Serpent Shrine: Overview

With Serpent Shrine, Fantasma Games continues the fantasy direction that’s worked well in earlier titles like Heroes Hunt Megaways and Hades River of Souls. Those games are already packed with features, but Serpent Shrine pushes things further with loads of add-ons, expanding mechanics, and two powerful free spin bonus games.

Fantasma clearly went all-in on worldbuilding for Serpent Shrine, as they often do. The action unfolds in one of the world’s concealed corners, discovered by a group of explores in an ancient forest. Their trail takes them underground, where a colossal snake protects a secret hoard. They got away once, but greed drew them back. Up to now, nobody has made it out of this underworld grotto.

This is where players step into the tale, inside a richly atmospheric setting crafted by Fantasma Games. Expect twisted, knotted trees, jagged rocks, and glowing flowers moving with the wind. Visually it echoes Hades River of Souls, with the same cartoon-like style that still carries a slightly ominous edge.

It may look a bit Hades-like, but the gameplay quickly goes its own way. Serpent Shrine runs on a grid of 5 columns and 7 rows. That said, the entire grid isn’t available at first. When a new spin begins, players start with a 2-3-3-3-2 section active – the rest is blocked off until the Butterfly and Bomb feature remove those blocker tiles, as explained below.

With stakes from 20 p/c to $/€50 per spin, Serpent Shrine delivers a respectable theoretical RTP of 96.55%, and the developer rates the volatility as high. Wins land on close to one in four spins, keeping momentum thanks to a hit frequency of 23.37%.

Each base game spin begins with 108 win ways, but that total can grow to 16,807 once the blockers are fully cleared. Symbols match the theme and are divided into low, medium, and high payouts. Low pays include mining gear like picks, maps, and lanterns, followed by three mid-pay coloured minerals. The explorers referenced earlier return as the premium symbols, now undead. They appear as purple, green, and red skeletons, paying 2.5x to 3x the bet. Even so, they’re outshone by the serpent symbol, which pays 10x the stake for five of a kind.

The final symbol to mention is the golden shard wild. It has no value by itself, but it substitutes for any other paying symbols to help complete winning combinations.

Serpent Shrine: Features

The main objective in Serpent Shrine is to open up more positions on the grid to reach bigger rewards. Two mechanics assist with this – the Butterfly and Bomb feature. Once they’ve cleared enough space, the best potential arrives through Snake Free Spins, or the legendary Super Free Spins.

To begin with, any win that includes a Butterfly Wild makes it fly around the grid, unlocking 3 random positions and granting a respin. If additional Butterfly Wilds appear during respins, the chain continues until no further wins land, or the grid is completely cleared.

Next, at the start of a base game spin, 3 bomb symbols a randomly laid on blocker tiles. If a butterfly lands on a bomb, it explodes and wipes out a row or column of neighbouring blockers.

If these two modifiers manage to clear the entire grid, players are awarded 5 Snake Free Spins. This bonus starts on the full grid with 16,807 ways available. On each spin, a huge snake slithers down the board one row at a time, cutting down the win ways. At the same time, a win multiplier rises each spin from x1 to x2, x5, x20, up to x100 on the fifth spin.

For the final surprise, if 3 Butterfly Wilds land during Snake Free Spins, they fly off to kill the snake, triggering 2 Super Free Spins. These are played on the full board again, with the 100x multiplier active on both spins. Super Free Spins begin after Snake Spins have finished.

Serpent Shrine: Verdict

Serpent Shrine feels like it continues from where Hades River of Souls ended, while still taking a fresh route. Fantasma has settled into a recognisable visual identity, and their clear passion for fantasy continues to show in the slots they produce. It’s another solid release that won’t suit every player, but it proves Fantasma is happy to keep pushing forward on the path they’ve carved out.

Even if you’re not looking for a complex slot, it’s hard to ignore how Fantasma Games are creating something different. It’s also obvious the studio is comfortable taking risks with mechanics. Unlocking the grid to reach free spins isn’t entirely original, but what follows is genuinely unusual.

You won’t receive many Snake or Super free spins, and there’s no promise that wins will hit, but when they do, the multipliers can be very rewarding. The rare Super Free Spins are where things can become especially tense, and payouts average 743 times the stake from this feature.

Players hunting major payouts will also like that there’s potential of up to 10,000 times the stake for those explorers who make it through. You may not get many free spins to work with, and they won’t always deliver, but as a quick, intense burst of play, they can be highly satisfying.

In the end, Serpent Shrine won’t be for everyone, but if you want a slot with depth, objectives, and a storyline, it’s definitely worth checking out.