Wonder Train review
ELK Studios
When it comes to train slots, Relax Gaming's Money Train range rules the rails, but a number of rival studios have climbed aboard with their own takes on the theme. One is ELK Studios' Wondertrain, a slot that combines a traditional steam train setting with a more magical side that comes into play during bonus rounds. The game introduces an eccentric tycoon called Wilbur, who is so cashed up he feeds his train gold bars, travelling the world, collecting ever more riches. Wilbur contributes to the game's colourful presentation, giving Wondertrain a wacky identity to help it stand apart from the more straight-laced train-themed slots on the market. It might not knock the bigger juggernauts off the slot tracks, but let's see how it fares.
Wondertrain alternates between two different locations. The base game is played against a regular rural background of hills, fields, and lots of greenery, while the bonus round elevates the action into the clouds where metal and wood tracks are swapped for a Bifrost-like rainbow. At all times, Wilbur is there with his hand on whatever-it-is train drivers use to drive a train, a big hat, and a purple moustache bobbing about the place. Steam trains are one of the most down-to-earth mechanical devices on Earth, which Wondertrain expresses, but it's also got a wondrous, head-in-the-clouds dreaming about something fantastical thing going on too, expanding its personality.
The choo-chooing takes place on a 5x4 gaming area with 20 paylines for evaluating winning combinations. The minimum bet is $/€0.20, going up to a maximum of $/€100 per spin. ELK Studios has tuned the math model to a medium volatile level (6 out of 10), and the game is available with a top RTP of 96%.
The pay symbols are made up of J-A lows, then canisters, bags, pocket watches, and gold bar high pays. Landing 5 matching royals awards 0.25x the bet, increasing to 0.4x to 2.5x the bet when landing 5 matching high pays. The wild substitutes all pay symbols except Coins when part of a combination. Wilds have the same value as the gold bar symbols when making their own win. Each payline win, or Coin win, awards a respin with winning symbols held in place. Respins continue when at least one new winning symbol or Coin win occurs.
What players can find on board this locomotive are a Multiplier Track, a Global Multiplier Bell, Coins, Wilbur's Coin Fever round, free spins, and X-iter feature buys.
The Multiplier Track moves one step to the left for every new win combination. A winning combination adds the leftmost Multiplier Track car value to the Global Multiplier Bell. The Global Multiplier Bell multiplies the total win, not including Coin wins, at the end of the game round. The Global Multiplier Bell resets, and the Multiplier Track resets with random multipliers after each spin or free spin.
Bronze, Silver, and Gold Coins can land on any reel. Hitting 3 or more Coins reveals their values and awards a win. Coins are not multiplied by the Global Multiplier. In addition, Coins are collected and may trigger Wilbur's Coin Fever round.
When triggered, Wilbur's Coin Fever starts with 3 spins on a grid with 2 out of the 5 rows unlocked. Landed symbols are sticky. The fifth row multiplies all Coin values on that row by 2. Landing any symbol on an unlocked row resets the spin count, and the round continues until spins run out or all positions are filled. Up to 3 Pressure symbols can land on rows 1-4. Each Pressure symbol unlocks 1 row up to 5 rows, then turns into a Coin. The Dealer symbol adds its value to all symbols in view, then turns into a Coin. The Collector symbol collects the values from all symbols in view and turns into a Coin.
Landing 3 or 4 scatters awards 10 or 15 free spins, while 5 scatters award 15 free spins with the Multiplier Wild Meter starting on level 5. Landing a scatter during the feature awards +2 spins. For each new spin in the bonus round, the Multiplier Wild Meter increases by 1 level up to level 10. Values vary from +2 at level 1 to +25 at level 10+. The Multiplier Wild Meter value is applied to every wild symbol that is part of a winning line, changing them to a Multiplier Wild. Each Multiplier Wild adds its multiplier value to the Global Multiplier Bell or Multiplier Track cars, from the Bell to the cars, left to right. After performing its action, a Multiplier Wild converts to a regular wild.
