Viking Runes Slot - Demo, Free Play, No Registration -

Introduction

In Norse mythology, the god Odin gored his chest with his own weapon and hanged for nine days and nights on the world tree Yggdrasil in order to understand the significance of the runes.

It’s a theme we’ve seen used in a number of video slots - and the Norse genre is back in the latest video slot we’re reviewing, Viking Runes, which comes from a game developer called TrueLab. In fitting with the history behind the game’s theme, the slot will be released on Yggdrasil’s gaming platform.

Format and Betting Options

Viking Runes employs a cluster pays system, in which a win is awarded when six or more identical symbols link horizontally or vertically. When more than one cluster lands at the same time, they will all be awarded as wins. Winning clusters are then eliminated from the grid, enabling new symbols to fall into their place. This could result in a string of wins from a single spin, that will only stop until no more winning clusters occur.

Viking Runes is available to play from 0.40 to 40 credits per spin, catering to players of all budgets. The game is also entirely mobile-optimized, allowing you to experience the action when out and about.

Graphics and Theme

Runes were said to have magical powers in the sagas, and the backdrop artwork in Viking Runes supports this theory. The grid is set in a rugged mountainous area, shimmering in violet snow from the Aurora Borealis, which lights up the screen's top part. It gives off an eerie light, which is heightened by the heads in the stone peering out like earth spirits. The horn-helmed fighter standing beside the grid injects extra life, poised to strike it with his Warhammer at any time.

Like virtually any slot released on Yggdrasil’s platform, Viking Runes looks fantastic - and there’s no doubts that it’s a fantastic-looking slot; that’s clear from the moment you load the game up for the first time.

Viking Runes’ RTP and Volatility

Like many Cluster Pays slots - especially those built with cascading symbols - Viking Runes offers frequent and often long-drawn-out wins, and the game has a hit frequency of 31.8%. It’s a highly volatile slot, and during the base-game alone, wins formed using the higher-paying symbols can be worth up to 800X your stake.

The game’s RTP is fixed - you won’t find it offered in different RTP settings at different online casinos - and this is 96.2%.

Bonus Features

There’s a few different bonuses and features to look out for in Viking Runes, and we’ll take a look at these - and how they work - below.

Lightning Wilds

Lightning Wilds are a core part of how the video slot works, and there are four of these wilds, stored in a meter found on the right-hand-side of the game grid. When a winning cluster of symbols is formed, one of these lightning wilds is activated, and then placed onto a random position on the game grid. It’s possible for up to four of these lightning wilds to appear on a single spin, increasing your chances of the winning cascade continuing.

Random Modifiers

During the base-game and the main bonus round there are three random modifiers which can trigger at any point; only one can activate per spin, however.

• The first is the Runic Shuffle, which is triggered on a losing spin; when activated, the symbols are all reshuffled, guaranteeing a win.
• The second of these reel modifiers is the Spell of Ancestor; once a cluster sequence has finished, this can trigger randomly, transforming all of the lower-paying symbols into higher-paying symbols.
• The third reel modifier in the slot is called Viking Sorcery. Again, activated when no more wins are formed after a cluster sequence, anywhere from three to nine wilds are added to the game grid in random positions.

Free Spins

Landing five consecutive winning cascades during the base-game triggers the free spins feature, and this sees you awarded with 6 free spins. During the free spins bonus round, each spin sees all 4 Lightning Wilds added to the reels - and there’s also a progressive multiplier which increases whenever one of the wilds is involved in a winning combination of symbols. Unfortunately, the free spins cannot be retriggered.

Viking Runes Review

Viking Runes may have been influenced by Viking Runecraft, and the names are nearly identical, but TrueLab's game seems to be a much more prominent slot. It's not as complicated, with the main focus being on landing successive cascades to obtain free spins. Yes, there's many sporadic bonuses in the base game, but Viking Runes is the easier game overall. Reading the paytable in Viking Runecraft is akin to interpreting the instructions of a roleplaying game. In short, the two games are likely to provide enough variation to keep any complaints over "copying" to a minimum.

Also differentiating the two slots is the fact that Viking Runes has a real free spins bonus; this is a welcomed addition - and something that we feel actually plays out really well. Of course, there’s big win-potential packed into the slot too, and you’ll find yourself able to win up to 25,000X your stake on a single spin - with much of that win-potential found within the free spins bonus.

A great effort from TrueLab and Yggdrasil, we feel - and we personally think that Viking Runes will be a relatively big success upon its release. Great graphics, an interesting game mechanic and big win-potential are likely to appeal to all types of players.

Disclaimer: Viking Runes trademark / license is owned by Yggdrasil Gaming. This site is not endorsed by Yggdrasil Gaming.