Wonder Hounds from NextGen Gaming: Slot Review - who let the dogs out?

Leading software studio NextGen Gaming had great success last year when they released the hugely popular slot Golden which coincided nicely with the Chinese Year of the Rooster. So to celebrate the Chinese Year of the Dog, they decided to release this slot which is all about 3 cute canines. The dogs consist of Ace, Jinse, and Winchester who come from America, China, and England respectively. Make sure to have plenty of dog treats on hand as we join these international dogs of mystery on a thrilling adventure spanning the entire planet.

Wonder Hounds is a 5 reel slot with 25 paylines that includes Sticky Wilds, Free Games and a WonderHounds Gone Wild feature.

Special Features

The first feature to mention is the Wild symbol and is represented by a gold type of badge with the word ‘Wild’ displayed inside. Like typical Wild symbols, it substitutes for all other symbols in the game apart from the Scatter symbol to help form winning combinations on the reels. This symbol is also the highest paying symbol in the game as if you manage to land 5 of these symbols on an active payline then you will be barking with delight with a payout worth 16X your total bet!

Wonder Hounds has a random feature called WonderHounds Gone Wilds. This can trigger on any spin and when activated one or more of the Wonder Hounds symbols (Ace, Jinse, Winchester) may transform into a Wild after a spin to further improve your chances of landing a big win on the reels.

The standout attraction of this slot is the Free Games bonus game. This feature is triggered when you land 3 or more Scatter symbols on the reels. The Scatter symbol is denoted by a paw print with a dark blue background. The more Scatters you land then the more Free Games you receive. For instance, 3 Scatters will give you 8 Free Games, 4 will give you 12, and 5 Scatters will give you a nice set of 15 Free Games and up to 100 coins on top of that. Up to 15 Wilds are randomly added to the reels at the beginning of the feature and these Wilds remain sticky for the duration of the bonus game. In addition to this, any other Wilds that appear on the reels during this feature will also become sticky which greatly enhances your chances of landing a big payout.

Theme, Graphics and Sound

The graphics are cute and cartoon-like as the game takes place in a nice clean park full of trees and various plants with a bright blue sky overhead. Symbols are superbly designed and consist of the adorable canines Ace, Jinse, Winchester, a Dog Bowl, A Bone, and the standard A – 10 icons. I really like how each dog is completely different from each other and Ace would have to be my personal favourite! The animations are excellent especially when you land a win on the reels as winning symbols enlarge and burst into life in spectacular fashion.

The music is upbeat and charming with lots of dog barking sounds when you spin the reels. It complements the cute animal theme of the game really well.

Win lines, Payouts and Jackpots

The game has 25 paylines, a good RTP of 96.16%, and a maximum payout worth 6,000X your initial wager.

Below is a summary taken from the PayOut Table from the game. The amount won for each combination depends on the value of the bet when you spin the reels.

Bet Range: 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, 1.25, 2.50, 5.00, 6.25, 12.50, 25.00, 50.00, 62.50, 125.00, 250.00

• Wonder Hounds Wild Symbol: 80 for 3X, 200 for 4X, 400 for 5X
• Ace Symbol: 60 for 3X, 150 for 4X, 350 for 5X
• Jinse Symbol: 40 for 3X, 125 for 4X, 300 for 5X
• Winchester Symbol: 40 for 3X, 125 for 4X, 300 for 5X
• Dog Bowl Symbol: 20 for 3X, 50 for 4X, 150 for 5X
• Dog Bone Symbol: 15 for 3X, 35 for 4X, 100 for 5X
• A Symbol: 15 for 3X, 35 for 4X, 100 for 5X
• K Symbol: 10 for 3X, 25 for 4X, 75 for 5X
• Q Symbol: 10 for 3X, 25 for 4X, 75 for 5X
• J Symbol: 5 for 3X, 10 for 4X, 50 for 5X
• 10 Symbol: 5 for 3X, 10 for 4X, 50 for 5X

Our Verdict on Wonder Hounds

Wonder Hounds is created by NextGen Gaming and is a highly enjoyable slot for all players to enjoy no matter if you are a dog lover or not! The game is simple to play, features wonderful graphics, and a nice set of bonus features to keep you entertained for hours on end. It’s great that the Wonder Hounds symbols can turn wild on any spin with the WonderHounds Gone Wild feature but the most lucrative bonus feature in the game is the Free Games bonus game due to offering a big bunch of Sticky Wilds on each spin. The only downside to this highly rewarding feature is that it’s not possible to retrigger more Free Games. I found this game to be of Medium to High variance so you might have to go through a few dry spins before you finally land a decent enough payout on the reels. For slots with a similar cute animal theme, check out Wolf Cub and Not Enough Kittens.

Fetch some huge wins with Ace, Jinse, and Winchester when you play Wonder Hounds!