The Walking Dead Pokie Review

 

The Walking Dead tells the story of individuals trying to survive during a zombie (they call them “walkers”) apocalypse. While starting as a comic book, it really exploded once it was adapted into a weekly television series on AMC. Since then, the franchise has turned up in video games, tabletop miniatures and even poker machines.

In the case of the latter, I’m referring to The Walking Dead pokie from Playtech. This 50-payline game features multiple features, instant cash prizes and images of many of your favourite undead fighters.

Potential Wagers

This pokie has 25 wagers to choose from. The smallest option only costs $0.10 per spin, while the most expensive is $500. That’s an impressive range of choices, making it suitable for bankrolls of all sizes.

RTP

The RTP (return to player) for The Walking Dead pokie is 95.73%. Over the course of hundreds or thousands of spins, that means you should expect to get back an average of $95.73 for every $100 wagered.

The Walking Dead Paytable

Below, we’ll look at the symbols for the game and their possible payouts. I’m using a sample wager of $20 per spin, although this can be adjusted to meet your needs. Just keep in mind that raising or lowering the bet will also impact your payout.

  • Jack, Queen and King – These three symbols all pay $5 for three matches, $10 for four and $50 for five.
  • Daryl, Carol, Michonne and Negan – These four popular characters each pay $5 for three matches, $20 for four and $100 for five.
  • Rick’s Revolver – This massive handgun is worth $5 for three matches, $15 for four and $75 for five.
  • Rick Grimes – The heroic ex-cop pays $10 for three matches, $50 for four and $150 for five.
  • Scatter – Three or more of these symbols trigger the Free Games bonus. It also pays $1 for three matches, $10 for four and $50 for five.
  • Wild – This symbol substitutes for everything on this list, with the exception of the scatter. It also pays $10 for three matches, $50 for four and $150 for five.

The Tower Hold & Respin

This feature triggers when six or more coin symbols land on the reels at the same time. Coins will either display a biohazard sign or cash value, and they will stick in place for the duration.

The respin counter begins at three. Each time a new coin appears, the counter resets to three.

Each time two key symbols appear, the game unlocks additional levels. These levels take the form of additional reels on the screen. Once you reach seven reels, you’ll get some nifty bonuses.

  • Seventh Reel – All coins on this line with a cash value are worth x2.
  • Eighth Reel – All coins on this line with a cash value are worth x5.
  • Ninth Reel – All coins on this line with a cash value will transform into biohazard symbols.

Once the respin counter runs down to zero, this bonus level comes to an end.

Virtual reels on The Walking Dead online poker machine

Free Games

When three or more scatter symbols turn up, it triggers the Free Games bonus. The player immediately receives six free spins, and a wheel spins to determine which of five game modes they’ll be competing in. Each of these is listed below.

The Horde

If a wild or coin symbol lands on reels two through four, it will expand during the free games.

Saviors

During free games, every wild or coin symbol landing on reels two through four gains a random multiplier. In addition, each position on those reels receives a random multiplier.

Alexandria

This respin feature starts whenever a full stack of coins lands anywhere on the reels during a free spin. During this feature, the free spins counter freezes.

The stack moves one position to the left on each spin. This continues until the stack leaves the screen.

If three or more coins show up, in addition to the stack, it triggers the Hold & Respin feature.

The Whisperers

During each free spin, the game chooses up to three special reels at random. These special reels only contain coin symbols and wilds.

Wild Walkers

When a full stack of wilds lands on the reels, they transform into wild walkers and begin a respin feature. During this time, the free game counter no longer counts down.

On each subsequent spin, the wild walker stack moves one row to the left. During this time, any coins that appear are converted into wilds. A full stack of coins are converted into wild walkers. Six or more coins also activate the Hold & Respin feature.

If another stack of wilds lands, it is also converted into wild walkers. As before, it begins to march to the left of the screen.

This continues until all wild walkers have left the screen. At this point, the free game counter once again begins to move towards zero.

This bonus can also be retriggered. In order to do so, you’ll need to get three or more scatters during a single bonus spin.

Instant Prizes

If you’re holding a biohazard coin at the end of a spin, you’ll instantly win one of four cash prizes. The level of the payout is chosen at random, and it’s based on the size of your wager.

For a $20 bet, here are your options:

  • Mini – $400 (total bet x20)
  • Minor – $1,000 (total bet x50)
  • Major – $4,000 (total bet x200)
  • Grand – $20,000 (total bet x1,000)

Final Thoughts

If you’re a fan of The Walking Dead franchise, then you should have a fine time with this online pokie. The base payouts are surprisingly strong, and I like the opportunity to instantly win one of the four random prizes.

The bonus features blow away most slots, although keeping track of all of them can be a bit confusing at first. Still, that’s a good problem to have with any pokie.

While a lot of licensed games wind up disappointing, that’s not the case with this one. Even if you’re not into zombies, you should still have a fun and profitable experience.