Le Viking

Le Viking: Slot Overview

Hacksaw Gaming's time-traveling raccoon "Smokey" is back in Le Viking, the third entry in the studio's "Le" series. After storming the Wild West in Le Bandit (2023) and unearthing ancient Egyptian treasures in Le Pharaoh (2024) - the latter earning the runner-up spot in the 2024 Bigwinboard Awards - the raccoon has now landed in the Viking age. Armed with a helmet, a battle-ready pose, and his ever-present cheeky grin, he's ready to raid for riches on the high seas with the help of Raid Spins, Grid Multipliers, and the Bonus Bonanza.

The visuals maintain Hacksaw's signature cartoonish charm, with a vibrant yet clean design. The reels are set against a coastal Viking settlement, complete with a docked longship and rustic huts that exude a cozy Norse vibe. Standing to the right of the grid, Smokey dons Viking garb, looking ready for mischief while cheerfully shouting his signature "Bonjour!". The upbeat Viking soundtrack ties everything together, combining traditional instruments with an energetic rhythm that keeps the pace lively.

Le Viking plays out on a 6x5 grid, boasting 15,625 paylines where wins require at least three matching symbols on adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost. True to its predecessors, the game offers a medium volatility experience combined with a default RTP of 96.32% - although lower configurations are available depending on the operator. The betting range is the usual €/$0.10 to €/$100, so nothing out of the ordinary so far.

Cracking open the paytable reveals a thematic mix of symbols. On the lower end, 10 to Ace card ranks offer payouts ranging from 0.10x to 0.70x the bet for a full line of six. Meanwhile, the higher-value symbols draw from Viking lore, including crossbows, helmets, axes, swords, and hammers. These deliver more interesting payouts, with values starting at 0.30x for combos and rising to 3x the bet for a full line of six hammers.

Le Viking: Slot Features

Le Viking comes armed with an arsenal of features from the Raid Spins Respin mode to the various free spins options like Berserk Free Spins, Valkyrie Free Spins, Ragnarök Free Spins, and the Journey to Valhalla Free Spins. For those who prefer to skip the wait, there are also four feature buy options to dive straight into the action. Let's take a closer look at what each feature brings to the battlefield.

Raid Spins Respin Mode

Landing 6 coins of any kind in the base game activates the Raid Spins feature. This respin mode gives you 3 refilling lives and contains only dead symbols, coins, diamonds and clover symbols. During the round, all symbols are sticky, and each respin consumes 1 life - landing any of the symbols aside from the dead symbols resets the spin count back to 3. At the end of the round, all coins and diamonds on the grid reveal a random cash value depending on the symbol type: Bronze Coins: reveal multipliers of 0.2x - 4x the bet; Silver Coins: reveal multipliers of 5x - 20x the bet; Gold Coins: reveal multipliers of 25x to 100x the bet; Diamonds: reveal higher multipliers of 150x to 500x the bet.

After all coins and diamonds have been revealed, any clover symbols on the grid will activate. There are 2 types of clover symbols: green clover and gold clover:

• Green Clover symbols multiply coins and diamonds on adjacent squares with values between x2 and x20.
• Gold clover symbols multiply all coins and diamonds on the grid with values between x2 and x20.

Berserk Free Spins

Landing 3 FS scatter symbols simultaneously in the base game triggers this feature with 3 refilling lives. During the round, the following symbols can appear: dead symbols, Coins, Diamonds, Green and Gold Clovers, Heart symbols, and Magic Cauldron symbols. At the start of the bonus, the positions of the scatter symbols that activated the feature are assigned Grid Multipliers with a value of x2. These multipliers are sticky and remain in place for the duration of the feature. Additionally, all Coins, Diamonds, and Clover symbols that land on the grid become sticky. They remain on the grid until they are either collected by a Magic Cauldron symbol or the bonus feature ends.

