Wicked Tales: Dark Red

While fairytale themed slot machines are often synonymous with the likes of NetEnt or Playson, the team at Microgaming and Triple Edge Studios have also entered this popular segment of the online slot space with its Wicked Tales: Dark Red slot title. However, don’t be fooled into thinking this particular slot title has a juvenile layout, as the theme has a somewhat dark-edge to it.

Nevertheless, if you are thinking about playing Wicked Tales, be sure to read our comprehensive casino review first. We’ve covered everything you need to know, such as payouts, bonuses, symbols, and more!

Gameplay and Theme

The overarching concept of the game is based on the vintage fairytale story Little Red Riding Hood. However, as we at FruityKing noted earlier, the developers at Microgaming have utilized a somewhat dark and eerie twist. This is fully complemented by the main background theme that would arguably be better suited in a classic horror movie!

The actual slot platform itself uses a traditional 5 reel layout. Moreover, players have the option of having upto 25 paylines in operation, which covers 10 different bet levels.

Graphics and Symbols

As is to be expected with Microgaming, the graphics found within the Wicked Tales: Dark Red slot title are nothing short of cutting-edge. Not only are players accustomed to state-of-art visualizations throughout the game, but as noted above, an array of eerie sound effects are utilized.

When it comes to the main symbols covered by the slot, the smallest payouts are represented by card suit letters, followed by candles, a map, and a bag of coins. The more lucrative wins are then followed by a wolf, pendant, and a woodsman.

Finally, and fully in-line with the overarching theme, the highest paying symbol is represented by Red Riding Hood. If you do land it, you’ll get a multiplier of 20x when getting 5 symbols in a row.

Payouts

First and foremost, Microgaming have once again decided to offer a very broad stake range, subsequently ensuring that both low-stakes and high-stakes players are catered for. For example, the smallest bet size is just 25p per spin, which goes upto a whopping £200 per spin. If you do opt for the highest stake possible, just make sure that you engage in responsible gaming.

As is the case with the vast majority of Microgaming titles, Wicked Tales: Dark Red slot uses a coin system. The specific value of the coin is determined by the level that you want to play at. This ranges from level 1 up to level 10, and there is no requirement to play maximum stakes to land any of the features available in the game. Moving on, the slot title has a rather competitive RTP (return to player) of 96.1%.

As we discuss in the next section, this actually offers good value to you as the player, as there are a plethora of special features and in-game bonuses up for grabs. Finally, in terms of the maximum payout, this amounts to a theoretical top prize of 9,000 times your stake.

Special Features

The bonuses and features available in Wicked Tales Dark Red is potentially the stand-out benefit to playing the game. In terms of the basics, the game utilizes a traditional wild symbol in the form of a Dark Red logo. As is industry-standard, this will substitute all winning symbols apart from the scatters. In terms of the main bonus offering, this is known as the ‘Wolf’s Bonus Wheel Game’. You will need to land at least 3 Full Moon symbols to activate it, which can land anywhere on the main reels.

When the main bonus is activated, you’ll get the chance to win an instant multiplier of up to 20x, or the free spins round. The Red Wicked Tales Dark free spins round is the most lucrative bonus to get, as this is how you can land the huge x9,000 jackpot. You’ll get 9 free spins in total, during which paying symbols are replaced by a character.

This can amplify your winnings very quickly. In fact, if you’re able to fill the entire reel layout with the same characters, you can win upto 1,000 times your stake. In order to win the top prize of x9,000, you’d need to achieve this in each of your 9 free sins.

The main bonus round also gives you the chance to land a Forest of Fortunes bonus. This is a traditional pick bonus, where each box contains a range of instant cash prizes.

Playing on Mobile

It will come as no surprise to learn that the team at Microgaming have also made the Tales Dark Red Wicked slot available on mobile and tablet devices.

Much like in the case of other Microgaming products such as progressive online slots, video poker and live casino games, you can access the Wicked Tales slot via a traditional mobile web browser.

There is no requirement to download or install any software, meaning that you can play on the move at the click of a button. We have encountered no issues at all with the mobile version of the game, and the layout itself is perfectly fine for smaller screens.

As a final note, the slot title allows you to reduce the quality of the graphics, which is useful if you are low on data.

Conclusion

In summary, we really like the Dark Red Wicked Tales slot game. While at first glance it might appear that the game is somewhat childish, this couldn’t be further from the truth. On the contrary, the dark theme that Microgaming and Triple Edge Studios have opted for is nothing short of eerie.

Nevertheless, players are afforded with a highly respectable RTP of 96.1% across 25 paylines. This includes a number of in-game features such as wilds, scatters, wandering reels, and of course – the main free spins bonus game. If you do manage to land the main bonus round, you stand the chance of landing a huge top-paying jackpot of 9,000 times your stake!