The cold north did not make for a comfortable land where an easy life could exist. The harsh winter created harsher men, who realised any fortune and fame would await beyond their shores.
These Norse raiders daringly marched and raided all over Europe, settling the lands of the enemy or outright conquering them. The exploits of the most famous Viking, Ragnar Lothbrok, and his many sons is depicted in the popular TV show Vikings.
So when the story broke that NetEnt would produce a slot tie-in with the show, excitement went through the roof. Adventure awaits in its various bonuses: A hotspot feature, clusters of mystery symbols appearing randomly, and free spins that expand the playing field.
Developer
For a great deal of players, the name NetEnt might as well be synonymous with online gambling. It is a Swedish company founded in 1996, and is one of the most successful online casino software providers.
Originally, the company ran things through Java and had its own casinos, but times change, and NetEnt adjusts with them. Now, their software can be found on a great deal of websites, they have fully embraced HTML5 and mobile gambling, and look poised to be just as successful in the next twenty years as they have been in their first twenty.
At the 2018 EGT Awards, the developer celebrated the title of Best Casino Content Supplier and winning the Innovations in Mobile category.
How to Play it
The game is played on a 5×3 board that can expand into a 7×5 playing field during free spins. The number of winlines goes up from 243 up to a massive 78125 ways to win. That means gamblers cannot turn certain paylines on and off to lower their minimum bet. Instead, players choose their bet level and coin value to change the total stake. The user interface is the same one in all NetEnt releases, so it should be immediately familiar and easy to use.
Gamblers can set their wagers between $0.20 up to $100 per spin, which is a great betting spread for both casual players and high rollers. The Autoplay lets you choose the number of spins, allows you to set win and loss limits as well as a single win threshold, and to pause if free spins are triggered.
NetEnt’s slots were always top notch when it comes to graphics, and this one is no exception. Nearly every element of the background image is animated: the raven turns its head and crows, the banner and branches twist with the wind, and the snow changes course as the wind picks up in intensity. Symbols have interesting designs, and the screen transitions into special features are amazing.
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Special Features
During normal gameplay, a single Hotspot covers the third reel. When a stacked Viking symbol appears on top of said Hotspot, it transforms all other Vikings into that particular icon, and then plays a single Scatter pay. The transformed symbols reward a pay regardless of reel position.
Collect three bloodied shields on the third, fourth and fifth reel to trigger free spins. During these extra turns, the reels expand, covering a larger 7×5 board with 78125 ways to win instead of the standard 243. Now, there are three total hotspot areas in the middle positions of the playing field. A total of seven free spins are played, with no ability to retrigger additional extra turns.
Finally, both during Raid Spins and normal gameplay, a group of shields can randomly appear to cover a certain section of the board. The symbols beneath will then all be transformed into a single randomly chosen icon from the paytable, which is a near-guaranteed win.
Maximum Payouts
The largest possible win in Vikings is 607,5x during normal gameplay, and goes up to a stunning 10,000x your total bet when free spins are activated. The game has a medium-high variance, and an RTP of 96.05%, which is the current industry average.
Summary
While licensed titles are usually good, we are quite certain whoever made the deal with NetEnt is currently enjoying their promotion. Fantastic graphics and smooth gameplay have propelled Vikings to the top, and it still remains one of the most played slots in many casinos we frequent. If you do not mind the higher than average volatility, you owe it to yourself to play this game.