Rise of Orpheus

Rise of Orpheus: Slot Overview

Software provider Play'n GO has reached deep into the past to find inspiration for its Greek mythology-themed online slot Rise of Orpheus. This is a gambling-infused retelling of love, loss, and tragedy about Orpheus, the son of Apollo, who fell for Eurydice, who tragically died from a snake bite. Orpheus then journeyed to the underworld to bring her back but failed after breaking a condition of her release - turning back to look at Eurydice as they walked out of the underworld mere feet from the exit. It's a sad story, in other words, that Play'n GO has brought to mournful life in a slot bearing walking wilds, multipliers, added wilds, and more.

Rise of Orpheus recreates the story of the two characters quite well, while focusing primarily on the underworld part. That's where the base game is played, in a glowing green, forlorn, cavernous zone, before free spins trigger, and a levelling-up component represents the couple's ascent to the mortal realm. Eurydice and Orpheus provide voice-overs at times, while a sorrowful soundtrack plays, and the gaming grid is alive with animations. It adds up to a pleasant cartoonish retelling of an Ancient Greek story on reels, nicely executed overall.

A 5x4 play area is where Rise of Orpheus lands its symbols, forming wins of 3 to 5 OAK along 20 paylines from the grid's leftmost side, while bets range from a minimum of 5 c per spin up to a maximum of $/€100. Constructed around a medium-high volatile (7 out of 10) math model, several RTP configurations have been designed, with 96.2% being the highest.

Pay symbols are glowing diamonds, clubs, spades, hearts, then pomegranates, helmets, snakes, a lady, and a male character. Five-of-a-kind winning combinations award from 1.6x to 10x the bet. Wild symbols substitute for all other symbols except scatters and pay 14x the bet when five of them form a win.

Rise of Orpheus: Slot Features

Bringing Eurydice and Orpheus together is one goal of the game as part of the Reunion feature, which can add wilds to the reels and create a multiplier. A multi level free spins bonus round may be triggered, continuing the Reunion antics.

Eurydice

One Eurydice symbol may land on any spin. It provides a global multiplier for all wins when it is in view. The multiplier is x2 in the base game. During the bonus round, the multiplier starts at x2 and grows by +1 each time Eurydice appears.

Orpheus and the Reunion Feature

One wild Orpheus symbol may land on each spin. Whenever Eurydice and Orpheus are on the reels at the same time, the Reunion feature triggers. Orpheus walks to the Eurydice symbol and may leave wild symbols behind for each step he moves. During free spins, a wild is always created when Orpheus moves to Eurydice. When Orpheus reaches Eurydice, they combine to form a wild Reunion symbol, which retains the Eurydice symbol's multiplier.

Underworld Escape Free Spins

Hitting 3 scatters triggers 6 free spins. If 2 scatters hit, the Wrath of Cerberus feature respins reels that do not hold scatters for a chance to hit the third. The free spins round has four levels, starting on level 1. Reaching levels 2, 3, and 4 awards +2 free spins each time. At the final level, an Eurydice symbol is added to the screen and is sticky for the remainder of the feature.

The Orpheus symbol is sticky and appears on the rightmost reel at the start of the round. After each spin, the Orpheus symbol moves to a new position. At levels 1, 2, and 3, it moves 1 position to the left. When Orpheus is on the leftmost reel at the end of a spin on level 1, 2, or 3, the feature progresses to the next level. Orpheus is then placed back on the rightmost reel. At level 4, the Orpheus symbol moves to random positions.

If the Reunion feature triggers during levels 1, 2, and 3, the Reunion symbol turns into an Orpheus symbol before movement happens. On level 4, it separates into Orpheus and Eurydice symbols. Each wild created by the Reunion feature in free spins adds +1 to the wild meter. Filling the meter resets it and grants an additional free spin up to a maximum of 20. Filling the meter takes 6, then 8, then 10, then 12 wilds to fill.

Rise of Orpheus: Slot Verdict

One of the first reactions to Rise of Orpheus was of a sadder version of ELK Studio's Wild Toro 2, as the two slots share several attributes. One, they're character-driven games that use story or personality to make a connection with the gambler. There's an extra weight to Rise of Orpheus, since it's based on a tale that's been told for over a thousand years, and Play'n GO has recreated it well on the reels. The underworld setting, as well as the free spins ascent through four levels, in particular, have been smartly done. Perhaps a tinge of sadness was evoked by the Eurydice and Orpheus story, as Wild Toro seems the more lively slot, Rise of Orpheus the more poignant.

A snorting, crazed bull chasing a matador is more adrenalised, and whenever this occurs in Wild Toro, wild symbols are left behind. Here, in the base game, maybe you'll get wilds, maybe you won't. Toro the bull walks while triggering respins, providing a chance for a matador to hit. In Rise of Orpheus, getting the two characters together felt like a gentler event. Reunions seemed to occur more during the bonus round, which is an interesting feature. Despite free spins never producing major returns, they were strangely tense. This was due to the way levelling up occurs when Orpheus is placed back on the rightmost reel after walking to the leftmost reel with what felt like a tight number of free spins to make repeat journeys. The Reunion feature is crucial for creating wild symbols that feed the wild meter. It was oddly nail-biting, even when meagre wins were racking up.

On the money side, the max win isn't out of this world at 3,000x the bet, and Rise of Orpheus didn't feel like a game for players to chase big wins. Play'n GO has incorporated elements of the story well and touchingly presented them, so if mythological retellings in a gambling setting trumps major winning potential, Rise of Orpheus might tick the right boxes.