The release of slot machines with unique and exciting themes has been gaining traction over recent years, as players look for something fresh from the usual Egyptian-inspired riches or Vegas-style glamour. One such example is Pragmatic Play’s "Chicken Ranch" series, which takes a playful approach to gaming by transporting players into the world of farmhouses and rural life. This review focuses on an upgraded sequel: Chicken Road 2 Game.
Design Chicken Road 2 game and Theme
At first glance, it appears that Chicken Road 2 has adopted the same setting as its predecessor – country roads lined with tree branches, hay bales and green fields giving a rustic feel to the game. However, closer inspection reveals differences in graphics quality that suggest Pragmatic Play’s continued evolution of their development strategy. The developers have maintained consistency between games within this series while taking small steps towards better realism through detailed textures.
Symbols
Fowl play is central to the theme with various chicken breeds and related characters serving as game symbols, from ordinary chickens (acting as base pays) up to rare birds depicted in cartoon style. Special attention has been paid to design and detailing on the card suits used for high-value combinations – here substituting 4 of hearts and other similar icons adds an element of whimsy missing within most slot releases.
Payouts
Reward structures are also noteworthy, particularly because payouts themselves have significantly increased compared with the original. Each winning combination earns players a decent sum that multi-bets or higher stakes will bring. To break down payout details we can see these numbers:
A Jackpot at 3% High-value symbol wins range from .06-.02 times bet size depending on how many appear across multiple paylines.
There is one minor addition made in the sequel and that includes a low value, double paying combination (Aces & two high card of same rank) – providing even more opportunities.
Wilds
Here we also see a very significant upgrade over its predecessor as Pragmatic has added not just any single special icon but rather dual Wild functions to enhance player chances at winning; specifically:
Stacked chickens will automatically replace base pay combinations should the rest of criteria (from leftmost position) align with necessary conditions set out elsewhere. The stacked image also now triggers what is commonly referred as Multiplier – resulting from two birds sharing space on one line and giving triple multiplier compared to their first generation.
Scatters
Special ‘Fowl’ Scatters have been introduced here; unlike Wilds they’re not replacing any elements but triggering bonus rounds upon 3 simultaneous occurrence (minimum), allowing players greater flexibility in exploring game’s core features: free spins section which appears slightly different than earlier part, including addition of up to fifty available re-spins. Bonus round wins are tripled against original base rate set out above so all collected points are trebled leading towards more balanced gameplay.
Bonus Features
Pragmatic Play opted for the multi-stage approach and combined mechanics seen in previous games like respin bonus or scatter-based free game – into 3 different areas to keep players engaged throughout:
Chicken Road Bonus that gives you up to ten possible combinations including various amounts of extra rounds added per each new position met.
And a Double-Chicken Mode that can be activated through Free Spins option leading towards doubling chances in getting paid and increasing payout maximum limits, providing increased flexibility.
Free Spins
A staple within slot machine gaming now offers players an additional feature when meeting specific requirements – specifically three scatters are all you need to activate ten available free spin sessions. Unlike some of its competitors that set a fixed amount, Chicken Road 2 has a more realistic approach offering an escalating system depending on number activated giving users at least seventeen options between their lowest possible reward in any single sequence, doubling up every two new spins taken until capped at maximum 50 extra chances available.
RTP & Volatility
We see that volatility rates (the amount of variance within payouts) increase according to your bet level – from the relatively low 1/5 chance to be rewarded down towards extreme high setting with max reward potential reaching staggering eighty times initial wager value.
Betting Range, Max Win and Overall Payout Limits
Pragmatic Play adheres to industry standards allowing minimum starting bet of 0.10 units (set lower for other variants) up to a possible upper cap limit at twenty five maximum; players aiming higher can opt in but not before being informed risks associated with much larger sums invested over standard one hundred fifty times.
Gameplay
User interface remains identical as any modern slot machine so nothing new is added from interaction standpoint – intuitive enough for those familiar though basic controls may pose difficulty should the newcomer be entering a game like this, given high stakes environment prevalent in medium to advanced category machines and not all interfaces adapted accordingly; players can quickly reset or switch game modes.
Mobile Play
As most online slot games of today’s era Chicken Road 2 also features touch screen playability for Android & iOS users thus further expanding target demographic and solidifying Pragmatic Play’s presence within a constantly shifting technological landscape.
Player Experience
All in all, an improved rendition on Chicken Ranch series sees introduction several exciting gameplay tweaks including extra special chicken characters available during respins (in addition to Wild replacements); these subtle yet substantial elements have increased depth of the slot machine experience – while also showcasing Pragmatic’s growing potential as one of today’s prominent game developers.
Overall Analysis
With its fresh take on a quirky idea, Chicken Road 2 showcases an engaging gameplay style which could interest people looking for new opportunities within existing slots universe or those willing to challenge their personal limits. While volatility levels rise steeply as bets go higher some players might still find satisfaction from smaller returns when playing low stakes due lack of necessary rewards tied directly between winning combinations frequency – however payout limits may discourage casual gamblers due high overall values potentially needed to secure large gains making it less accessible than initially seems; regardless there’s little doubt this sequel effectively showcases what modern game designers can bring forward even after years since release date.