The evident signs became apparent after only a few spins, and this realization is likely to dawn on you as well, provided you’re situated in a region where Blueprint slots are accessible for online play. Pragmatic Play’s creations have often carried a somewhat formulaic aura that proves challenging to shed. The company hasn’t exactly been celebrated as a trailblazer in innovation.
However, of late, Pragmatic Play has taken an unconventional route, even by their standards, by blatantly emulating other slot games. A glaring instance of this is their Montezuma-inspired “John Hunter and the Aztec Treasure,” clearly taking inspiration from Blueprint’s designs.
Set against a prisoner-of-war backdrop, the slot narrates the escapades of a group of chickens breaking free from their farm. “The Great Chicken Escape,” powered by Pragmatic Play across five reels and twenty paylines, offers an array of features, including additional wilds, wild reels, and symbol transformations. These features are accessible in the main game and can be randomly triggered on any spin. The game also presents five bonus games, with the potential to win up to 5000 times your wager. You can guide the chicken prison break on any device, with bets ranging from MYR0.20 to MYR200 per spin.
Characterized by high volatility and a default RTP setting of 96.5%, the action unfolds in what can be best described as a chicken concentration camp, rendered through cartoon-style graphics. The backdrop showcases rows of hen houses, while symbols on the reels encompass generic A to J card suits signifying low-value symbols. More lucrative are the four chicken characters, with the beret-wearing one being the most precious, yielding 25 times your stake for a five-symbol combination on a payline.
Features
- Guard Dog Wilds: The guard dog is incapacitated, leading to the addition of 4 to 9 wilds in random positions.
- Chicken Run Wilds: The sergeant chicken attempts to scale the walls, potentially resulting in 2 to 4 fully stacked wild reels.
- Care Package: A wooden box drops on the sergeant chicken, cracking open and scattering golden eggs onto the reels. Following the spin, these golden eggs transform into matching standard symbols.
More features await with the appearance of 3 or 4 scatter symbols, activating a random bonus feature that you can either claim or gamble on for a chance to upgrade. In total, five bonuses are on offer:
- Secret Tunnel Bonus: Choose one of three chests to reveal a cash reward, the Mystery Tunnel feature, or a “collect” option that ends the bonus. The Mystery Tunnel leads you to pick one of four entrances, potentially unlocking any of the four features below.
- Poultry in Motion: Select eggs to uncover the number of steps along a multiplier trail. Reaching the end grants access to the Big Money Bonus round.
- Get Clucky Free Spins: Play 10 free spins, with each wild symbol increasing the win multiplier by 1x.
- To the Other Side Free Spins: Enjoy 9 free spins, where collected wild symbols are added randomly on a 10th spin.
- The Great Escape Big Money Bonus: Choose from a carousel of 12 barrels, each offering cash rewards ranging from 10x to 500x. A golden egg selection reveals a respin or a collect outcome. This feature boasts the highest potential payout of 5000 times your wager.
Verdict
Pragmatic Play has drawn heavily from Blueprint’s playbook to craft “The Great Chicken Escape,” meticulously studying its competitor to replicate every detail. Undoubtedly, it’s a skillful imitation that could seamlessly fit into Blueprint Gaming’s collection, though it falls a tad short in terms of visual design quality. For players unable to access Blueprint slots, and those intrigued by titles like Thundercats, Beavis and Butthead, and The Goonies, “The Great Chicken Escape” provides a worthwhile alternative to explore.
Curiously, the game exhibits less generic aesthetics compared to the norm, suggesting a substantial investment in its production. This leaves us with the impression that Pragmatic Play has gone to great lengths to challenge Blueprint on its own turf and provoke them as much as possible. The awaited response from Blueprint is bound to be intriguing.