Big Time Gaming, the parent company of Evolution, has granted Booming Games a Megaways license, making possible the launch of the developer’s first slot machine with the popular dynamic concept. The company has been somewhat secretive about its creative leanings, opting to rework an existing game rather than coming up with a whole new concept. It’s unclear what Booming was going for with this strategy, given the combination of blandness and poor potential is a certain way to fail to make waves in the Megaways scene.

Howling Wolves, the original game, was launched in the second part of the year 2020 and was classified as a North American wilderness slot. The game’s 5×3 reel set included lupus-themed action as well as Native American-inspired symbols. The Megaways version features nearly the same elements, with the addition of a 6-reel layout and a maximum of 117,649 ways to win. As a welcome contrast from the typical desert, plains, or canyon setting, the enigmatic backdrop has returned. You can see a full moon peeking out from behind the trees in the top right corner, but in case you were wondering, there is no smooth transition to werewolves.

Howling Wolves Megaways is, like previously, an extremely risky game that may be enjoyed on any chosen device. The return-to-player percentage is now 96%, which is an improvement over the previous 94%, but the maximum win has been reduced to less than 50% of its previous value. Why? Perhaps it’s best to put off dealing with the problem and instead focus on the rules. Importantly, the cascading function is activated whenever a winning combination appears, left to right, beginning with the first reel.

Four wolves appear as the highest-paying symbols, each earning between 4 and 15 times your bet for a full house. Low-paying symbols include a tepee, a vase, an axe, a hat, a drum, a mask, and a variety of other Native American objects. Before we get to the bonus games, there’s a wild symbol that may be used in lieu of any other pay sign to create winning combinations.

Features of the Slot Machine Howling Wolves Megaways

In Howling Wolves Megaways, cascades are by far the most common feature, while four random modifiers appear at random intervals during the main game and much more frequently during triggered free spins.

Cascades

This function gets rid of the winning symbols and lets the rest of the symbols fall into the empty spaces. Cascades start with one win and keep going until no more winning combinations can be made.

Disruptive Variables

In either the regular or bonus game, any of the following four modifiers might happen at any time:

Howling Wilds: The quantity of wild symbols on the reels is determined at random.

All visible wolf symbols are upgraded to the highest paying wolf symbol during the Alpha Pack Spin feature.

Wins during the current spin are multiplied by 3, 4, or 5 times thanks to the Wolf Pack Multipliers feature. Each subsequent cascade adds one to the multiplier.

With Max Megaways, we pack as many as 117,649 possible combinations of symbols onto the reels.

Bonus Turns

Eight basic game free spins are awarded for landing four scatter symbols, with two more spins added for each scatter beyond four, up to a maximum of thirty. One advantage of free spins is that random modifiers technically activate more frequently than they do in the main game. To facilitate the bonus round, scatter symbols will be removed from the reels.

Conclusion on the Slot Game Howling Wolves Megaways

Either Booming Games is employing some form of 4D chess that we have yet to grasp, or their decision to recycle games with limited promise was a huge letdown. The game is not without merits. The visuals are engaging, players generally enjoy wolf-themed slots, the animations look fine, and the functions are passable. They may as well have been if Booming had actually unleashed them to act like the savage animals they’re rumored to be instead of nibbling at their owner’s ankles like a tame lap dog.

You shouldn’t anticipate a significant departure from the original Howling Wolves slot, since the game uses essentially the same elements but with the addition of Max Megaways. Notably, retriggering free games is no longer possible, and it’s a bummer that the Wolf Pack Multiplier feature’s gains are lost on the next spin. Perhaps some much-needed oomph might have been given by making multipliers continue and develop, as is common in Megaways games.

Oddly low for a Megaways game, the maximum win on Howling Wolves Megaways is 2,168 times your initial wager. Howling Wolves Megaways never really gets going because there aren’t enough opportunities to win large and the features are rarely used.