Viking Runecraft 100

Viking Runecraft 100: Slot Overview

How many stories or episodes run through a human life? Think of all the jobs, houses, friends, lovers, interests, ups and downs, sideways, all twisting in and out, threads weaving together to create the unique lives we lead, the patchwork quilt we call us. Another entity well versed in stitching together bits and pieces from all over the place is casino game maker Play'n GO. Take today's slot as a case in point. The name is Viking Runecraft 100, and its DNA contains strands of former games like Viking Runecraft, Rise of Olympus 100, and Sweet Alchemy 100. Put another way, Viking Runecraft 100 is a reskin of Moon Princess 100, offering all the anime-fronted action of the base slot but in a world possessing a lot more godly gravitas.

Released in 2017, the first Viking Runecraft slot was a celebration of Viking culture, full of mighty warriors in a mighty world. This is an apt way of summing up Viking Runecraft 100's appearance as well, kicking off in an icy realm, perhaps Niflheim, one of the oldest realms, said to be where life began when it collided with Muspelheim. If there is one thing Play'n GO excels at, it's using Viking imagery to create an online slot filled with sound and fury. As such, players with a soft spot for all things Viking may find it hard not to hoist a mug of mead or start throwing axes about the place when Viking Runecraft 100 is in full swing.

Moving beyond the hefty outer shell, the rest of Viking Runecraft 100 is more or less bang on the same as Moon Princess 100. This means a highly volatile slot, with a default return to player in the region of 96.2% as well as stake options ranging from 20 c to $/€100.

A see-through 5x5 game grid is where the symbols land, creating wins when vertical or horizontal lines of 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols hit. Winning symbols are removed from the reels when this happens, and existing symbols on the reels drop. The win multiplier is increased following each drop. Also, a wild symbol is placed in the middle empty position when a 3 OAK win is removed.

For low pays, the game has an axe, anchor, helmet, and hammer, while the high pays are a mixture of any God symbols, Heimdall, Freya, and Thor. A line consisting of 5 low pay symbols awards 2 to 3 times the bet; 5 high pays are worth 5 to 10 times the bet. Wilds substitute for any pay symbol and are worth 50x the bet for a 5-wild winning line. If wilds are the only symbol on the grid, they are removed.

Viking Runecraft 100: Slot Features

The characters get to flex their abilities during the God Power feature, joined by a chargeable meter, Ragnarök, free spins, and a cleared grid prize.

God Power

God Power may trigger at random on non-winning spins. The God currently next to the reels performs their power to help create a win. During free spins, the chosen God triggers on every non-winning spin.

• Thor's Thunder – converts one set of symbols.
• Freya's Magic – gifts 1 or 2 wilds.
• Heimdall's Vision – removes 2 sets of symbols.

Meter

The meter is charged when God symbol wins appear, and filling the meter triggers Ragnarök. The meter has 3 sections, and landing a 3, 4, or 5-of-a-kind God symbol win fills 1, 2, or 3 sections of the meter, respectively. When Ragnarök triggers, Thor, Feya, and Heimdall perform their God Powers in one free round. If the grid is cleared during this round, then free spins are triggered.

Free Spins

During free spins, the win multiplier does not reset between spins as it does in the base game – up to x100. Additionally, filling the meter awards extra free spins up to a maximum of 100.

Clear Grid

Clearing all symbols from the grid, except in the Ragnarök feature, awards 50x the bet. This prize is affected by the active win multiplier.

Viking Runecraft 100: Slot Verdict

Well, that all went as expected, really, which is honestly no bad thing. Moon Princess 100, building off the original Moon Princess, was one of those slots that brought a bunch of the right pieces together to create a pacy game which can really flow well. It gets oh so close at times, clearing the grid in the base or bonus games to win the Clear Grid prize, or during the special one spin section where all characters let loose their powers, but not quite sealing the deal. Other times, it goes all the way. The way wins link, wilds are added, symbols drop, and Powers trigger, has masses of replayability, capable of creating parts torment and triumph.

Viking Runecraft 100 offers all of this in a hearty Norse environment. It's no fluke that Vikings are one of online slots' most popular categories, and Play'n GO puts the subject matter to use as well as anyone. Viking Runecraft 100 provides more 'grrr' than Moon Princess 100 did, though, putting it into direct competition with Rise of Olympus 100 in terms of characters with bulging muscles. Like the other 100 slots, including the black sheep of the range Honey Rush 100, Viking Runecraft 100 has a max win figure of 15,000 times the bet, meaning there's plenty to play for.

So, no, there's nothing here that hasn't been on show before, mechanically, and haters might have a field day slinging criticism at Play'n GO for firing off the same old stuff, but that's no reason not to give Viking Runecraft 100 a whirl if you like what came before. The gameplay didn't disappoint, the theme had a punch, making it easy to sit back and enjoy a few cascades.