Sword Stomp

Sword Stomp: Slot Overview

Red Tiger's partner Max Win Gaming appears to have turned its focus to Norse culture and belief to craft the Viking-related online slot Sword Stomp. You don't need us to tell you that online gamblers have no end of Viking slots to choose from, and to help stand itself out from the pack, Sword Stomp has gone simplistic in function, somewhat old school, where the features do have the potential to smack like the flat of a blade on a cheek, but it might be a little too simplistic for gamblers with voracious appetites for the brightest, newest, shiniest gadgetry. If you'd like to find out what Sword Stomp's personal impression might be, armour up, and let's take it for a spin or two.

Visually, Sword Stomp isn't bad to look at. It's not a slot which takes place on a longship or in a village or anywhere like that. Instead, it looks like we're on Dante's 'dark wood where the direct road was lost… how wild, harsh and impenetrable that wood was, so that thinking of it recreates the fear.' The most fearful thing on the screen was the glowing-eyed wolf prowling below the reels, though some of the sound effects were fairly eerie, as well. The good news is that players are accompanied by an absolute unit of a warrior in the game, looking grim and gruff on the load screen, as well as appearing on expanded wild symbols. These wilds you want to see a lot of too, as they're able to bring multipliers to the fight.

Encased in a frame covered in carved runes is Sword Stomp's gaming grid. Each of its 5 reels holds 3 rows and 10 paylines zig-zag across the matrix, creating wins of 3 to 5 OAK, starting from the leftmost reel. The stomping around here is of the highly volatile variety, and the default RTP has been recorded by Max Win Gaming as 96%, while bets of 10 c to $/€20 may be wagered.

For lows, Sword Stomp uses clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades, paying out 1 times the bet, no matter the type, for a 5-of-a-kind hit. Moving up in value, we come across axes, birds, wolves, and a character symbol as the premiums, awarding 5 to 20 times the bet when 5 identical high pays land across the grid.

Sword Stomp: Slot Features

Sword Stomp goes back to basics in the feature section, serving a hearty if simple collection of expanding full reel wilds with multipliers, free spins where wilds are sticky, and a bonus buy.

Wild Symbol

First and foremost, wild symbols substitute for any regular pay symbol. Wilds also expand over the whole reel if, after expansion, they participate in a winning line. After expanding, the wild symbol reveals a multiplier of x2 to x100. The multiplier applies to all winning combinations it is a part of. If more than one wild is part of the same winning combination, the multipliers are added to each other. A line of 5 wild symbols is worth 20 times the bet.

Free Spins

In the base game, landing 3 scatter symbols awards 10 free spins. During the free spins round, all wilds expand and remain locked in their position for the entire bonus, randomly changing their multiplier on each spin.

Bonus Buy

For the cost of 100 times the stake, players are able to buy the free spins bonus round. There is no mention that the RTP changes when doing so.

Sword Stomp: Slot Verdict

With the large number of Norse-style online slots already available, some may question the wisdom of making another one with such a basic set of features. This approach really is Sword Stomp's main selling point though. For players in the mood for keeping it simple, a bit of old-school gaming with Viking imagery, then Sword Stomp ticks many of the right boxes. While the graphical standard is quite high, Sword Stomp managed to feel retro and has the sort of uncomplicated, some might say unsophisticated, gameplay which can literally slam down like a sledgehammer and do significant amounts of damage, when all's going well.

It's interesting, the overriding comparison slot which kept bubbling up in the mind while reviewing Sword Stomp was none other than Thunderstruck 2. What's even more interesting is that even now, over a decade later, the Microgaming release felt like the fuller game. Maybe this is partly due to Thunderstruck 2's classic status. Not meaning to take anything away from Sword Stomp, though; it's a decent alternative for gamblers after a simple, old-school battler. The win cap isn't too shabby either, coming in at 10,000 times the bet.

Sword Stomp is one of those love-it-or-leave-it situations. On the one hand, some players may love the simplistic savagery that sticky, full reel wilds with multipliers of up to x100 bring to the table, whereas others may find the whole venture a little too backwards for their tastes. Imagine a feast in Valhalla. Are you picturing delicate plates offering a wide variety of exquisite delicacies, brought in from across the nine realms, or a table covered in hunks of roast ox? Converting this thought pattern to a slot format might help prospective players decide whether Sword Stomp is for them or not.