Introduction to Out of the Woods
Out of the Woods is a casino slot from Pragmatic Play that blends various horror media together to form a somewhat unique theme, at least in slots, with a solid Wild-centric core of features. While the theme’s description may sound ambiguous, Out of the Woods draws inspiration from media such as found-footage movies like The Blair Witch Project, slasher horrors like Friday the 13th, and cultist-sacrificial horrors like The Wicker Man or Midsommar. At first glance, Out of the Woods may seem like just an interesting horror theme, with its burning owl statue and campers sprinting for their lives in the forest. However, it actually delivers on a pretty solid gameplay loop based around its Multiplier Wild Stacks, which only keep growing the more wins and Respins that you hit. These Multipliers keep stacking as long as they stick around, and even keep their Multipliers between spins in the bonus game as you hunt for more than just the max win of 10,000X the bet.
Experience a classic horror movie in slot form, where wins are boosted by reels stacked with Multiplier Wilds. If you want to try the game for yourself, be sure to give the Out of the Woods demo a try.
Theme, Gameplay, & Payout
Out of the Woods is a video slot from Pragmatic Play with 5 Reels, 4 Rows, and 25 Paylines. You can choose between making a Min.bet of 0.25 and a Max.bet of 250. Out of the Woods comes with an average RTP of 96%, a hit frequency of 21.69%, medium volatility, and a solid max win of 10,000X the bet. However, something to take note of is that the max win frequency sits at 1 in 10,460,252 spins, the Free Spins hit frequency at 1 in 303.59 spins, and the game comes with other versions with lower RTPs at 95.46% and 94.53%
As soon as we enter the game, we find ourselves in a forest, where the sun is just about to set, and a fire has been lit behind the cult-like owl statue. The reels are filled with various campers running for their lives and the typical card icons as the lower-paying symbols, surrounded by various traps. You can play the game on most notepads, desktops, and mobiles.
The lower-paying symbols are 10, J, Q, K, and A. Creating a win with 5 of the same symbols will pay out 1.2X to 3.6X the bet. The higher-paying symbols are the various characters, ranging from the pink deer girl, the red bear man, the blue bird girl, and the green rabbit man. Landing a win with 5 of the same symbols pays out 6X to 24X the bet. Then there are 3 types of Special Symbols, those being standard Wilds, Multiplier Wild Stacks, and Scatter Symbols, which we will go over in the Feature section.
Special Features & Mechanics
What is the max win in the slot Out of the Woods?
You can win up to 10,000X the bet.
What features are available in the slot Out of the Woods?
The features are Wild Symbols, Multiplier Wild Stacks, Free Spins, Ante Bet, and Feature Buy.
Wild Symbols
Wild Symbols help form winning combinations by being able to substitute for any symbol, except Scatter Symbols.
Multiplier Wild Stacks
While being able to substitute for symbols like a regular Wild Symbol, Multiplier Wild Stacks land as a unit, covering an entire reel, with Multipliers, starting from 1X up to 4X from bottom to top. Each time a winning combination lands, a Respin is awarded, with the Multiplier Stack moving down by one position, removing the lowest Multiplier and adding a new, higher Multiplier to the top. If a Multiplier Wild with a Golden Rim reaches the bottom and is removed from the reels, the number of positions the stack moves down is random, ranging from 2 to 10 steps.
Free Spins
By landing 3, 4, or 5 Scatter Symbols, you will be awarded the Free Spins feature with 10, 15, or 20 spins, respectively. During the bonus game, the first Multiplier Wild Stack that lands will have Multipliers of 1X, 2X, 3X, and 4X, from bottom to top. The next stack would then start with the highest Multiplier achieved in previous spins at the top of the stack. You can retrigger the feature by landing 3, 4, or 5 Scatter Symbols, awarding an additional 10, 15, or 20 spins.
Ante Bet
There are two Ante Bet options that you can turn on, for a price increase to your current bet, and they are as follows:
10X = Triggers the Super Spin, guaranteeing a Wild Multiplier Stack on each spin, but cannot trigger the Free Spins bonus game.
5X = Triggers the regular Ante Bet, increases your chance of activating the Free Spins feature by 12 times.
Feature Buy
Through the Feature Buy, you can instantly trigger a bonus game for a price based on the current bet.
100X = Awards the regular Free Spins feature.
500X = Awards the Super Free Spins, where Wild Multipliers start at a minimum of 10X.
Final Thoughts on Out of the Woods
Out of the Woods is a very different type of game from what we usually see from Pragmatic Play, as many probably associate the studio more with games like the Sugar Rush series, which we would deem the complete thematic opposite. On this note, we also love the horror theme presented here, as we really enjoy seeing the occasional scary game, and while it may not be as torturous or gory as games like Nolimit City’s Mental series or Shady Lady’s eerie and creepy SEW, Out of the Woods still finds itself as a good slasher horror theme with a mysterious and sinister background of cultists and sacrifices. The theme was one of the more interesting parts of the game, and actually what kinda drew us in, especially as it had the name Pragmatic Play on it.
When it comes to gameplay, its loop may not sound all that enticing, but it actually works out pretty well. While the game doesn’t really change, mostly focusing on paylines, both from base game to bonus game, the paytable is solid enough to not feel like a chore, and the star of the show, the Multiplier Wild Stacks, does a solid job of heavy lifting. While starting out rather weak, the hype from landing a few Respins and stacking up the Multipliers is what really makes the game fun, albeit fleeting in the base game. The Free Spins bonus game is where most of the volatility lies, as with a few lucky hits, you could be sitting on some big stacks, and while fun and can pay out well, it’s the same loop as in the base game.
We enjoy Out of the Woods’ simplicity and core features, but wish there was just something extra added to really push the game to greatness. As it stands, while fun, it can feel a bit repetitive in longer sessions, but we see potential for high-risk, high-reward moments, especially from the Super Free Spins and Super Spins offered by the Feature Buy and Ante Bet options.
Out of the Woods is a horror-themed slot all about Multiplier Wild Stacks that keep growing with each hit and Respin, especially in the Free Spins bonus game.