The five X-iter buys include the Bonus Hunt, which is a game round with 3 times the chance of triggering a bonus for 2.5x, the Mega Hunt costing 5x to provide 7x the chance, or Wilbur's Coin Fever for 50x the bet. The bonus round can be bought for 100x, or the super bonus for 250x buys free spins with the Multiplier Wild Meter level starting at level 5.
Wondertrain arrives in a genre that is far from saturated, but is one constantly operating in the shadow of Relax Gaming's Money Train series, which set a particularly high bar for train-themed slots. ELK Studios has therefore had to find its own route, and it has done so by combining the sights and sounds of a steam locomotive with a colourfully fantastical chugging through the countryside before reaching into the clouds idea. Wilbur plays a characterful role in the presentation. The eccentric tycoon gives the game a playful focal point, while also lending his name to a hold 'n' win Coin round, even if it's not the main event.
The climactic feature is the free spins bonus round, and it could actually be quite good. As in the base game, the point is to feed the Global Multiplier Bell, then apply that value to line wins. The Multiplier Wild Meter is an essential part of this, adding suspense with the way it increases on every spin, applying its value to Multiplier Wilds before they get added to the Bell and cars. The Global Multiplier Bell could grow to be rather large too, and every multiplier you can get is appreciated, because symbol values are quite low, and there are not a huge number of paylines to connect combinations along. However, Wondertrain comes with a win cap of 10,000x the bet, so those multipliers are theoretically able to produce sizable results, helped by the win and respin mechanic, even if it might seem like this iron horse is struggling to clear a steep slope at times.
Wondertrain is an enjoyable addition to the railway roster, and while there is a certain mainstream appeal with all the Coins and what have you, the complexity found in the bonus rounds makes them quite interesting - or fiddly, depending on taste. Wilbur's Coin Fever was an okay side feature, a little redundant, while free spins are able to dump enough multiplier-building potential to keep things ticking over quite nicely when all's going well. Wondertrain might not be the most unhinged train barrelling down the tracks, but Wilbur's colourful adventure has enough going on to make it worth climbing aboard for players looking for a quirky take on the genre.
Wondertrain delivers plenty of personality and multiplier action even if it doesn't quite manage to steam ahead as a genre leader.
Wondertrain alternates between two different locations. The base game is played against a regular rural background of hills, fields, and lots of greenery, while the bonus round elevates the action into the clouds where metal and wood tracks are swapped for a Bifrost-like rainbow. At all times, Wilbur is there with his hand on whatever-it-is train drivers use to drive a train, a big hat, and a purple moustache bobbing about the place. Steam trains are one of the most down-to-earth mechanical devices on Earth, which Wondertrain expresses, but it's also got a wondrous, head-in-the-clouds dreaming about something fantastical thing going on too, expanding its personality.
The choo-chooing takes place on a 5x4 gaming area with 20 paylines for evaluating winning combinations. The minimum bet is $/€0.20, going up to a maximum of $/€100 per spin. ELK Studios has tuned the math model to a medium volatile level (6 out of 10), and the game is available with a top RTP of 96%.
The pay symbols are made up of J-A lows, then canisters, bags, pocket watches, and gold bar high pays. Landing 5 matching royals awards 0.25x the bet, increasing to 0.4x to 2.5x the bet when landing 5 matching high pays. The wild substitutes all pay symbols except Coins when part of a combination. Wilds have the same value as the gold bar symbols when making their own win. Each payline win, or Coin win, awards a respin with winning symbols held in place. Respins continue when at least one new winning symbol or Coin win occurs.
What players can find on board this locomotive are a Multiplier Track, a Global Multiplier Bell, Coins, Wilbur's Coin Fever round, free spins, and X-iter feature buys.
