ABOUT THIS SLOT
Buffalo real money online slot arrived in land-based casinos in 2008 and quickly became a cult favourite. Launching online in 2012, it continued its popularity with a new audience bringing North American wildlife into gamers’ front rooms. Aristocrat now has an impressive catalogue of animal-themed releases, including Wolf Moon and Wild Panda, so fans of dangerous wildlife can take their pick.
This buffalo of the title is joined on the reels by other creatures, including a bald eagle, red stag, grey wolf and puma. Although Buffalo looks slightly dated now compared with today’s sophisticated video slots, it still holds its own with attractive illustrations, an evocative sunsets and range of bonus features.
RTP, VARIANCE AND PAYOUTS
You’ll find 5 reels and 4 rows of symbols on the playing grid, while instead of the standard paylines there are 1,024 ways to win. You need to find matching symbols on adjacent reels to enjoy a payout and the game allows you to select the number of reels you want to play with, so you can adjust your own risk level.
The RTP is below average at 94.58% and the minimum bet when playing all reels is 40p. This is a medium volatility game, so you’ll receive a reasonable number of medium-sized payouts in relation to bets – nothing massive, but nothing tiddly either. It’s the bonus features that make the difference though with Free Spins, Wilds and Multipliers helping you towards the 8,100x jackpot.
SYMBOLS AND PAYTABLE
The symbols in Buffalo include the buffalo of the title, a bald eagle, red stag, grey wolf, puma, gold coin, sunset and colourful high cards running from 9 to Ace. The gold coin is the Scatter, which can launch the Free Spins round, while the sunset is Wild and can substitute for the other symbols to create more potential wins.
The high cards award the lowest payouts with 100 to 140 coins available for 5 of a kind. Next along the paytable are the red stag and grey wolf, both of which award 150 coins for 5 matches. The puma and bald eagle both pay up to 250 coins, while the buffalo is the best-paying animal with 300 coins available for 5 matches on a payline.
GAMEPLAY AND FEATURES
Free Spins
Landing 3,4 or 5 gold coin Scatters triggers the Free Spins round, awarding 8, 15 or 20 Free Spins respectively. If you land 2 more Scatters during the round, you’ll re-trigger 5 more Free Spins. Plus, any Wild symbols appearing adds a Multiplier to your payout.
Wild Symbols
The sunset symbol is Wild, appearing on reels 2, 3 and 4 and substituting for the other symbols to create more potential winning combinations.
During Free Spins, the Wilds also add a Multiplier of 2x or 3x to your payout whenever they substitute, leading to a potential combined 27x Multiplier!
Gamble Game
After each winning spin, you get the chance to gamble your payout. Simply guess the colour or suit of the next card to potentially double or quadruple your reward. Guess wrongly though and you’ll lose the lot! This is a fun way to boost those smaller payouts where the risk could be worth it.
OUR VERDICT
Buffalo looks like a retro game now with its simple graphics and lack of animations. It’s still a good play though, thanks to the atmosphere and excellent bonus features. The fun wild animal theme also adds a daring feeling of adventure to any game. The best part of Buffalo is the Free Spins round with up to 20 spins available, plus the chance to bag another 5 if another couple of Scatters turn up, which they often do. It’s the Wild Multipliers during this round that can really make a difference though with 27x Multiplier a real possibility. This good winning potential is why Buffalo is still popular today, despite its below average RTP. Strong and reliable with classic North American wildlife to boot, Buffalo is a solid Aristocrat offering that deserves its place in the slot canon.