Arctic Fortune

Game Details

An RTP of 96.58% puts AF in the upper echelons of Microgaming, but of course, not everyone stops to examine all of the facts and figures. There is a whopping 1024 ways to win with a stake ranging from 0.50 all the way up to 100, so if you’re feeling lucky and you want to bet big and bet hard, venture into the blizzard and see how you fare.

The reel comes in at a 5×4 structure which certainly offers up plenty of possibilities, and while that risks putting a strain on the player’s ability to follow the action, the tempo of the slots flow quite nicely which ensures a strong visual experience.

With the combinations necessary for victory not being restricted to particular patterns, there’s a real appeal to this game that puts it ahead of some slots that may be viewed as more ‘advanced’. Three to five characters of the same appearance need to be put together in order to make some magic happen, with the scatter icon also being in a play to give people a chance to secure some free spins.

Those looking for consistency or an extra spark to spring the game into the next tier could be left feeling disappointed, but it all comes down to what exactly your expectations were when the whole escapade got underway.

Symbols and Payouts

While there is definitely a clunky element to the “Coins”, “Bet Max” and “Stop” symbols towards the bottom of the screen, it’s easy to forgive Microgaming for that when you arrive at the heart of this slot game.

The brown, gold and white frame that makes up the reels really does accomplish what we can only assume is a pre-set goal of making this feel like a real Viking voyage. The setting is made all the more magical, in our eyes, by the dramatic music that teleports us into another dimension entirely. It’s as if someone has meshed together Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and Game of Thrones in the strangest yet most satisfying crossover of all time.

Then we arrive at the seven main characters, or symbols, that decide the fate of the player. From bottom to top in terms of importance and value, we have the wine & grapes, white wolf, ship, treasure chest, horned helmet warrior, a female warrior and blonde male warrior.

That blonde male warrior character is going to be the eye of the storm for the majority of those who want to try and take on the Arctic Fortune, and rightfully so, as he’s capable of earning you up to 1500x your initial stake if you find five of him. That’s what we call breaking the bank.

Bonus Game & Jackpot

Bonus features may not be the forte of every slot game, but Arctic Fortune endeavours to try and give you what you came to see and then some.

In order to determine the number of free spins you’ll get, as well as the multiplier, the punter will come face to face with one of mankind’s worst enemies: the spider.

If it’s all about getting your hands on the multiplier then aim towards the red fiery spiders, or, mix it up and zone in on the blue icy spiders which will allow you to rack up the free spins as you go along. In the end, though, we come upon a final boss sort of moment in the form of the spider king which can be killed to trigger an instant win – and that’s what we’re all here to see in the bonus game.

The jackpot available in the main game has been documented earlier on in this review, but beyond that, there’s no progressive jackpot to be won. For a game that has been in the business for a decade it’s starting to seem unlikely that we’ll see any kind of variation for that, but as is the case with many slots, what you see is what you get and there’s nothing wrong with such an approach.

Mobile Compatibility

One of the biggest benefits of a Microgaming slot is now, and will probably always be, their quick thinking in recognising that apps are the future. Their mobile casino gaming setup for Arctic Fortune works perfectly fine and has done for a few years now.

Flash technology is used to get the game going in an instant-play format, cutting through the noise and the chaos of having to load up an incredibly laggy slot.

Because of the Flash technology, however, they’ll have to start thinking about how to work around the impending exit of Flash from Google Chrome that is set to come into effect at the end of 2020. Plus, even now, iOs users have the exclusive rights on AF in comparison to other platforms.

Verdict

While it may be a battle of will that takes place in the midst of a harsh landscape, there aren’t all too many “get up and go” elements to the game – which risks jumping between themes every so often. With that being said, it’s still a supremely fun slot that has the potential to give players some tasty wins if they’re patient enough.

Plus, it’s hard to go wrong when you introduce the might of the Vikings into the battlefield.

Author

Hi, I'm Fatima

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Reviewer since June, 2020