Merlin Journey of Flame Slot Review
Play’n GO is, without a doubt, one of the most prominent online slot creators ever. It seems that they expand their operations worldwide monthly, growing the company’s presence on all continents. In the past month alone, they have entered the brick-and-mortar sector via a partnership deal with famed sportsbook William Hill and have struck a collaboration agreement with MADLORD. That entity ranks as a top audio production brand with a history of creating soundtracks for multiple popular spinners.
On the online slot front, Play’n GO is releasing three to four games monthly, and one of their recent products that have caught our eye is Merlin: Journey of Flame. It first appeared on exclusive platforms on July 13th and has since gotten wider distribution. The slot may not have done as well as Play’n GO had hoped, but it is still pulling in respectable playability numbers globally, and it is a product we shall analyze below.
Theme & Design
Also known as Myrddin in Welsh, Merlin is a mythical figure prominent in the legend of King Arthur. Introduced by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the 12th century, he gets depicted as a mage with various supernatural powers. His name derives from the Brythonic Myrddin, with Geoffrey Latinizing it to Merlinus. At the time of writing, we found almost forty Merlin-themed spinners, with Power of Merlin Megaways from Pragmatic Play ranking at the top of this pile.
Expanding on the rich mythology of the Merlin IP, this Play’n GO release gets described by George Olekszy, the brand’s head of game retention, as an enchanting gaming experience. Drawing from Play’n GO’s impressive portfolio of slots, this is the fifth installment in their wizard series that infuses fresh air into the studio’s lineup of games. Despite being a prequel to Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana, launched two years ago, and Rise of Merlin, this reel spinner recounts the tale of young Merlin stumbling upon a rare Dragon’s Egg in a murky lake.
The visuals here are on par with the most recent Play’n GO slots. The 5×3 grid here sits on a stone monument in what seems to be at the bottom of a gorge, ravine, or canyon, with birds flying in the background. The graphics are colorful painterly images, and various cartoony animations play, with some dragon ones that feature light 3D effects. When you enter a bonus round in Merlin Journey of Flame, the background shifts into a lava-covered one, with a dragon hovering behind the 5×3 layout. The music is dramatic, and the sound effects incorporate the traditional slot coin noises.
As you would expect, the buttons panel here is the standard Play’n GO one, which, as always, gets customized to fit this game’s theme. So, you have the spin functions on the right, the coin, coin value, and line selectors in the middle, and the info button on the left. The bottom screen bar tells you your bet, win, and balance amounts.
Specs & Gameplay
Merlin Journey of Flame is a high-variance title that plays out on a 5×3 setup with a maximum of ten paylines, a number that can get lowered per spin. The betting range here moves between $0.1 to $100, with the max win standing at x7,500. The RTP of this game ranges, but the default setting is 96.29%.
In Merlin: Journey of Flame, regular line wins initiate from the leftmost side of the reels and span across adjacent reels. However, expanded symbol wins differ. On the lower end of the paytable, you will find green, blue, red, orange, and yellow runically inscribed stones, followed by a bottle, book, staff, and Merlin, serving as the four premium tokens. Achieving a five-symbol combination of the low-paying symbols yields rewards ranging from x10 to x12.5, whereas landing five premiums on a winning line grants you x50 to x500.
The excitement in this slot escalates when the sixth reel gets unlocked. In this case, a six-symbol low-pay win gets valued at fifteen to twenty times the bet, while a six-symbol high-pay win brings rewards up to x750.
Bonus Features
Within the game, only two bonus features await. Yet, do not forget the Dragon Egg, which acts as both a wild, substituting for any paying symbol, and the scatter.
By landing three, four, or five scatters, you get rewarded with eight complementary free spins with a payout of x2, x20, or x200, respectively. Once this round gets activated, the sixth reel unlocks, allowing the chance to land additional symbols. Moreover, am expanding symbol gets randomly selected. When these expanding symbols form a winning combination, they grow to cover their reel. Notably, expanded tokens pay on all active lines. They do not require adjacency. The thrills grow as landing three or more Hatched Dragon Egg Wild scatters during this round. You will get awarded an extra eight, with no limit on how many times this can recur.
Now, let us talk about the gamble feature that allows you to try and double, quadruple, or lose your winnings by correctly guessing the color/suit of a face-down card. Note that this Gamble mode can get played a maximum of five times and has a potential payout of up to x250.
GOSU Verdict
Technically, Merlin: Journey of Flame is a Book Of games. And it is somewhat of a reskin of Scroll of Dead, sharing similar features/gameplay. That primarily refers to a sixth added reel in the bonus round. Nonetheless, Journey of Flame has better specs than Scroll of Dead, with a higher max win and better RTP.
Play’n GO’s art team’s efforts shine through in this release, creating an atmospheric rendition of the Arthurian theme. Though, we have gotten used to their presentation standard. So, this does not feel special. We would say that this is your run-of-the-mill modern Book Of entry. But, compared to other slots hitting the market, it lacks creativity and diversity. Hence, it may be a good fit for Book Of Lovers, but everyone else can do better. Well, maybe not in the Merlin slot selection online, but definitely in the general wizard/fantasy one.
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