Now, when a Magic Cauldron symbol lands, all Grid Multipliers and Clover symbols in its area of effect are activated, applying their multipliers to any Coins, Diamonds, or previous Magic Cauldrons within range. Clover symbols function the same way as in Raid Spins, maintaining the same multiplier values and affecting any adjacent Coins, Diamonds, or Magic Cauldron symbols. The Grid Multipliers enhance any Coins or Diamonds within their corresponding grid positions.

All Coins, Diamonds, and prior Magic Cauldron symbols are then collected into the newest Magic Cauldron, which stays on the grid until it is collected or the feature ends. Each Magic Cauldron symbol can only collect once. During the bonus game, each spin consumes 1 life. If any symbol other than a dead symbol lands, your lives are refilled to 3. Landing a Heart symbol increases the number of lives during the bonus game by +1, up to a cap of 5 lives. At the end of the bonus feature, all Coins and Diamonds on the grid reveal a random cash value based on their type, as outlined in the Raid Spins section.

Valkyrie Free Spins

Triggered by landing 4 FS scatter symbols, this bonus game starts with 3 refilling lives. It retains the mechanics of the Berserk Free Spins but includes 4 Grid Multipliers, each with x3 multipliers at the start.

Ragnarök Free Spins

Activated by landing 5 FS scatter symbols, this mode also begins with 3 refilling lives. It expands on the mechanics of the Berserk and Valkyrie Free Spins by starting with 5 Grid Multipliers, each at x5 multipliers.

Journey to Valhalla Free Spins

The ultimate bonus mode, triggered by landing 6 FS scatter symbols, comes with 3 refilling lives. This mode builds on the previous free spins features by starting with 6 Grid Multipliers, each at x10 multipliers. Additionally, Bronze and Silver Coins are removed from the grid.

Feature Buy

Clicking the buy bonus button reveals the following options: Bonushunt Featurespins (3x the bet) - each spin is 5 times more likely to trigger the bonus game; Raider Featurespins (30x the bet) - enter the raid spins mode with 3 refilling lives and sticky coins. FS symbols cannot land in this game mode; Berserk Free Spins (100x the bet) - 3 lives and 3 grid multipliers with x2; Ragnarök Free Spins (200x the bet) - 3 lives and 5 grid multipliers with x5.

Le Viking: Slot Verdict

Le Viking swings its mighty axe into the "Le" series, proving that Hacksaw Gaming's mischievous raccoon has yet another time period to pillage. With its 10,000x max win potential, the game dials things back from the 15,000x offered by Le Pharaoh, but this reduction is more of a recalibration than a drawback. If anything, it could mean a more achievable max win frequency - a trade-off that many players might find appealing.

Visually, Le Viking delivers the goods with its Norse-inspired cartoon aesthetic. Smokey, ever the eccentric time traveler, feels oddly at home yelling "Bonjour!" while donning a Viking helmet, though it's still unclear what a French-speaking raccoon is doing in medieval Scandinavia. But hey, suspend your disbelief; after all, this is a game where swords, hammers, and crossbows casually tumble across a grid to the beat of an upbeat Viking jam session. It's all as bright and brash as we've come to expect from the series, and it works.

On the gameplay side, Le Viking ups the complexity compared to Le Bandit, which remains the series' most basic, and arguably most beloved, release. With features like Raid Spins, Berserk Free Spins, and the ultimate Journey to Valhalla, the game introduces layers that demand a little more brainpower to understand initially. Whether players will appreciate the added depth or miss the simplicity of Le Bandit remains to be seen. Either way, the intricate mechanics of this release does add a sense of progression.

All in all, Le Viking is another strong entry in the "Le" series, offering enough new twists to keep things interesting without straying too far from what made its predecessors a hit. It's fun, busy, and packed with enough features to keep even the most jaded players mildly entertained. Whether you're here for the features or just to see a raccoon shout “Bonjour!” while wielding an axe, Le Viking delivers the goods. Just don't expect it to reinvent the wheel - or the longship.