Rise of Merlin: A Spell is Cast

Enter the world of the OG of King Arthur’s legend—Merlin the Magician—in this online slot by Play’n Go. This online casino slot offers a fresh take on the popular Book series, so expect similar gameplay and slot mechanics as you will find in Book of Dead. Rise of Merlin features a free spins bonus round where special expanding symbols can be activated. What sets it apart is the ability to retrigger the free spins multiple times (up to nine in total), allowing for even more expanding symbols.

Theme

Scrolls, orbs and hues of blue, green, pink and purple are the order of the day in this slot game. The background is Merlin’s magic chamber, which is blurred so that the grid can be placed prominently.

The King, Queen, Jack and Ten are silvery and curved, lending themselves to the scroll-like feel. The crystal ball is ornate and large, signifying that it’s an important symbol. There are two fierce and majestic dragon icons, one red and one white and silver, as well as a wise and powerful-looking owl. Merlin himself is drawn as a figure of mystery, magic and intrigue—old but never ageing. A gold frame surrounds the grid, adding to the enchanting look of the whole game.

Play’n Go have also created a soundtrack that is movie-worthy, reminiscent of huge epics like “Game of Thrones” or “House of Dragon.” You will feel like the main character in one of these historic shows, and we thoroughly enjoyed playing because of the look and sound. In fact, we can say it’s one of the few soundtracks that didn’t irk us within five minutes of playing it!

Gameplay

Rise of Merlin plays out on a 5-reel, 3-row grid, with wins happening when matching symbols line up left to right. You can choose to play all ten paylines or one, but it’s understood that the more lines you wager on, the greater your chance of winning. Rise of Merlin does not have a both-ways -pays option.

Symbols

Scatters can land anyway on the reels to unlock the free spin feature and they also act as a Wild. The crystal ball also doubles up as both the Wild and Scatter symbol, substituting any other symbol as well as activating the bonus.

The multipliers are nothing to complain about either—starting with the lowest-paying symbols. Any card suit pays between 0.8 and 1.2 for five on a pay line; the White Dragon and Owl pay 60x for five on a pay line, and the Red Dragon pays 160x your bet for five on a pay line.

If you are looking for the symbols that will add magic to your bankroll, that would be Merlin and the Crystal Ball, which both pay 500x for five on a pay line. The coins (funds) you have to play with, your coin value, how many coins you are wagering, the lines you are playing and your bet amount can all be found below the playing grid. You can also adjust accordingly here. The spin button is right next to these, as is the autoplay one.

Buttons

Autoplay spins range from ten to one hundred, and you can choose to stop on any win or if free spins are activated. There is also a sliding scale you can use to stop autoplay if a single win exceeds a certain amount or if the balance increases or decreases by a certain amount.

The information button, located on the far left and below the grid, shows a detailed and easy-to-understand paytable regarding symbols, how they need to line up for a win, and information about Scatters. Just below all of this is a small banner with a hamburger menu containing the settings and sound adjustment.

We like that everything is laid out in the game in a way that is uncomplicated and detailed. There are many slots out there that have complicated game mechanics and are a challenge to understand even with Merlin’s magic book. This is not the case for Rise of Merlin, and we appreciate that.

Features

Players must keep in mind that Rise of Merlin is part of the very popular Book series and, as such, will have the features that this series is known for. Let’s take a look.

Free Spins

This feature is what the game is all about, similar to Book of Dead. It is triggered by landing three or more Crystal Ball Scatters on a single spin, which then gives you eight free spins.

A symbol will be selected before the bonus game begins, and this will be the expanding symbol throughout the feature. This means wherever the chosen symbol lands is where it will fill the whole reel.

But here’s the magical twist. Should you land three or more Scatters during the feature, an additional 8 spins and a new expanding symbol will be selected. The feature can be activated up to nine times, meaning a potential bonus round that could be lucrative or at least fun to play.

Maximum Win on Rise of Merlin

Although Merlin can do many things, a traditional jackpot is not one of them. However, there’s still enchantment in the air. Should the highest-paying symbol fill the screen, in this case, Merlin, you could win 5,000 times your stake.

As with all casino games, wins are potentials and not guarantees (much like wizardry). If you wager the highest betting amount, £100, and you happen to get Merlin all over your screen; your single spin could land you a supernatural £500,000.

Specifics

Play’n Go released Rise of Merlin on 20 June 2019, but even almost six years later, it’s still a popular game for slot enthusiasts. It has an RTP (Return to Player) of 94.51%, but the online casino may choose to adjust that according to their preferences. This means it could also be set to 96.58%.

Rise of Merlin is considered a high-volatility slot, which means that the wins may be infrequent but are generally larger. For example, to land Merlin on every reel and win 5,000 times your stake, the probability is 1 in 87 million spins. Not bad, if you consider how many people play slot games every day, but definitely more than a low volatility slot. You can play from as little as £0.01 or as much as £100, depending on your budget.

About the Slot Developer

Play’n Go are not just an award-winning and global slot developer; they are also heavily focused on games that are mobile-friendly. They were, in fact, the first company to introduce a casino game that was mobile-optimised back in 2007 and now have a portfolio of over 300 top-tier games.

What this means is that whether you choose to play on your desktop, laptop or mobile device, you will find no issue with the quality or graphics. It doesn’t matter whether you have an iOS or Android device.

Final Verdict

Rise of Merlin is the kind of classic slot game that’s centred around myths, legends, magic and wonder. It is simple in gameplay, mechanics and design, but that is what we like about it.

Triggering as many free spins bonus games is really the aim, as that’s where you will find the wizard hardest at work. A 5,000 times your total bet would also be a great reward, but we think this game will be entertaining many players.

FAQs on Rise of Merlin