Vikings Unleashed: Introduction

Anyone who has ever played a 117k MegaWays slot will instantly know what they’re in for the moment they see the screenshot above. While the visuals and overall production are undeniably strong, the underlying maths model has been used and reused to the point of exhaustion. At its core, Vikings Unleashed is essentially a copy of Big Time Gaming’s blockbuster Extra Chilli which, along with Diamond Mine (Blueprint), shares the exact same paytable. It also borrows familiar ingredients from other MegaWays titles, including the Mystery symbol, as you’ll notice.

The free spin feature itself works the same way as always, pairing the hugely popular cascading symbols with growing multipliers. Rather than changing that formula, the developers have aimed to freshen things up through the pre-bonus options available. We’ll cover those later in the review, but first let’s talk about the look and feel.

Presented in a cartoon-like style, the reels in this seafaring slot sit on the deck of a Viking ship boldly cutting through the ocean. The splashing waves and the ship’s rocking motion add a real sense of movement, and together with the bright artwork and epic battle-cry soundtrack, it makes for an engaging atmosphere.

Available across all devices, the betting range runs from 0.20 and 10 Euros per spin. If you’d rather not wait for the bonus to arrive—which, as most players know, can take quite a while in Bonanza-style slots—there’s a Feature buy option. The base game RTP of 96.5% sits comfortably within the standard range and is slightly higher during the free spins.

Vikings Unleashed: Symbols & Paytable

As noted earlier, the paytable is a familiar one and has been lifted from other MegaWay slots. The reels include 9 to A as carved wooden royals, alongside 4 premium character symbols: a magician, an indigenous girl, the Barbarossa Viking, and the gold-bearded hero, who pays 50 times the stake for 6 across a full payline.

Gameplay takes place on a variable 6-reel setup where each reel can show up to 7 symbols, creating up to 117,649 paylines, better known as MegaWays. Above the main reels is a smaller reel set that displays an extra 4 symbols with ever spin and, unlike the main reels, it can also contain wilds and scatters.

In addition to the regular symbols, there’s also a mystery symbol represented by a Hammer. The Hammer can land in any position, and every Hammer on screen will transform into the same randomly selected symbol, which can sometimes lead to sizeable payouts.

Vikings Unleashed: Free Spins

The free spin feature can be triggered in two ways: either “organically” by landing at least 4 scatters anywhere on the reels, which awards 12 free spins + 5 extra free spins for each additional scatter that lands, or by purchasing direct access to the feature. When players press the Feature buy button, they can choose between 4 options, each starting with a x1 multiplier:

• 5 free spins to a cost of 25 times the stake (96.75% RTP).
• 8 free spins to a cost of 50 times the stake (96.89% RTP).
• 10 free spins to a cost of 75 times the stake (96.90% RTP).
• 12 free spins to a cost of 100 times the stake (96.91% RTP).

In both scenarios, players are given the chance to gamble the initially triggered free spins using two pie wheels—one to gamble the number of free spins and another to gamble the multipliers. At least visually, the probabilities seem strongly weighted in the player’s favour, and in our experience that impression proved to be accurate. Naturally, other players may see different outcomes. By gambling, players can reach up to 27 free spins and a starting multiplier of x10.

The free spin feature can re-trigger, granting an extra 5 or 10 free spins if 3 or 4 scatters land on the mini reel set, respectively.

Vikings Unleashed: Conclusion

In the end, this is another standard 117 MegaWays slot, so there’s nothing truly groundbreaking here. The gamble setup does add a slight variation, and it’s possible the RTP distribution has been tuned a little differently—though that’s difficult to confirm—but the bottom line is that it’s an ultra-high variance slot like the others in this category. Even though “unlimited retriggers and multipliers” is used as a selling point, there is still a maximum win limit of 50,000 times the stake or 250,000 Euros, whichever comes first. Hitting even a fraction of that ceiling would likely turn most players into lifelong fans of the game.

We’re big fans of the artwork and it’s clear the producers are highly skilled, but we can’t help feeling the MegaWays mechanics could have been used in a more original way.

To get the most out of it, test it alongside one of our 200% casino bonuses and pick a suitable deal from our Best Casino Bonus page.