First Piggy Riches and now When Pigs Fly…NetEnt’s design team seems to have a bit of a soft spot for our porcine friends. They’re hardly the most obvious subject for an online slot, although the phrase as ‘greedy as a pig’ may sound familiar to a few high rollers out there. NetEnt games are always hotly anticipated but When Pigs Fly arguably flew under the radar when it arrived in 2016, certainly in comparison to the much heralded ‘Rock Slots’ released around the same time. It’s clearly become a bit of a player favourite, however, thanks to its playful theme, some natty features and a mid-volatility rating that gives it universal appeal.
WHAT IS WHEN PIGS FLY ABOUT?
While Piggy Riches placed its porky protagonists in a posh manor, When Pigs Fly fires them into space. The graphics bring the cartoons of yesteryear to mind, with glass bubble space helmets and jagged edged rockets. If the Jetsons had adopted a family of pigs, this might well have been the result.
The idiosyncratic layout of the reels supplements the offbeat theme of the slot. They are arranged in a 1-3-5-3-1 pattern when you start your game, but expand as you win to unlock new paylines (more on that later). Unlike some games, the slot’s subject matter doesn’t really have a great impact upon the gameplay itself. We couldn’t help thinking that’s a bit of a shame, we’d have liked to learn a bit more about these astro-pigs and their space capers.
WHEN PIGS FLY BONUS FEATURES
Given you that you ‘unlock’ extra paylines as you play, it’s fair to say that When Pigs Fly rewards patient play. Most excitingly, any combination of three, matching, left-to-right symbols ensures the coins are clanging. Every time you win, you get a respin. Those respins then re-structure the reels, creating an eyewatering 3125 ways to win by the time you’ve opened the game up completely. It might not be a feature in the traditional sense, but it would be remiss not to dwell on it.
But what else does this quirky little game have to offer? Well, if you want to win big then you’ll want to sink your snout into the free spins round. The round is triggered by your 5th respin, by which time you should have the full 5 row x 5 reel layout to play with. You get 8 casino free spins in total and given the amount of paylines available, you’re unlikely to be scratching around for a decent coin drop. Substituting Wilds will help you create further winning lines in both the main game and free spins round. They mimic the identity of neighbouring symbols to ensure winning combinations, and remain NetEnt’s go-to slot feature.
HOW CAN YOU PLAY WHEN PIGS FLY?
NetEnt remain huge advocates of the mobile gaming market, and rightly so. They release all their new games on multiple platforms these days and When Pigs Fly got the full treatment. You can play it on iPad, iPhone, Android phones and tablets, laptops, computers, ZX Spectrums (ok the last one might be a lie). It’s a bright, vibrant game but quite simple. There isn’t too much in the way of moving videos or complicated visuals. We’ve found it to run smoothly on all devices with no hiccups or glitches.
WHAT ARE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING ON WHEN PIGS FLY?
Well the whole 3125 paylines doesn’t exactly harm your chances, but you can’t think of it as a sure fire guarantee of glory either. As we mentioned before, you may be frustrated early on but as you start hitting those respins, the game quickly becomes very interesting. If you get on a run during the free spins round, When Pigs Fly can be very lucrative indeed. It’s generally considered to be a mid-volatility slot with something for everyone and an RTP rate of 97%.
OUR VERDICT ON WHEN PIGS FLY
When Pigs Fly is a quirky slot with an interesting concept. Some will consider the idea of unlocking extra paylines to be a genius move, others might consider it unnecessary and even frustrating early on. Sure, the game has a fun theme, but it’s not explored as fully as we would like, meaning that the unusual structural touches are its major selling point – with special mention reserved for the 3125 win ways feature. For our money, it’s not quite as engaging as the very best online slots on the market but it gets extra marks for trying something a little different. It’s definitely worth a whirl and if you hurry, you can try it for free 50 times over at G’Day Casino, where you get 50 no deposit free spins on When Pigs Fly just for registering.