The Multiplier Track moves one step to the left for every new win combination. A winning combination adds the leftmost Multiplier Track car value to the Global Multiplier Bell. The Global Multiplier Bell multiplies the total win, not including Coin wins, at the end of the game round. The Global Multiplier Bell resets, and the Multiplier Track resets with random multipliers after each spin or free spin.
Bronze, Silver, and Gold Coins can land on any reel. Hitting 3 or more Coins reveals their values and awards a win. Coins are not multiplied by the Global Multiplier. In addition, Coins are collected and may trigger Wilbur's Coin Fever round.
When triggered, Wilbur's Coin Fever starts with 3 spins on a grid with 2 out of the 5 rows unlocked. Landed symbols are sticky. The fifth row multiplies all Coin values on that row by 2. Landing any symbol on an unlocked row resets the spin count, and the round continues until spins run out or all positions are filled. Up to 3 Pressure symbols can land on rows 1-4. Each Pressure symbol unlocks 1 row up to 5 rows, then turns into a Coin. The Dealer symbol adds its value to all symbols in view, then turns into a Coin. The Collector symbol collects the values from all symbols in view and turns into a Coin.
Landing 3 or 4 scatters awards 10 or 15 free spins, while 5 scatters award 15 free spins with the Multiplier Wild Meter starting on level 5. Landing a scatter during the feature awards +2 spins. For each new spin in the bonus round, the Multiplier Wild Meter increases by 1 level up to level 10. Values vary from +2 at level 1 to +25 at level 10+. The Multiplier Wild Meter value is applied to every wild symbol that is part of a winning line, changing them to a Multiplier Wild. Each Multiplier Wild adds its multiplier value to the Global Multiplier Bell or Multiplier Track cars, from the Bell to the cars, left to right. After performing its action, a Multiplier Wild converts to a regular wild.
The five X-iter buys include the Bonus Hunt, which is a game round with 3 times the chance of triggering a bonus for 2.5x, the Mega Hunt costing 5x to provide 7x the chance, or Wilbur's Coin Fever for 50x the bet. The bonus round can be bought for 100x, or the super bonus for 250x buys free spins with the Multiplier Wild Meter level starting at level 5.
Wondertrain arrives in a genre that is far from saturated, but is one constantly operating in the shadow of Relax Gaming's Money Train series, which set a particularly high bar for train-themed slots. ELK Studios has therefore had to find its own route, and it has done so by combining the sights and sounds of a steam locomotive with a colourfully fantastical chugging through the countryside before reaching into the clouds idea. Wilbur plays a characterful role in the presentation. The eccentric tycoon gives the game a playful focal point, while also lending his name to a hold 'n' win Coin round, even if it's not the main event.
The climactic feature is the free spins bonus round, and it could actually be quite good. As in the base game, the point is to feed the Global Multiplier Bell, then apply that value to line wins. The Multiplier Wild Meter is an essential part of this, adding suspense with the way it increases on every spin, applying its value to Multiplier Wilds before they get added to the Bell and cars. The Global Multiplier Bell could grow to be rather large too, and every multiplier you can get is appreciated, because symbol values are quite low, and there are not a huge number of paylines to connect combinations along. However, Wondertrain comes with a win cap of 10,000x the bet, so those multipliers are theoretically able to produce sizable results, helped by the win and respin mechanic, even if it might seem like this iron horse is struggling to clear a steep slope at times.
Wondertrain is an enjoyable addition to the railway roster, and while there is a certain mainstream appeal with all the Coins and what have you, the complexity found in the bonus rounds makes them quite interesting - or fiddly, depending on taste. Wilbur's Coin Fever was an okay side feature, a little redundant, while free spins are able to dump enough multiplier-building potential to keep things ticking over quite nicely when all's going well. Wondertrain might not be the most unhinged train barrelling down the tracks, but Wilbur's colourful adventure has enough going on to make it worth climbing aboard for players looking for a quirky take on the genre.
Wondertrain delivers plenty of personality and multiplier action even if it doesn't quite manage to steam ahead as a genre leader.
