Rise of Merlin

Rise of Merlin by Play’n GO Game Overview

There are only a handful of gaming studios that can nail the balance between excellent in-game mechanics and a fantastic theme. After playing a handful of Play’n GO titles, such as Rise of Olympus, Book of Dead, and finally, Rise of Merlin, I can see that the game studio is excellent at bringing these complex yet engaging games to life.

The Play’n GO Rise of Merlin slot isn’t something players haven’t encountered before, but after reviewing it thoroughly, I can see that it features a nearly flawless execution of the mechanics you can expect only from the best of slot games.

Pros

• Excellent graphics, animations, and sound
• Unique features
• High win potential of up to 5,000x
• Simple but engaging gameplay

Cons

• Few bonus features

Rise of Merlin Slot Review

From all that I’ve seen over the years, it’s abundantly clear that it’s very easy to fall into a sort of templated approach with online slots without innovating a little bit. Luckily, Rise of Merlin does not make that mistake at all and continues to build upon the legacy of Play’n GO with yet another stellar entry into their video slot collection.

 

While it balances volatility and RTP, it’s also backed by smooth gameplay mechanics. However, there’s more to this game than meets the eye, and I’ll discuss all of it in the next few sections.

Theme

Contrary to most online casino games in the market, Play’n GO worked hard to flesh out a consistent storyline for the Rise of Merlin. The game is based around the early days of Merlin, who is now a legend in the wizarding world but had an adventurous past that led to such a point.

 

Players essentially inhabit the role of a young Merlin, who has the task of casting the key spells that will cement his legacy. I thought that this storyline made a great impact here because we already saw that Merlin was a legendary wizard. When I played the game, I felt like I was contributing to the legacy of this great legend, and this made the game so much more enjoyable.

Graphics, Sounds, and Animation

Play’n GO has an extensive set of games that look incredible, and Rise of Merlin is among their best-looking slots in years. This is especially done through their dragon symbols, which remain an eye-catching aspect of the game.

 

The background is Merlin’s own lair itself, which is presented in a decent degree of detail. Not only does the background align with the overall presence of symbols, but it also ties the whole experience together. The soundtrack rather fits the theme, so the overall multimedia experience that this online slot delivers is pretty impressive.

RTP, Payout, and Volatility

Going a little over the average RTP (return to player) in online slots, Rise of Merlin has an RTP of 96.58%. This means that for every €100 you bet, you will get back €96.58 on average. That makes this game relatively friendly for beginners, in my opinion, but it’s also important to take into account that this is a highly volatile game.

 

That means that while you may not hit wins all too frequently, you can expect big wins to occur all the same. Even still, the game caters to those with a diverse risk appetite, with the base game featuring a betting range between €0.10 to €100 per spin. The theoretical max win when you play this slot is 5,000x, and I think it only enhances the thrill of landing symbols on a payline.

Gameplay and Paytable

This 5 reel and 3 row slot brings a rather classical design to the front, but I’d advise that players not be fooled by its seeming simplicity for even a second. The free slot has only 10 paylines, but it has some of the biggest assortment of symbols that I’ve ever only seen in the best online casinos.

 

The Rise of Merlin casino game features both wild and scatter symbols, including several traditional symbols (A, K, Q, J, 10). There are also high-paying symbols, like the magician (Merlin), the magical orb (acting as both the wild and the scatter), the red dragon, the white dragon, and the owl. As you can see in the paytable, the distribution of potential payouts is balanced and offers fair potential across various symbol combinations.

Bonus Features

Play’n GO usually sticks to its strengths, and the features that worked for their previous games, such as Book of Ra Magic or Magic Mirror Deluxe, are present in Rise of Merlin as well.

 

Free Spin Bonus

The special expanding symbol of the orb (or a crystal ball) contains the power to make or break your bonus round. Landing the crystal ball up to three times triggers the free spins. In the free spins round, there are up to 8 free spins.

Upon landing 3 or more scatters, the free spins can get retriggered, and you can get 8 free spins to play with. However, the additional expanding symbol works only a certain number of times, as even if the symbol lands in a series anywhere on the reels, the possibility of getting another 8 free spins with expanding symbols only goes lower and lower.

 

Bonus Card Game

Within the demo mode, I found a bonus game apart from the free spins bonus round that is playable right after a win. It’s essentially a card game, where it deviates heavily from being a 10 payline slot. You get a choice to gamble and guess either the colour of a shuffled card for a small bonus or guess the exact class (spade, club, heart, or diamond) for a bigger reward.

 

What I like about this is that it’s not reliant upon what symbols you land. Whether you get crystal ball scatter symbols or retrigger the free spins in the previous round, it hardly matters.