Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works may be disappointed to learn that King of the West does not focus on Aragorn’s rise to power and rule over the free peoples of Middle-earth after he takes the throne in Gondor. Instead, we get Blueprint Gaming’s King of the West, a Wild West-themed slot that, after a few spins, is unlikely to delight even the most devoted aficionados of the genre. It puts up a good fight, what with its sizeable immediate scatter payouts, free spins, and Wanted Wilds feature, but it falls short because to some underwhelming statistics and an overall lack of personality.
To its credit, King of the West has a promising beginning. A picturesque image of a canyon village complete with wood buildings, tumbleweeds, and cartwheels. A 5-reel, 20-payline game grid is supported by more wood and features an additional horizontal reel that spins through a variety of rewards. The topmost part is shaped like a horseshoe, which, according to folklore, bestows good fortune to anybody who walks under it. The Western-themed music, composed by Blueprint’s audio team, is pleasant but unremarkable, much like the rest of the game.
Bets in King of the West can start as little as 10 p/c and go as high as 100 £/€. The extremely unpredictable mathematical concept of King of the West allows for play on any device, with a return value of 95.49 percent. Starting with the flowing metallic 10-A royals and continuing with guns, whiskey bottles, stagecoaches, and saddlebags of gold, the paytable has a distinct Western feel. A payoff of 3x to 20x the total stake is up for grabs if you get a win line with 5 premium symbols.
The bullet hole wild is the final symbol before we get to the extras. The wild symbol has no intrinsic value but can be substituted for other symbols to create winning combinations. However, you shouldn’t bank on them too often because wild symbols seldom appear by chance.
Slot Machine Features in “King of the West”
When used in conjunction with the Wanted Wilds function, Wilds can do their job more efficiently. This can happen on any spin in the base game. Wilds are picked at random and dropped on the grid at will. After the first wilds are added, a Reload may occur, awarding even more wilds.
The horizontal reward reel is the major attraction in King of the West, and it may be activated in both the regular game and the bonus game. It has a rotating conveyor belt filled with rewards, each of which advances to the left by one with each spin. If a scatter sign of a bounty hunter appears, the highest available payout is claimed. During the free spins bonus round, the unique reel can reward cash prizes, gold badges that grant all visible prizes, free games, and more free games.
If free spins are activated, a barrel with 6-20 rounds in each chamber will appear above the screen. It only spins once, but the winnings are determined by the resulting number. Prizes on the bonus reel increase in size and the number of available free spins increases during the bonus round.
The Slot Machine King’s Conviction
The film’s images and music are both appealing in the opening minutes of King of the West. To be honest, though, it takes some effort to completely botch the Western genre. Perhaps its widespread adoption is a result of the ease with which even passable examples can be produced. Similarly, as the reels start spinning and you realize what the rest of the game is capable of, the attractiveness of King of the West begins to dwindle.
The pump-action sound effect while clicking buttons is a nice touch, and the music that plays while the paytable is shown sets the mood. The maximum payout is a very promising £250,000. One of the reward symbols on the special reel is a 10,000x the bet bounty, thus it is possible to gather substantial profits even if this number seems high. Because there isn’t much going on in King of the West outside the 10k tile, it gives off the impression of being an all-or-nothing proposition. Even yet, if the 10,000 or 10,000 tile lands on the upper reel, you should expect a very long series of spins. Wild symbols are rare, line winnings are modest, and the majority of payouts come from the top reel, thus play tends to wander.
You may compare the gameplay of King of the West to that of a jackpot slot machine. It’s as easy as winning a huge sum of money or packing up and going home. While the possibility of winning big quickly may appeal to some players, there are more exciting and engaging Western-themed slot machines available. If the RTP is low compared to the industry standard, you may start to wonder if you’re the one doing the robbery.