Can this game run like Bryce Dallas Howard in high heels or is it a bigger flop than Jurassic World Domination?

The original Jurassic Park film was released the year I was born - 1993, so I grew up dino-mad (Yes, I have reviewed 2 dinosaur slot games back to back, what of it?). I love dinosaurs - while other kids were watching Dragon Ball Z, I was watching Walking with Dinosaurs - but Jurassic Park was the gold standard. I still get chills whenever I watch it.
But enough nostalgia - the newer movies were a downward spiral. Jurassic World was good, but the second and third films just got worse, and worse, to the point where giant freaking locusts were the biggest issues plaguing humanity in a world that had dinosaurs on the loose - WTAF?!
So how does this translate to slots? Well, I’ll just come out and say it, at least Raptor Riches is better than Rich Raptors.
Visually, the base game is… kinda trash. The background is the lowest common denominator of the gate - but it’s covered up by the reels. The bright colours of the jackpot UI clash - it’s just all over the place.
Generic 5 x 3 reels are filled with characters from the sequel trilogy including the unlikely Dr. Henry Wu, and old Jeff Goldblum, Bryce Dallas Howard and the Raptor Whisperer himself; Chris Pratt. These character symbols payout 10 - 20x for a 5 symbol line. Mid symbols are Pictures of dinosaurs, and lows are symbols of those same dinosaurs - unimaginative and almost as unimpressive as its 2,500x max win.
The game also features 2 types of Wild, a standard 1x1 wild of a dinosaurs eye, and an Indo-Raptor, a 1x3 sized wild. If the Indo-Raptor lands covering a full reel, it triggers the re-spin feature - with it walking to the left by 1 reel with each spin, until it walks off the reels. This respin feature also has a multiplier attached, so with each place that the indo-raptor moves - the multiplier increases by 1, to a max of 5x.
The jackpot is just that, a jackpot - you either love them or you don’t care for them. Sure they're fun to win, but there isn’t much to talk about. Land the Amber symbol, spin the wheel, get either a mini, minor, major, mega or apex with a value of between 15x to 2,500x of your base bet.
The final feature is the Free spins. Land 3 scatter volcanoes, spin a wheel to receive between 8 and 20 free spins. During the Free Spins, any Indo-Raptor that lands nudges to fill the reel and trigger the respin feature. The multiplier also increases during the free spins, starting at 1x, 2x, 3x, 5x and 10x, as the raptor moves across the reel.
Mechanically, Raptor Riches is a fun game - the indo-raptor is the star of the show, but it’s visually disappointing - so much more could be done to bring players into the world - it’s a shame when branded slots fail when it comes to world building - it feels lazy and a bit of a cash grab. Luckily, the OG Jurassic Park slot does it wonderfully, so let’s round off my dinosaur reviews with that next week.
Until then, Raptor Riches is worth a play, but remember, while you might get lucky sometimes, the casino always wins in the end!
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