Slot Wars - Infective Wild VS Creepy Ink - ReelNews By GamblersArea

Halloween is around the corner and slot providers are competing for the best game with this theme. This time, Infective Wild by Pragmatic Play challenges Creepy Ink by Popiplay in yet another epic episode of slot wars.

Without further ado - let’s start the battle!

Round 1: Winning Potential and RTP 

Popiplay is among the youngsters of the industry, especially compared to veterans like Pragmatic Play. However, the provider has proven it has what it takes to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with top developers with each new slot it launches. Creepy Ink is just another example as it comes with engaging gameplay and a winning potential of up to 6,000x the bet. 

Pragmatic Play is no stranger to creating slots with a huge maximum prize, but the winning potential of Infective Wild limited to up to 5,000x stake this time isn’t enough to win this round. With a significantly higher max win, its rival is the clear winner here.

Regarding the return to player percentage, the numbers are almost exactly the same for these slots. Pragmatic’s game features an RTP of 96.09% while Popiplay’s release has an RTP of 96.10%. Both titles come with very high volatility. 

Round 2: Bonus Features

As the name says, Pragmatic’s slot comes with an Infective Wild mechanism that spreads wild substitution abilities amongst certain symbols. The feature triggers if a Wild is connected to a cat or raven symbol horizontally or vertically when it lands. Cats and ravens touched by a Wild symbol are transformed into Wilds. Also, every symbol connected to transforming cat or raven symbols will turn Wild as well. 

The game features a free spins round activated by the simultaneous appearance of three Scatters on reels 1, 3 and 5. Before the feature starts, a grid of 8 cells appears on the screen, spins and each cell reveals a random number 1, 2 or 3. When cells stop spinning, all numbers are added, presenting the number of free spins you’re getting. 

During free spins, Wilds landed on the first four reels become sticky and are locked on their positions until the feature ends. These Sticky Wilds are also Infective Wilds, turning into Wilds cat and raven symbols next to them. Symbols transformed into Wilds aren’t sticky. 

Creepy Ink slot also centers the gameplay around special symbols, putting Scatters and Wilds in the spotlight. Here whenever a Wild lands on reels 2, 3 or 4 it can potentially expand on the whole reel. To make things even better, Expanding Wilds come with a random multiplier with 1x, 2x or 3x value. 

Stacked symbols are boosting the gameplay as well. Each time they land, they can cover a part of a reel or an entire reel. Reels can contain from two to eight Stacked symbols. 

When it comes to Scatters, there are two types of these symbols. Book Scatters pays regardless of the payline whenever there are 3, 4 or 5 on the grid at the same time. The pink Tombstone Scatters can appear only on reels 1, 3 and 5. When three of these symbols are in view, the win is awarded. 

It is a bit weird that this game has two types of Scatters and neither one of them triggers free spins. In fact, there isn’t a bonus round in this release. Since free spins have become something that players expect to have in modern slots, the lack of it is quite surprising and not in a good way. 

While Expanding Wilds with multipliers and Stacked Symbols are nice features, they simply aren’t enough to make up for the lack of free spins. This is the main reason why the winner of this round is its rival, the Infective Wild slot. 

Round 3: Visuals and Audio 

Slightly more points go to Creepy Ink merely due to a bit more original approach to the theme. Don’t get us wrong, Pragmatic did an excellent job honoring Halloween with all of its symbols and beautiful design. 

It's just that Popiplay’s presentation, while more simplistic, is more different from the other slots of this type. However, this round is quite subjective as the personal preferences of players come to play. While some love the slot with detailed aesthetics and a lot going on, others will rather choose the clean, simple, yet innovative design of Creepy Ink. 

Either way, regarding visual appeal, both of these slots are stunning. Although Popiplay’s release is a bit fresher, both of these slots deserve a place among the best Halloween slots without a doubt. They depict the holiday perfectly without gruesome or disturbing images that make your stomach turn. 

And The Winner Is…

This was a very tough slot battle as both of these slots offer great winning potential, interesting features, thrilling gameplay and stunning visuals. Usually, the winning potential is one of the most determining factors when choosing the winner of the slot wars.

However, although the Creepy Ink slot has a bigger max prize, it does lack the free spins round. While it does have other strong bonus features, free spins have become a crucial part of today’s slot gameplay. Due to this, Pragmatic Play’s release takes the win in this slot war, but it was a very close call. Both slots are more than worthy of your time and perfect for the spooky season, so don’t hesitate to check them out.