ABOUT THIS SLOT
Released in 2014, Red Baron online slot from Aristocrat is themed on the eponymous German fighter pilot who enjoyed 80 victories during WWI. This has a retro feel with basic illustrations and block colours, while the computerised sound effects remind us of classic fruit machines. It’s unsophisticated in appearance but the wartime spirit shines through on every spin and fans of the theme will enjoy the visuals.
The Red Baron flying ace is joined by other symbols related to wartime, including a red plane, Zeppelin, wireless radio, military medal, a young woman looking up at the sky (presumably searching for our flying ace) and a Jack Russell dog, which was a popular mascot during WWI. There aren’t any sophisticated animations here but the simplicity has a charm of its own.
RTP, VARIANCE AND PAYOUTS
You’ll find 5 reels and 3 rows of symbols, while the Power Reels feature means the slot has 243 ways to win instead of regular paylines. You need to find matching symbols on adjacent reels to receive a payout. The 25c minimum bet is not the lowest but you can choose to play 1 to 5 reels, so this is good for players with a limited bankroll.
The RTP is average at 95.7%, while the high volatility means this is quite a risky play. You can expect long spells with little in the way of payouts then suddenly you could hit a big prize. The best payout comes from the Baron and his plane, which can both award 1,500x stake for 5 of a kind. The bonus features also help with Free Spins and up to 180x Multipliers.
SYMBOLS AND PAYTABLE
The symbols in Red Baron include the Baron, his plane, a woman searching the skies, Zeppelin, Jack Russell and a wireless radio. The best-paying symbols are the Baron and his plane, which both award 1500x stake for 5 matches. The other symbols pay from 200x for the wireless radio up to 1000x stake for the watching woman. There are also some colourful high cards to award the lower payouts.
There are two other important symbols in the game – the Wild medal symbol and the target Scatter symbol. The Wild doesn’t award payouts of its own but it does add a Multiplier to your payout, while the Scatter has the power to trigger Free Spins with the exciting Mission Feature.
GAMEPLAY AND FEATURES
Wild Symbols
The Wild symbol is the military medal, appearing on reel 3 only. This can substitute for all the other symbols to create more potential winning combinations. During Free Spins, the Wilds can add a 2x, 3x or 5x Multiplier to payouts.
Free Spins
Landing 3, 4 or 5 target Scatters triggers the Free Spins round, awarding 15 Free Spins. Before these spins begin, you have to choose your Mission, which determines how many planes you need to spot during the round. If the target is met, you’ll receive a Multiplier of your stake as a bonus payment. There are 5 Missions to choose from with 4 to 20 planes available to spot, which can result in bonuses of 10x, 15x, 25x, 60x or 140x Multiplier.
If you spot 25 planes in total, you can receive an extra bonus payment giving a maximum of 180x Multiplier. These bonuses are in addition to your regular winnings during Free Spins.
OUR VERDICT
Red Baron has retro looks with a simple charm and unique theme that brings the WWI flying ace into his first slot game! We’d like to hear more exciting sound effects to do justice to the fighter pilot theme – a few plane noises and whirring engines perhaps. The best part of this slot is the Free Spins round with its Mission Feature, giving you the chance to collect a 180x Multiplier if you’re lucky in the skies. The Wilds also give some potentially good Multiplier boosts. Bearing in mind the fighter pilot theme – with all that dipping and diving from the dogfights, it’s not surprising this is a highly volatile slot. There can be some long spells with no luck at all but for fans of war themes, classic slot design and simple visuals, this daring mission could still fly high on your favourite list.