Day of Dead Demo & review

In Day of Dead, an expanding WILD does not stop after one spin: it fills its reel, pays, then steps one reel to the left and respins the game until it walks off the screen. Pragmatic Play released this 20-line game in October 2021 under a Medium volatility label, and its free respins keep feeding new walking WILDs onto the reels. It is built for players who prefer a feature that chains from spin to spin rather than one big trigger.

How Day of Dead works

Day of Dead pays on 20 fixed lines across five reels of four rows, starting from the leftmost reel, with one payout per line for its best combination. The symbol that matters is the expanding WILD, and the whole game is built on what it does after it lands.

The 5x4 grid before our first spin, credit $100,000.00 and bet $1.00. FluxPlays demo test, 2 November 2026.

How the walking WILD works

An expanding WILD fills its whole reel the moment it lands. Once that spin's wins are paid, the game respins for free and the WILD moves one reel toward the left edge, then does it again, until it leaves the screen. Any new expanding WILD that lands during those respins behaves the same way, and every respin pays its line wins as it goes.

So where a WILD lands decides how long it works. One that lands on reel 5 still has four reels to cross, covering a full reel at every step, while one on reel 1 is about to leave. The respins cost nothing, so a WILD far to the right is the base game's best moment.

The intro slide: expanding WILDs that respin until they leave the screen. FluxPlays demo test, 2 November 2026.

Day of Dead free respins: how they trigger

Three SCATTERs trigger the free respins. They appear on reels 1, 3 and 5, in the base game alone. The round is the walking WILD feature with a supply line: it keeps going for as long as an expanding WILD is on the screen.

How the round works:

1. It opens with 2 collectable WILDs already gathered at the top of the game.

2. When the respins start, collected WILDs drop onto random reels as expanding WILDs and begin to walk.

3. Gravestone collectable WILDs, which exist only in this round, can land on any respin and join the stock at the top.

4. The stock is sent back onto random reels at random respins, or when no expanding WILD is left on screen.

5. The round ends when the screen holds no expanding WILD and the stock is empty.

Special reels are used throughout. A win multiplier is also shown at the left of the reels during the round. The rules pages we captured do not explain how it rises, so this page does not guess.

Rules page 2: the walking WILD and the free respins with collectable WILDs. FluxPlays demo test, 2 November 2026.

Buy Free Respins

Buy Free Respins costs 100x the bet and starts the same round, two collected WILDs included. It is the only paid option, and there is no ante bet.

RTP, volatility and max win

The RTP is 96.49% for normal play and 96.50% for the buy, and the game carries a Medium volatility badge on both the rules page and the intro screen. Several listings call it High. The game's own badge is the one we use.

The rules pages print no top win. The game data in the demo gives 4,500x the bet, which listings repeat. Reaching anything near it depends on the free respins, where the stock of collected WILDs can keep several walking WILDs on screen at once.

Rules page 4: the volatility label, the 20 lines, both RTPs and the bet range. FluxPlays demo test, 2 November 2026.

Our Day of Dead demo test

The free respins only came to us through the buy, and that round is where the game showed its shape. Midway through it a mariachi WILD filled reel 2 while a gravestone WILD sat on reel 4, with 3x showing at the side. By the result screen the side read 6x, and the round had paid $190.20.

Mid-round in our bought free respins: a walking WILD on reel 2 and 3x at the side. FluxPlays demo test, 2 November 2026.

The base game was the opposite. Only 19 spins paid, the best a $11.90 line win on spin 40, and one dry stretch lasted 17 spins. Three SCATTERs never lined up on their own. A sample this small says how the game plays, never what it returns.

Our bought free respins: $190.20, with the side showing 6x. FluxPlays demo test, 2 November 2026.

Is Day of Dead worth playing?

Not for the base game on its own, but yes for the free respins. The walking WILD makes each landing worth several spins, and the respins round turns that into a loop with a stock of WILDs behind it. Between rounds, though, everything waits on three SCATTERs on three fixed reels.

Pick Grim Muerto if you want the same Day of the Dead theme on 20 lines with a highlighted reel that expands its WILD and classic free spins. Choose Day of Dead for WILDs that keep moving, a respins round you can buy, and the higher ceiling.

In the demo, buy the free respins once and watch the stock of WILDs at the top. It shows in one round how the game is meant to play, which the base game may not show for a long while.