Blue Wizard Slot Review

26/03/2021 | Categories: Playtech Slots | Published by: Joe | Last updated: 05/01/2024

We have not reviewed many Playtech products on our site. We also do not believe that we have ever had the opportunity to look at one by developer Rarestone Gaming. It is an Australian studio that began operations in 2016. Two years after its inception, it got acquired by UK iGaming giant Playtech. If you are knee-deep in interactive gaming, like us, you know how much Playtech loves bringing smaller companies into their fold.

Rarestone Gaming does not have a vast catalog of games. According to records, they barely have 30 titles in their arsenal. Out of that batch, Blue Wizard is by far their most popular product. It is a part of Playtech’s Fire Blaze series, and it hit online casinos in July of 2019. Upon entry into platforms’ lobbies, it shot up into the top 50 rankings. Recently, it has improved its status, moving in and out of the twenty most-played spinners list. It likely attains this honor due to the four jackpots tied into the Fire Blaze series and Playtech’s long reach into specific markets where other providers have yet to get a foothold.

Theme & Design

The protagonist of this game is a sorcerer reminiscent of Merlin from the legend of King Arthur. Wizards are some of the most common characters in fantasy literature. They have extensive knowledge of magical practices or the occult, which allows them to cast spells. This ability usually comes with a trade-off, as the use of supernatural powers drains these spell-casters of their physical strength. Thus, they often get depicted as elderly men who feel physically weak after displaying magical abilities.

There is no story to Blue Wizard, and its title character looks a lot like the one from Play’n Go’s Rise of Merlin, which came out a month before this product. The name of this slot is likely a nod to Tolkien’s sea-blue robe-wearing sorcerers hinted at in the Hobbit. The visuals here are 2D painterly graphics. They are not bad to look at, though a bit lifeless. The base game backdrop is a cabin home, similar to something you would find in the Shire. The scene is at dusk, with everything having a blue tint to it. In the foreground, you can see a tree with a sign that reads – Wizard House. Once you enter the Free Spins Round, a 1980s movie fantasy soundtrack plays. It’s catchy and nostalgic. We quite like it.

An ornamented golden frame encases the reel grid, and the four jackpot amount sits on top of it. Below the grid is the buttons panel. Its configuration begins with the info button and bet-adjuster on its left. The spin and auto-spin functions are on the panel’s right side. At the bottom of the screen is an additional bar, which houses your casino balance, the help page, and the mute option.

Specs & Gameplay

Blue Wizard is a five-reel, three-row slot with thirty fixed paylines. It has a slightly above average RTP of 96.5% and medium variance. Bet sizes here range from $0.1 to a whopping $500. The max is x2,880 your stake. However, given the impressive max wager, we can say that the win potential here is more than decent. You form winning combos on this game by hitting three to five identical symbols on one of thirty fixed paylines. They must be on adjacent reels for the game to pay out a prize.

The low-paying symbols here are golden A-10 royals. For five-of-a-kind on a line, they will produce a win worth x1.33 your stake. The high-paying ones are a ring, a spell-book, a cauldron, and an owl. Landing five matching symbols from this group will yield a reward ranging between x2 to x6 your bet.

The wizard is the game’s Wild, and he substitutes all other symbols except the Scatter. In the Free Spins Round, Wild symbols appearing on reel three will come with a multiplier value of x2, x4, x8, and x16. A fairytale-like castle is the Scatter here, and a crystal ball is a Bonus symbol, appearing on all the reels. The latter can also carry a multiplier.

Bonus Features

There are two bonus features in this game. The first one is the Fire Blaze Re-spins, and you activate it by landing six to fifteen crystal balls on the grid. Doing so provides you with three re-spins. Each crystal ball that lands during this mode will have a star icon or a cash prize, and they will become sticky for the remainder of the feature. Every time you land a new ball in view, the number of re-spins resets to three. You need to fill all fifteen symbol positions to win the grand prize.

You gain entry into the Free Spins Round by hitting three Scatters on a single spin. When that happens, you get six complimentary reel rotations. As mentioned, during this round, Wilds appearing on reel three have a multiplier attached. You can retrigger this mode as long as you keep landing three or more Scatters.

GOSU Verdict

In all honesty, at first sight, we thought that this was going to be a super-boring slot. Playing it for a while, we somewhat got into it. Nevertheless, its gameplay mechanics are run-of-the-mill, and while decent to look at, we found it visually uninspiring. It is a solid game, but not one that we would recommend for experienced spinners. If the theme appeals to you, or if you are into making some heavy bets, give it a spin. Otherwise, stay away. The game’s popularity likely stems from its availability on UK/US-licensed platforms. It’s okay, but you can find better products on the market that incorporate the same motifs.