,000x | No | |
Big Time Gaming | £0.20 | 96.72% | 4,096 | 61,720x | No | |||
Big Time Gaming | Music | £0.20 | 95.67% | High | 4,096 | 39,620x | No | |
Big Time Gaming | £0.20 | 96.23% | Cluster Pays | 6,650x | No | |||
Big Time Gaming | Pirates | £0.20 | 96.23% | High | Up to 117, 649 | 104,400x | No | |
Big Time Gaming | Wildlife | £0.20 | 96.72% | High | 117,649 | 56,620x | No | |
Big Time Gaming | Luxury | £0.40 | 96.38% | High | 117,649 | 72,310x | Yes | |
Big Time Gaming | Gems | £0.20 | 96.27% | High | Cluster Pays | 27,050x | Yes |
Useful Tips When Playing Wild Portals Megaways™
Remember, online slots are games of chance, there is NO strategy that can improve your odds of winning. However, reading our review and following these tips will help you get the most out of your time playing this slot game.
1. Play In Demo Mode First
Wild Portals is NOT a complex game as we have discovered. However, it is still worth playing in demo mode to be sure you understand the concept and its a game you want to spend real money on. Casumo Casino offers the game for free for this reason.
2. Choose A Sensible Stake
As a high variance slot, Wild Portals will not give up its treasures easily and you can spend your balance in no time. To avoid quick burn out choose a sensible stake to make your funds go further.
3. Don’t Chase Your Losses
If Wild Portals is not working out for you, take a break. It can be a frustrating play but don’t be tempted to chase down losses. It is better to return on another day.
4. Play At A Licensed UK Slot Site
Only play at sites licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. We have listed these for you on this and other pages on our own site. These are safe, secure and fair and offer generous bonuses that you can use to play Wild Portals.
Who Made Wild Portals Megaways™?
- Name: Big Time Gaming
- Established: 2011
- UK License: 38696
- Total Games: 55 +
- Known For: Inventing Megaways, super volatile slots, high max payout slots, rock n roll soundtracks
- Popular Slots: Bonanza Megaways, Max Megaways, Outlaw, Danger! High Voltage
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