Phoenix Paradise

Phoenix Paradise: Slot Overview

If there's one thing Swedish software provider Thunderkick appears to be rather fond of, it's representing the mythological side of life. From griffins to krakens and beyond, the studio has a penchant for exploring out-of-the-ordinary subject matter. Here's another example of this tendency, in an online slot titled Phoenix Paradise. As the name suggests, Phoenix Paradise is a game starring mythological creatures in a paradise, alongside features such as Wild Payline Multipliers, Mystery Wild Activations, Walking Wilds, free spins, and a bonus buy.

Going hand in hand with an interest in fantastic beasts is a talent for presenting them in a fantastical way. The studio honed its chops through the Beat the Beast range (amongst others), and Phoenix Paradise is another treat for the eyes. Taking centre stage is a 5-reel, 3-row game grid, surrounded by a bright verdant garden full of stately statues and dense green foliage. It looks classically Thunderkick, the symbols having a sturdy stone look to them, while visual effects give a magical touch to the game board.

A sturdy-looking slot gets a stout set of figures backing up its pleasing front end. At least, the maximum RTP value is respectable, coming in at 96.13%, though beware, Phoenix Paradise can be found at three lower levels – 94.12%, 92.14%, and 90.11%. Offering bets of 10 p/c to $/€100 per spin, the game is probably better suited to players who prefer highly volatile action, backed by sizable 10,000x potential.

Covering the game board are 15 fixed paylines, creating wins when at least three identical symbols land across them, starting from the left hand side. The lower paying tiles are 9-A card ranks, whereas the highs are a Red Tiara, a Blue Urn, a Green Dagger, and an Adventurer. Other symbols you may come across while exploring Phoenix Paradise are colourful wilds, Walking Wilds, and phoenix egg scatter symbols.

Phoenix Paradise: Slot Features

Let's begin with the regular wild symbol which appears on all five reels. For starters, wilds can substitute for any normal paying symbol to create winning lines. In addition, when wild symbols are used, they grant a multiplier as well. In fact, when 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 wild symbols are in a pay line, they create a win multiplier of x2, x4, x8, x16, or x32, respectively.

Mystery Wild Activation

The Mystery Wild Activation feature can randomly trigger in the base game, transforming all wilds into Walking Wilds which, in turn, trigger a respin, then they move one reel to the left. Walking Wilds on the leftmost reel move off the grid, and when no more Walking Wilds are in view, respins end.

Free Spins Bonus Game

Getting 3 bonus symbols in the main game awards 8 free spins. In free spins, wild symbols are always Walking Wild symbols. If 3 scatters land during the feature, +4 additional free spins are awarded. Lastly, if the feature buy is present, players can buy free spins for 100x the bet. When buying the bonus round, the RTP is 96.33%.

Phoenix Paradise: Slot Verdict

Despite being told not to judge a book by its cover, after hearing the phrase 'Phoenix Paradise' and glimpsing some imagery, it was easy to let the mind wander into some bright garden full of fantastic creatures and magical overtones. Fortunately, the step from these mystic musings to reality isn't a huge one because Thunderkick has created a pleasant environment for players to try their luck in. The game's location looks invitingly idyllic and is another example of Thunderkick's talent for designing mythologically minded slots. It's also kind of cool that the studio populates its games with just as many heroines as heroes, if not more, and Phoenix Paradise has a cartoon explorer in a magical land thing going on, which some may appreciate.

The features are just as appreciable, too, simple, somewhat un-innovative, but they can be effective all the same. They should be recognisable to Thunderkick followers, too, especially the Wild Payline Multipliers feature, which has appeared in previous games like Pyramyth and Lava Lava. In fact, there is a bit of a pattern brewing here as those two slots, and Phoenix Paradise use a similar reel set-up (5x3, 15 paylines) while producing a similar set of numbers. There's no official mention of any link, but it feels like a series situation, though thematically, they're quite different. As such, if you got a kick out of the gameplay in those previous two slots, then it's a good chance Phoenix Paradise will entertain as well. Like the others, Phoenix Paradise comes with a max win figure of 10,000 times the stake.

Due to the feature/mechanic rehash, Phoenix Paradise feels a tad formulaic since it shares many commonalities with previous slots. However, it's so competently put together it's also hard to critique. Instead, the studio has turned out another fine-looking game, with simple yet reliable features and a cherry on top in the form of a decent max win figure.