Pandemic Rising Slot Review

About: Pandemic Rising

Pandemic Rising from Pragmatic Play throws me straight into a near-apocalypse, where a mutating virus is starting to tear through society. The slot uses a 5x4 grid with 40 fixed paylines, and the whole set-up revolves around collecting virus samples while characters in hazmat suits, scientists, preppers and conspiracy nuts crowd the reels. Underneath the theme sits a high volatility engine that can swing hard both ways on any session.

The math profile on Pandemic Rising feels built for risk-takers. The default RTP clocks in at 96.51%, but there are lower settings, so I always check the paytable wherever I play. Hit frequency sits around 25.38%, so wins land fairly often for a high variance slot, yet many are small. The real punch comes from multiplier wilds and the free spins bonus, where the virus meter can stack the overall multiplier.

Game Specifications: Pandemic Rising

On the technical side, Pandemic Rising runs on a 5 reel, 4 row layout with 40 paylines paying left to right. Stakes start at 0.20 per spin and can go very high, up to 240 in some versions, though I tend to sit lower due to the variance. Default RTP is 96.51%, with alternative profiles dipping below that. High volatility combines with a hit frequency of 25.38% and a max win of 14,000x the bet.

Graphics and Theme: Pandemic Rising

The presentation in Pandemic Rising leans into a serious, slightly grim take on pandemics. The reels sit above a city sliding into chaos, with radioactive containers and harsh lighting setting a quasi-futuristic tone. Character symbols cover everyone from lab scientists to doomsday preppers and test subjects, tying in nicely with the idea of an outbreak that might have murky, possibly engineered origins rather than something purely natural.

I quite like how the infection visually progresses as multipliers climb in the bonus. Premium character symbols gradually look more corrupted when the virus meter levels up, giving a sense that the pathogen is spreading right across the grid. The soundtrack keeps the tension ticking along, using moody, suspenseful loops and sharp effects when wilds or scatters land, which suits the high-stakes, biological catastrophe atmosphere they are going for.

Bonus Features: Pandemic Rising

The base game in Pandemic Rising is all about multiplier wilds. Wild symbols only land on reels two, three and four, but each can carry a random multiplier between 1x and 10x. When a win runs through more than one wild, those multipliers add together, which can spike a line hit far higher than the symbol values suggest. In practice, most of my better base game wins came from stacked wild maths rather than raw premiums.

Free spins fire when three bonus scatters land on reels one, three and five, paying 2x the bet and giving eight spins. During this round, any wild that appears sticks for the rest of the feature, still keeping its own multiplier. At the same time, a global multiplier sits beside the reels, starting at 1x. Special virus symbols only appear in this mode, and each one collected feeds that overall multiplier meter.

Every three virus symbols move the meter to the next step and award one extra free spin, with the ladder capable of climbing all the way to 100x. As that global multiplier rises, it applies to every win, on top of any wild multipliers inside the combination, which is where the slot’s 14,000x cap starts to feel plausible. For impatient players, there is a 100x feature buy for standard free spins and a 500x super option that starts with two guaranteed wilds.

Bonus Buy Feature

Free Spins Feature The FREE SPINS round can be instantly triggered from the base game by buying it Pay 100x total bet to trigger the FREE SPINS feature.
Feature Cost:	x100 Bet
RTP:	96.48%
Volatility:	-
Super Free Spins Feature At the start of the SUPER FREE SPINS feature, 2 WILD symbols are guaranteed to hit on screen in random positions and with a random multiplier.
Feature Cost:	x500 Bet
RTP:	96.54%
Volatility:	-

Symbols in: Pandemic Rising

Symbol-wise, Pandemic Rising keeps things simple. The low-paying set is 10 through A, paying around 1x to 1.5x the bet for a full line of five. Premiums are theme characters such as scientists, doctors, conspiracy theorists, preppers and infected subjects, paying up to 20x for the best symbol on a five of a kind. Wilds sit on the middle three reels with their 1x–10x multipliers, scatters land on reels one, three and five, while virus symbols only appear during free spins.

Symbols and Paytable

Symbol	Quantity	Payout
	5	x20
	4	x5
	3	x1.5
	5	x12.5
	4	x3.75
	3	x1.25
	5	x7.5
	4	x2
	3	x0.75
	5	x5
	4	x1.25
	3	x0.5
	5	x3.75
	4	x0.75
	3	x0.35
	5	x2.5
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.15
	5	x1.5
	4	x0.3
	3	x0.15
	5	x1.5
	4	x0.3
	3	x0.15
	5	x1
	4	x0.25
	3	x0.1
	5	x1
	4	x0.25
	3	x0.1
	5	x1
	4	x0.25
	3	x0.1
	Scatter

How to Win in: Pandemic Rising

When I play Pandemic Rising seriously, I treat the base game as a set-up phase and aim for the bonus. The multiplier wilds can throw out decent hits alone, but the real potential comes once they turn sticky in free spins and interact with the global multiplier from the virus meter. I keep my stake sensible relative to bankroll because the high volatility and the 1 in 399.79 average free spins trigger rate can chew through a balance during cold spells.

The ante bet options change the feel of the grind. Paying 4x the base stake gives a much higher chance of landing the feature, which suits me if I just want bonus hunting. The 10x super spin mode is far more aggressive, as it guarantees at least one wild with a random multiplier every spin, yet the cost climbs fast. I only touch that when I am comfortable with sharp swings and accept that long dead patches will happen.

Final Verdict: Pandemic Rising

As someone who lived through recent real-world outbreaks, I was unsure about a pandemic slot, but Pandemic Rising lands better than I expected. The theme plays things straight, but the mix of conspiracy hints and non-human origins at least gives it an angle. Visually, some character art looks a bit odd and AI-generated, especially as it mutates with virus levels, yet the overall mood works for a tense, end-of-days spinner.

From a gameplay standpoint, Pandemic Rising is all about sticky wilds plus multipliers, both on the symbols and via the virus meter. That combo is familiar, yet it still hits the right notes when the free spins line up and wilds land early. With up to 14,000x on the table and a solid 96.51% RTP profile, I see it as a strong option if you enjoy high volatility, multiplier-heavy slots and do not mind the pandemic theme resurfacing.

Screenshots