Viking Smash: Overview

Across the brutal timeline of combat, taking your place in a Viking shield wall must rank among the most frightening experiences a warrior could face. Modern conflict is often fought from afar; in those days, opponents were close enough to see the whites of each other’s eyes as blades hacked and thrust, while shield lines crashed together. Shield walls weren’t solely a Viking invention, but books and TV series such as The Last Kingdom have strongly linked them with Norse battle tactics. To capture a taste of that fear and glory, Stakelogic has launched Viking Smash, a slot packed with swords, axes, and warriors colliding head-on – in short, it’s bursting with testosterone.

The rival clans in Viking Smash also chose a pretty grim moment to settle their dispute. Snow drifts across a stark mountain backdrop as two armies face off on either side of a 5-reel, 243 win ways grid. The blues stand to the left, the reds to the right. The reason for their feud isn’t spelled out, but their champions appear on the reels as walking wilds, sometimes smashing into one another to unleash free spins. It’s a satisfying spectacle that sets the tone for reel warfare, helped along by an atmospheric, rousing soundtrack.

As with plenty of Stakelogic releases, choosing your stake takes a touch more thought. That’s because Viking Smash includes the Super Stake option, which boosts the likelihood of feature triggers for an added cost. In Viking Smash, enabling Super Stake doubles the base stake to unlock a random wild feature. When it’s on, after a losing spin, 2 to 6 wild symbols can be added to reels 1 and 5. Base bets can be set from 25 p/c or as high as $/€125 per spin – on any device, and the RTP comes in at 95.6%.

Viking Smash runs on 243 ways to win, paying both ways – left to right and right to left. That’s a fairly uncommon twist, and it also complements the walking wilds mechanic discussed next. Every paying symbol requires at least three of a kind to create a win. Low symbols are the cleanly styled 10 to A royals, while the higher pays are weapons of war like swords, bows, morning stars, axes, and hammers. Hitting five of a kind with premium symbols returns 1.6 to 8 times the base stake. Now for the features.

Viking Smash: Slot Features

Viking Smash brings in a pair of walking wilds that can, with a bit of luck, collide in the centre to award free spins. Alongside that is an optional gamble feature for players who enjoy testing their nerve.

There are 2 walking wild symbols, each one substitutes all pay symbols, and both depict a Viking warrior. Walking wilds land on the edge reels and move towards the opposite side of the grid. Each step they make is a respin, ending when no more wild symbols are on the screen or if free spins are awarded.

When two opposing wilds meet on the same row, they smash together and award 10 free spins. Any extra wild clashes add +4 free spins per pair. The same concept carries into free spins, but with one key change: wilds may now land on any reel, not only the outer reels. During this round, whenever opposing wilds collide, +4 additional spins are granted.

The gamble feature triggers after every winning combination. That said, you can switch it off if you’d rather avoid the pause or the temptation. It’s a simple face-down card pick: guess the colour correctly to double the win, or choose the right suit to quadruple it. A wrong call means the win is lost.

Viking Smash: Slot Verdict

Much like the combat style it depicts, Viking Smash keeps things straightforward but delivers the goods. A standout element is the 243 ways that pay both ways. It doesn’t meaningfully change the long-term return, but it’s a distinctive setup you don’t encounter often. It also meshes well with the walking wilds. With wilds entering from both sides, they can help form wins from the left or the right, and then from both directions once they start crashing through the middle. The core concept is borrowed from NetEnt’s classic The Invisible Man, though here the older title’s 20 pay both ways lines have been replaced with a 243-ways approach.

On another note, there wasn’t a particularly clear difference in how often walking wilds appeared with Super Stake enabled versus disabled. Stakelogic does provide the average hit frequency for Super Stake in the help files, so it’s worth checking if you’re considering it, since doubling the stake is a major jump. During testing, that information wasn’t available. Free spins also don’t feel dramatically different from base play, although having wilds appear across any reel adds variety and can extend the respin sequences. Walking wilds remain the key driver throughout, and because every step they take counts as a respin, you can end up with a generous amount of bonus action for your stake.

Stakelogic may have sourced the colliding walking wild idea from elsewhere, but they’ve at least matched it with a theme that suits it perfectly. It may not replicate the intensity of standing shoulder to shoulder with your war brothers in the skjalborg, but Viking Smash is still an enjoyable Norse battle slot.