Play’n GO is most enthusiastic about two things: ‘book of’ slots and Arthurian Legends. There are, of course, others; nevertheless, these two will do for our purposes here. If this is the case, the production team must have been on fire when they came up with the concept of Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana. For one, most players will be familiar with the expanding pay anywhere symbols that appear during the free spins. Two, legend has it that Morgana, who fled Camelot when her brother was king, hid out in a cold wasteland, and that Merlin went there to find her. There, he encounters an Ice Queen who rules the realm; she is revealed to be his apprentice Morgana, whom he has been pursuing.
The storyline surprise may not have required the imagination of a writer like M. Night Shyamalan, but the backstory gives depth that is appreciated while plowing through yet another “book” based slot. The full-reel Morgana wild symbol is particularly eye-catching, and Play’n GO’s graphics team has created an appealing ice environment in which to live. Depending on the current phase of play, either an indoor or outdoor location will be used. Both are visually appealing, yet rather chilling due to the abundance of ice and snow. In keeping with Play’n GO’s track record, Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana is not an unsightly game.
The setup is very conventional, with 1-10 win lines available on a 5-reel, 3-reel panel. The mathematical model behind Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana is just as solid, paying out an RTP of 96.2% when adjusted for optimal play with medium/high volatility. To place a numerical value on it, this latter element has been given a rating of 7 out of 10. Bets may be placed between 1 pence and £/€100 every spin, and Merlin can utilize any equipment to locate his prey. Players may choose the number of paylines from 1 to 10, allowing for a minimal starting wager.
Moving on to the payout schedule, I count 9 common icons, 5 low-value and 4 high-value tiles. 10-A card royals carved on rocks are the least valuable, with payouts of 1.5x to 2.5x the stake for a five-symbol strike. After there come potions, books, and the fabled Merlin tiles. These symbols have lower values than they would in standard ‘book’ slots since multipliers are introduced later on. Therefore, getting five premium symbols on an active payline will return 10x to 250x your wager, presuming all ten lines are in play.
Slot Characteristics Featuring Merlin and Morgana, the Ice Queen
In a word, both the standard game and the free spins include full-reel wild multipliers, making Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana a slot machine unlike any other.
Wild Morgana
Morgana Wilds are available on all reels and can appear stacked. The Morgana Multiplier is activated when they fall in a stacked formation. All winnings on the triggering spin are multiplied by 2, 3, 5, or 8 times at random. Scatter winnings are also subject to the multiplier.
Bonus Turns
When you get at least three of the Merlin Staff scatter symbols, you’ll get ten free games. One of the pay symbols is selected at random before the bonus rounds begin and becomes the expanding symbol. If the growing symbol can create a winning combination, it will grow to fill the entire reel once the evaluation of wins has been completed. These symbols now pay on all active paylines, regardless of their position in the reel. To help players out, winning combos may be completed with the help of enlarged Morgana Wilds, which can substitute for other unique expanding symbols.
Game of Chance
With this add-on, gamers have the possibility to increase their payout. The goal is to properly predict the color or suit of a card that is face down. If you guess correctly, you could treble your prize; if you guess incorrectly, you’d lose everything. You have the option to risk up to 2,500 coins five times.
The Slots Say About Merlin and Morgana, the Ice Queen
The ‘book of’ games made by Play’n GO are consistently high quality, and the company must be one of the most prolific makers of such games. When compared to similar works, Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana is on par with the best of them. It’s beautiful to look at, well-executed, and clearly the product of a company with extensive background making slots of this type. However, since it adheres to the tried-and-true “book with a new bit” formula that Play’n GO has cornered the market on, it’s likely that development of Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana didn’t put too much strain on the company.
The new features are great, and they make the game’s outcome a little less certain. Symbol values are reduced from the norm, albeit not as much as in other games when extra modifiers are in play. The Morgana Wild Symbol is the multiplier in this instance. If you manage to fill an entire reel with them, the resulting multiplier may be rather exciting. The fact that expanding symbols are replaced with Morgana Wilds during free spins was a pleasant surprise. Although this may not completely upend our understanding of ‘book’ slots, it does increase the maximum payout to a theoretical $20,000 per wager.
Since Play’n GO often releases similar titles, Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana feels like business as usual. Even yet, everything has been presented so beautifully that anyone with a passing interest in extending symbol bonus rounds or a player’s insatiable love in Book-style gameplay should be fulfilled by what Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana does.
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