Release the Kraken Megaways: Slot Overview

Pragmatic Play clearly isn’t done unleashing its many-tentacled sea monster. This is the third outing where the studio goes full mythic spectacle and brings the kraken back. This time, the legendary beast arrives powered by Big Time Gaming’s Megaways engine, creating Release the Kraken Megaways. Release the Kraken 2 already showed it was willing to stray far from the original Release the Kraken, and the third instalment follows suit—holding onto parts of the first game’s foundation while branching out in a few new directions.

The Release the Kraken series has always been unpredictable, with each entry tweaking the look and mechanics. The first game leaned hardest into horror, starring a glowing-eyed kraken nightmare, while part 2 swung the other way into full Finding Dory-style cuteness. Release the Kraken Megaways lands between those extremes: not too adorable and not too frightening, but more of a high-seas pirate/exploration/trading adventure. There are Turner-like clouds in the distance and sweeping 70s TV-drama-style music. Pragmatic Play’s artists haven’t phoned it in—Release the Kraken Megaways feels distinct from the titles that came before.

The most obvious change in Release the Kraken Megaways is the reel setup. The active grid uses 6 reels, with 2 to 7 symbols landing on each reel, which creates up to 117,649 ways to win. The stake selector sits at the bottom left, ranging from 20 c to $/€240, while the feature buy and ante bet options are positioned on the right. The ante bet increases the stake by 25% in exchange for a higher chance of triggering free spins. Release the Kraken Megaways runs on a medium volatile math model and can reach a maximum RTP of 96.4%.

Symbols include deep-sea creatures alongside card royals. Ten through Ace make up the lower-paying set, while 5 different aquatic species form the premium symbols. Landing 6 of a kind pays between 0.6 to 7.5 times the bet. Wild symbols assist by substituting for any symbol except scatters or Mystery symbols. Wilds can land on every reel apart from the leftmost.

Release the Kraken Megaways: Slot Features

As if the kraken itself wasn’t enigmatic enough, Release the Kraken Megaways also includes Mystery symbols. These appear in the base game only. When Mystery symbols land, they all flip to reveal the same randomly chosen pay symbol. Beyond that, the game features wild respins, guaranteed wins, free spins, pick upgrades, and a feature buy.

Wild Respins

During the base game, landing at least 3 wild symbols activates respin mode. While respins are active, all wild symbols roam the reels, shifting to new positions as the game awards payouts between each respin. If another wild lands, it grants +1 extra respin and also becomes a roaming wild. The feature finishes once there are no respins remaining.

Guaranteed Win

On random losing base game spins, the reel symbols may change to create a win worth at least 10 times the bet.

Free Spins

Scatter symbols can land on any reel. Hitting 3, 4, 5, or 6 scatters awards 6 free spins. Before the free spins start, a set of chests appears on screen. Players open a number of chests equal to the number of triggering scatters. Each opened chest reveals random upgrades:

• +1, +2, +3, or +4 free spins.
• Start with an extra roaming wild.
• +x1 or +x2 to the global multiplier that applies to all wins in the free spins round.
• Minimum 2,000, 5,000, or 10,000 ways to win on each spin of the round.

Any wild that lands during free spins transforms into a roaming wild, then shifts to a random reel position on every spin. When 2 roaming wilds end up in the same position, the round multiplier increases by +1. Landing a scatter on the rightmost reel awards an additional free spin and also grants one more chest pick for another random upgrade.

Feature Buy

Paying 100x the bet allows players to start free spins with 3 scatter symbols. Paying 150x the bet triggers free spins with 4, 5, or 6 scatters.

Release the Kraken Megaways: Slot Verdict

Starting with the positives, everything comes together smoothly. Familiar series staples—roaming wilds, respins, and the like—slot neatly into the Megaways format and perform exactly as you’d hope. As mentioned earlier, every Release the Kraken game has its own identity, and Release the Kraken Megaways continues that trend. The changes generally feel like improvements, even if there’s been a past preference for part 1 over part 2. This third entry has what it takes to outshine both, or at minimum, stand shoulder to shoulder with its predecessors.

Pickin’ ‘n clickin’ has long been part of this franchise, so its return here is no shock. Choosing upgrades before the bonus round is a classic slot setup, and it feels more natural in Release the Kraken Megaways than part 2’s Deal or No Deal-style accept-or-reject mechanic. The available upgrades are fairly familiar, but they still do the job well. Guaranteed minimum ways in a Megaways slot are always handy, roaming wilds remain a strong boost, and adding a multiplier on top is the ideal sweetener. Overall, it’s a dependable set of upgrades that can combine extremely effectively within this engine.

Adding Megaways to an already proven slot is a bit of a well-worn move nowadays, but it’s implemented nicely here. The only tiny complaint is the max win of 10,000x the bet. It’s a respectable ceiling, though it could arguably have been higher given it matches the original Kraken slot’s cap. Still, Release the Kraken Megaways keeps the pick ‘n click elements and the roaming wilds alive—only now they have more space to operate in a bigger, more complete-feeling game.