Phantom Pulse

Phantom Pulse: Slot Overview

We inhabit a universe so immense that the microscopic sliver we experience is little more than a minute flicker of light drowned in a vast, infinite void. Fortunately, we have a powerful tool at our disposal for filling in the blanks, our imagination, and software provider Print Studios has flexed its thinking muscle to design the far-out slot, Phantom Pulse. This is a game that, in the developer's words, takes gamblers to an 'otherworldly space where sound, light, and motion move in sync with driving techno beats.' While there, Phantom Pulse uses clusters and grid multipliers as its launch pad before navigating newer areas of the slot cosmos with the aid of Morphing Clusters and explosive Pulse Bombs, before arriving at… Well, let's find out.

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to throw shapes in space with an enigmatic phantom character, then Phantom Pulse provides a taste of the experience. This is a futuristic, otherworldly game that skips to an EDM beat while entertaining with a set of old and new features. For some reason, likely the sci-fi leanings, Phantom Pulse brought to mind Print Studios' slot Reapers, though its gameplay is less experimental and has a gentler learning curve. In fact, the gameplay familiarity lets players ease deeper into the groove, as Phantom Pulse whisks them off-world before letting loose its evolving, exploding, and pulsing elements.

Floating in the void is Phantom Pulse's 7x7 grid, which makes wins when 5 or more matching symbols connect to form a cluster. Winning symbols are removed, causing a cascade to fill the reels, repeating in this way as long as new wins hit. Print Studios has rated the game's volatility at 10 out of 10, making it high, while the RTP clocks in at 96.4%. Phantom Pulse accepts bets as low as $/€0.10 or as high as $/€50.

Print Studios helpfully names its pay symbols, so in Phantom Pulse, we find Shard, Block, Penta, and Hex as the low pays, then Ray, Owl, Beetle, and Panther as the highs. A 5 OAK cluster pays 0.2x to 1x the stake, rising to 49 OAK clusters covering the entire grid, worth 50x-150x. Wild symbols substitute for all symbols except scatters.

Phantom Pulse: Slot Features

Phantom Pulse's features are made up of Morphing Clusters, Grid Multipliers, Pulse Bombs, Pulse Spins Bonus, Charged Pulse Spins Bonus, and feature buys.

Morphing Clusters

On each spin, one symbol is randomly chosen to be the Morphing symbol. After a win, if a winning cluster consists of Morphing symbols, they transform into a different symbol that is adjacent to the cluster, thereby expanding the cluster and awarding another win. A new symbol is then chosen to be the Morphing symbol. The process repeats as long as a winning cluster consists of Morphing symbols. If a Morphing cluster covers the whole grid, it transforms into a random symbol.

Grid Multipliers

The first time a winning symbol is removed from a position, that position is highlighted. If a winning symbol is removed from a highlighted position, an x2 multiplier is placed on that position. Each further removal from the same position increases the multiplier, doubling the value each time. Removing symbols when part of a Pulse Bomb may increase the multiplier on applicable positions by more than one step at a time. If a winning cluster contains more than one multiplier position, the multiplier values are added together and applied to the win. Multipliers reset between base game spins.

Pulse Bomb

A Pulse Bomb may trigger when no more wins occur. All positions covered by the Pulse Bomb will remove the symbols (not scatters), and increase the multiplier by the number of steps indicated by the size pattern. Zone Pulses come in 6 sizes, while Radial Pulses come in 4 sizes. The paytable explains the patterns they may appear in.

Pulse Spins Bonus

Landing 3 scatters in the base game awards 8 free spins in the Pulse Spins Bonus, while each additional scatter awards an extra +2 free spins up to 16. If one of the scatters is a charged scatter, then the Charged Pulse Spins Bonus is awarded instead. During a bonus game, landing 2 or more scatters awards +4 free spins.

During the Pulse Spins Bonus, grid multipliers persist until the round ends. In Charged Pulse Spins, grid multipliers are also persistent and a Pulse Bomb is guaranteed on each spin.

Feature Bets

Four choices are available at the feature bet section. The Adjustable Scatter Booster has a slider to adjust the bonus chance with prices indicated, while a Pulse Bomb on every spin can be bought for 10x the bet. Buying into the Pulse Spins Bonus costs 58.6x, or 212x the stake buys into the Charged Spins Pulse Bonus.

Phantom Pulse: Slot Verdict

It feels fairly safe to say that Print Studios has carved out a reputation for being the 'thinking gambler's' developer, a slot maker for discerning connoisseurs, often favouring unique, mechanical complexity over cookie-cutter ideas. With Phantom Pulse, the studio has struck a balance between a rhythmic familiarity and innovation, which pushes that familiarity in a new direction. Not gonna lie, seeing Print Studios adopt the grid multiplier concept in one of its slots did raise an eyebrow, but rest assured, Phantom Pulse doesn't just borrow an idea but morphs it, pun intended, into something new.

A large part of the game's central thrill generation still comes from the winning cluster, grid multiplier dynamic, as made popular by games like Pragmatic Play's Sugar Rush 1000 or Nolimit City's Duck Hunters. Phantom Pulse's ingenuity lies in the synergy between this and the way the new Morphing Clusters and Pulse Bomb features contribute their positive benefits to the process. Don't get the wrong impression, though. Even with the extra firepower, Phantom Pulse is a highly volatile machine which can swing from dire to dreamy and in between. However, Morphing is a potentially beneficial way of affecting large swathes of the grid, while bombs bring an explosive, clear and reset boost that can contribute to the all-important task of spreading as many multipliers across the grid, then growing them as high as possible.

Phantom Pulse is a cleverly made slot that combines recognisable mechanics with innovative twists and a 20,000x max win. It may not be Print Studios' most experimental release, but it is an exciting expansion of the grid multiplier slot genre, incorporating sophisticated evolutions that fit like a charm and help make Phantom Pulse nigh on essential viewing for cluster pay enthusiasts.