Ice Wolf slot review (Elk Studios)

We are always thrilled to see what great new ideas Elk Studios has come up with when they release a new online slot

Elk Studios slots are always original, with high-quality production values. We are slots enthusiasts on the one hand and slots reviewers on the other.

Ice Wolf is a stunning slot with innovative game mechanics. It’s a win all-ways slot, where it’s about the wild wolves giving you a helping hand by breaking icy tiles and acting as wild symbols.

By making winning combinations, you get more ways to win (as the playing field is expanded), and you also get some valuable boosters, such as extra wilds, extra multipliers and re-spins.

Ice Wolf reminds us of a turbo version of Quickspin’s Crystal Queen slot.

Bets start at $€0.20 per spin, up to a maximum of $€100 per spin.

What are the theoretical RTP, variance and maximum win of Ice Wolf?

The theoretical payout percentage is 96.1%, which is pretty good but not outstanding — nevertheless, no reason not to play.

The maximum win is a staggering 2,500 x the total bet. In the maximum case, if you stake the maximum amount of $€100, you can bag a $€ quarter of a million.

Elk Studios gives a rating of 8 out of 10 for the variance of the slot. This implies that it is a medium to high variance slot, but leaning more towards medium. The top wins are typically around 250x to 500x the bet. If you win anything above the 1,000x the stake, regard it as miraculous!

You can compare the variance of this slot to Elk Studio slots such as Hidden and Wild Toro.

More volatile Elk Studio slots are Ecuador Gold and Tahiti Gold.

Gameplay and features of the Ice Wolf slot

When you start, the playing field has 6 reels with 3 active rows of symbols.

The win all ways principle applies, so there are 729 (calculated as 3x3x3x3x3x3) ways to win.

However, above the 3 active rows, you will see another 3 rows of hidden symbols under the ice. You aim to unlock these symbols by cracking the ice. You manage to do that by making winning combinations.

If a symbol that is part of a winning combination hits an ice cube, it melts, and the symbol under the ice is now in-play.

After each winning spin, you get a free new spin on the new playing field. This continues as long as you keep on making winning combinations.

The more winning combinations, the bigger the playing field. In the end, you can get 74,088 ways to win (calculated as 6x6x6x7x7x7), as all 6 rows of the 6 reels are active (the ice has disappeared), and besides, another 3 symbols of the top row are active as well.

But there is more.

Additional boosters

On top of the reels, there are three potential extra boosters:

• extra multipliers of at least x 2 and at most x 50
• extra wilds
• free re-spins, which you use after your first non-winning spin

As long as you continue to make winning combinations, the current boosters remain active.

Ice Wolf Reels

Sometimes one or more ice wolves appear on the screen. Usually, you run away fast if you see such wolves, but you can become friends with them, as they give you a helping hand.

The wolves drop several wilds on the reel where they have appeared and also “chop” some frozen symbols free.

After that, you get one more free re-spin: the wilds are sticky.

Needless to say that this mini-feature can be very powerful and once a while can create a lot of fireworks.

Symbols and payouts

Because of the re-spins, the ever-growing playing field and all those extra possible boosters, it doesn’t matter which symbols you use to make the winning combinations.

The high symbols pay more (up to 5 x the total bet) but appear much less frequent than the lower symbols, which pay between 0.25 and 0.9 x the stake for a 6-of-a-kind. Remember that the win all ways mechanism is in play here.

Our verdict on the Ice Wolf slot?

Although Ice Wolf doesn’t have a real free spins bonus, you won’t be bored quickly.

The wild wolves theme is beautifully executed, and because of the unique gameplay, something unexpected always happens.

Of course, it can be very frustrating if you have unlocked a beautiful playing field with some big multipliers and lots of wilds, but see your winning streak end after a non-winning combo. Then, you can start all over again.

You will get over such a disappointment quickly once you have managed to get a beautiful series of winning spins.

3.7 out of 5 stars

Relevant news