The Wild Allure of The Wild West - Top Wild West-themed Slots
The Wild West theme isn’t a rare one to find in pop culture. Many titles, from movies to slots, come to mind when discussing the Wild West.
Although most works that have used the Western theme are mostly fictionalized. Most of them take inspiration from the 1800s to the 1900s era of US history. Migration and expansion changed the USA landscape drastically in 1865. This is the period that filmmakers, fashion designers, game developers, and others use as a reference for their Wild West-themed products.
Through these adaptations, we became acquainted with gun-slinging cowboys. The imagery is striking and may be nostalgic or simply thrilling, but the theme is still popular in the entertainment industry.
What Makes The Wild West Theme Interesting
One of the reasons why the theme is still popular is its larger-than-life feel. The media fictionalizes the theme by showing a vast, rugged wilderness where danger is all around the people. The characters must struggle to survive and be courageous as they face their daily lives. This theme symbolizes the American spirit, including resilience, self-reliance, and individualism.
Stories with a Wild West theme often feature justice, revenge, morality, and redemption plots. These story themes are timeless as they remain relatable for audiences regardless of age or background.
By using the Western theme, people can easily create characters that are easy to remember. The heroes and the villains are given strong characters enough to become cultural icons. They’re rich in visuals, set in dramatic landscapes, and wear distinctive clothing. These aspects help create immersion.
Obviously, we can’t skip history when discussing the media’s portrayal of the Wild West. Works with the Western theme will occur at a specific time and place. They tend to stick to the history and culture, allowing the audience to learn more about the origin story.
BGaming’s Wild West-Themed Games
As we partnered with WinGo (BGaming), we noticed that the developer offers many high-quality Wild West-themed slots. For players who love the packed-with-action slots, we have two recommendations we’d like to give.
Wild and Wanted
Wild and Wanted is interesting for us, as we play as the Sheriff in the slot. Despite the straightforward game, WinGo makes the gameplay thrilling due to this storyline. You’ll be able to collect badges as you catch the criminals. Not to mention, the game’s features are also rewarding.
Graphics and Symbols
Wild and Wanted uses a realistic drawing style. The slot has two human characters as symbols, so you can see the details clearly, making the game more immersive. There would also be other iconic symbols akin to Wild West-themed slots, like the wanted poster, guns, liquor bottles, and coin bags.
As players would act as the Sheriff, the villain symbol is the most valuable, with the highest payout on 12+ matches. The slot doesn’t set fixed paylines, so players can receive a payout as long as the symbols land adjacent to one another.
Features
One of the features that triggered our curiosity the most is the multiplier feature. Each multiplier we hit will go to the left panel.
What’s fun is that the multiplier symbol is a wanted poster. The developer designed this feature to make it look like we hunt down each bounty target and get our reward at the end. The multiplier symbols can combine to make our payouts bigger, and the number can go as high as 500x.
Wild Shot
Compared to Wild and Wanted, Wild Shot has a simpler storyline. The game takes place in a tavern with two cowboys who seem like each other’s rivals. You can watch the two shoot at each other as you spin through the reels.
Graphics and Symbols
Graphics-wise, Wild Shot's drawing style is more cartoonish than Wild and Wanted. However, the slot is packed with animations, and players can even see a short movie-like scene when the bonus feature is activated. The two shooters will watch the players on both sides of the reels, which are also animated.
As the storyline occurs in a tavern, the symbols feature ashtrays and liquor bottles. There are also the iconic pairs of revolvers along with the regular card suit symbols.
Features
The most exciting feature of Wild Shot is its Free Spins bonus. This is where players can see the two cowboys shooting at each other in an intense gunfight. The background will change to the outside of the tavern, and the two cowboys will stand up as they shoot each other from beside the reels.
After we spent our Free Spins, we’ll then be able to see a scene of the two shooters in action, now in a close-up shot. The game also offers an active multiplier during the Free Spins feature. It also offers a maximum win of up to 15,000x your bet.
Gameplay Tips
If it’s your first time trying the two slots above, we recommend you practice using the demo game before jumping with real money. Both slots have features and special symbols, so it’ll be nice to understand the mechanisms before you bet your money on the spins.
When you play for real, start with smaller bets. As you grow more comfortable, you can slowly raise your stakes to your preferred bet size.