Viking’s Ransom Slot: Overview

Vikings again—those notorious raiders we somehow never tire of, whether in spite of their harsh lifestyle or because of it. They’ve become a staple theme across slot games, and now it’s Barcrest’s turn to put the horn-helmeted warriors on the reels in pursuit of rewards… or a ransom, as it happens. Barcrest slots have a habit of gaining attention for questionable reasons, so let’s see how Viking’s Ransom stacks up.

Viking’s Ransom runs on 6 reels, 4 rows, and 40 fixed paylines. Behind the grid, a Viking longship bobs across icy winter seas—fitting for the season when they were said to stay put and recover for the next summer’s raids. Betting options are extremely broad, ranging from 10 p/c up to $/€500 per spin. Low rollers should take note: the RTP is solid at 96% for $/€2 bets and above, but wagers below that level drop the RTP to 94%. Is that meant to push you to bet bigger, or to walk away? Adding to the letdown, volatility sits at a very un-Viking low/medium level—this is no berserker of a slot.

Many mobile players prefer slots in landscape rather than portrait, since it shows more of the backdrop and helps set the mood. With Viking’s Ransom, it’s oddly the other way around. Here, you’ll want landscape mode mainly to get away from a background animation so rough it can start to feel mildly nauseating over time. Unfortunately, the weak visuals extend to the symbols and animations too, giving off a strong 2005-era feel. It’s difficult to decide whether it’s intentionally retro or simply poorly made.

To give credit where it’s due, the male and female Vikings are fairly well executed. The warrior framed by flames is the top-paying symbol, awarding 5 times the stake for six of a kind. Next comes a reasonably appealing Skade-esque warrioress. These two are classed as character symbols and they reappear during the features. After them come familiar Norse-themed icons like crossed axes, a horned helm, a hammer, and a drinking horn. The lower-value symbols are four brightly coloured card suits—spades, clubs, hearts, and diamonds. There are multiple wilds designed to help form wins: standard 1×2 and 2×4 wilds, plus Berserker wilds in 1×1 and 2×2 sizes. In every case, they substitute for any symbol except the scatter.

Viking’s Ransom Slot: Features

The feature set combines modifiers that can show up randomly with bonuses that must be triggered. First is the Reel Link Bonus. At unpredictable moments in either the base game or the bonus rounds, lightning bolts may hit the reels and connect a pair together. The linked pair can be reels 1 and 2, 3 and 4, or 5 and 6. When reels are linked, they display only massive 2×4 character symbols or 2×2 regular symbols. Lightning can also strike the same reels a second time—when that happens, the reel shows only colossal 2×4 wilds.

The main event is the Berserker Free Spins feature. The Viking ship is the scatter and can land anywhere; landing 3, 4, 5, or 6 scatters awards 8, 12, 15, or 20 free spins respectively. The feature can also be retriggered the same way while it’s running. What sets this round apart is the introduction of Berserker Wilds. At the end of a Berserker Free Spin, if any wilds are visible, the Berserker Wild Bonus may activate. If it does, a number of Berserker Wild symbols are placed onto the reels at random positions. On top of that, if Colossal Symbols are active, they can be transformed into a colossal Berserker Wild.

Viking’s Ransom Slot: Verdict

Where do you even start? Between the dated, awkward visuals, the stats, and the squandered potential, Viking’s Ransom is tough to like. As noted earlier, there’s no shortage of Viking-themed slots out there—so what’s the reason to pick this one? That isn’t just a throwaway line; it’s an honest attempt to find a justification. It certainly isn’t for the win potential. Even filling the screen with the premium symbol only delivers a middling haul of 200 times the stake. A Viking crew would revolt over loot like that.

Still, some positives exist. The character symbols and wilds are nicely illustrated. Free spins can be retriggered, which is always welcome, and the colossal symbols can be fun in spots. In the end, though, the advantages don’t come close to balancing the sizeable drawbacks. Viking’s Ransom is easily among the poorest slots we’ve played in a long while. If you do choose to endure this disaster of a game for whatever reason, make sure to bet under $/€2 per spin so you can experience that insulting RTP rating. That way, you might get a small taste of how villagers or clergy in the middle ages felt when a Viking raid rolled through.