Vikings Unleashed Reloaded: Slot Overview

Back in 2018, Blueprint Gaming launched Vikings Unleashed Megaways as part of its push to capitalise on the Megaways licence from Big Time Gaming. It turned out to be a decent Viking-themed slot, though at its core it felt like an Extra Chilli imitator that still managed to find a solid audience. Now, for reasons best known to the studio, Blueprint Gaming has chosen to revisit that earlier Viking outing with a sequel. Called Vikings Unleashed Reloaded, it invites players to set sail once more for far-off lands to loot and pillage—within the fantasy confines of an online slot, naturally.

Vikings Unleashed Reloaded takes place aboard a Viking longship, and visually it doesn’t feel massively “reloaded.” The overall standard is much like the original despite arriving 5 years later, though the presentation is a touch more polished as the ship glides over the sea under a dark, overcast sky. Just like before, gameplay happens on a grid featuring 6 vertical spinning reels plus a top 4 cell bonus reel that spins horizontally. Lower-value symbols are scroll-style icons, premium symbols are Viking characters, and the booming, chant-filled soundtrack does a great job of selling the seafaring raid atmosphere.

Anyone looking to hop on board can wager from 10 p/c to $/€10 per spin, then either spin normally or head straight for the buy bonus option. In both situations, the RTP is set at 96% and the game is highly volatile. Wins are formed when matching symbols connect on consecutive reels starting from the far-left reel; reel height is irrelevant, and there can be up to 117,649 ways to win.

The cascading win system clears any winning symbols from the reels once they appear. New symbols then fall down to fill the gaps, and if another win is created, the cascade repeats. The symbol set is largely familiar too, with 5 card royals making up the low end and 4 character icons sitting at the top of the paytable. Premium combinations can return as much as 50x the bet for a 6-of-a-kind way, while the best-paying card symbol reaches 1.75x. Wilds also feature, substituting for any standard paying symbol, but note that wilds only appear on the top bonus reel.

Vikings Unleashed Reloaded: Slot Features

Feature-wise, Vikings Unleashed Reloaded mostly sticks to familiar territory, including mystery symbols and free spins that build a multiplier. On top of that, there’s also a four-option Bonus Buy.

Mystery Symbols

Hammer-marked mystery symbols can appear on any reel. When they land, all mystery symbols transform into the same randomly selected symbol from the paytable.

Free Spins

The scatter symbol can also land on the 6 main reels in Vikings Unleashed Reloaded. Landing 4 scatters triggers 12 free spins, and you receive an extra 5 free spins for every additional scatter involved in the trigger. Right before the free spins begin, players have the option of gambling for extra free spin, a higher starting multiplier and a greater minimum number of Megaways on each free spin. This takes place across 3 separate red and green segmented gamble wheels. Be aware that a failed gamble means losing the entire round. In the best-case setup, you can start with 30 free spins, an x10 multiplier, and 117,649 guaranteed ways. During the free spins feature, every win increases the win multiplier by +1, and landing 3 or 4 scatters awards an extra 5 or 10 free spins, respectively.

Bonus Buy

Using the bonus buy menu, players may spend 32x, 70x, 175x, or 350x the bet to purchase 8, 12, 19, or 27 free spins, respectively. In each of the four options, the win multiplier begins at x1.

Vikings Unleashed Reloaded: Slot Verdict

Waiting five years for a sequel—or “reload,” depending on how you see it—is a long stretch, and anyone expecting Vikings Unleashed Reloaded to be a major reinvention may feel underwhelmed by how little has been revamped. In truth, the differences are minimal, which could be an unwelcome surprise. So, if you were hoping Vikings Unleashed Reloaded would take Viking-themed play into unexplored territory, it’s best to keep expectations in check.

That said, Blueprint Gaming has long been known for making small adjustments rather than sweeping changes, so the close resemblance to the earlier title isn’t exactly out of character. The studio has often taken an existing formula, tweaked it slightly, and released it again to see whether players bite—sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. The extended Fishin’ Frenzy series and the huge collection of Eye of Horus titles are good examples. The bigger question might be why Vikings Unleashed Reloaded took so long to arrive. The max win is also unchanged, retaining the familiar 50,000x cap seen across many Blueprint Gaming releases.

Overall, Vikings Unleashed Reloaded is an enjoyable Viking slot, delivered with strong artwork and rousing audio. Still, aside from those who enjoy pushing the pre-feature gamble options to the limit, there isn’t a great deal that truly separates it from its predecessor, which may disappoint some. The idea of landing the perfect setup—117,649 ways on every free spin—is certainly enticing, though it could just as easily turn into a bankroll-buster if the gambles don’t fall your way.