Phoenix Graveyard Slot Gameplay

Phoenix Graveyard Slot Review 2022

Get ready to go head to head with the Grim Reaper as you fight for your Soul, in ELK Studios newest release, Phoenix Graveyard!

The corrupt Mayor and his Wife have taken control of Phoenix Town, and for any of those who choose to disobey their rules will get a visit from the Grim Reaper himself! Their only hope lies with the Phoenix Wild.

ELK Studios show no signs of slowing down as they bring us yet another new release for 2022. The title Phoenix Graveyard is enough to give even the bravest of players the chills, but will we make it out alive or will the Grim Reaper claim yet another soul?

Phoenix Graveyard is probably the darkest ELK Studios has ever gone with their slots, with the background showing the dark and mysterious town of Phoenix. Rows of beaten-down houses can be seen on either side of the screen, along with headstones and crows, which all feels very Alfred Hitchcock indeed.

Is Phoenix Graveyard worth gambling your soul for? Let’s play on and find out!

Phoenix Graveyard Base Game and Features

Pheonix Graveyard is a 5 reel slot that starts off with 243 ways to win, with the possibility of increasing up to a maximum of 1 million ways to win. In order to form a winning combination, you will need to connect 3 or more of the same symbol types from left to right, starting from the left-most reel. The minimum bet available here is £/€0.20 per spin and the maximum bet avaialble is £/€100 per spin, with plenty of options in between the two.

In terms of symbols, the highest paying regular symbol in Phoenix Graveyard is the Male with the Gold background, followed by the Lady in Red and the Male in Blue. Low paying symbols are standard Ace, King, Queen and Jack. There is also a Phoenix Wild symbol present which substitutes for all symbols except for Scatters and additional Wilds.

Like many ELK Studios titles, Phoenix Graveyard has a selection of exciting features that keep players entertained and the base game fun. More on these below.

Expanding Ways

During any random spin in the base game, a Tombstone Frame may appear in any position on the reels, which is also known as Sudden Death. Tombstone Frames expand the number of ways to win.

Once the reels stop spinning, the symbol that is present inside the Tombstone Frame will automatically split according to the number of ways awarded, up to 10 symbols per Tombstone Frame.

Wild Symbols

There are 2 Wild symbols present in Phoenix Graveyard, a Pheonix Wild and a Grim Reaper Wild. All Wild symbols that land in the base game will start off with a Multiplier of x1. By landing a Wild symbol in a Tombstone Frame will cause it to Split, Multiplying the ways provided by the Tombstone Frame.

Phoenix Wild

Phoenix Wilds have the ability to Jump from one position on the reel set to another. They will remain on the reels during Respins and between Free Spins.

Before the first Jump, the Phoenix Wild will be equipped with a Multiplier equal to the win ways indicated on the Tombstone Frame for that position, if any.

Grim Reaper Wild

Grim Reaper Wilds may only appear on reels 3, 4 and 5 and have the ability to Walk from right to left, across the reels.

Once a Grim Reaper lands in view, it will automatically activate the Respins feature, expanding win ways and going head to head with any present Pheonix Wilds.

Attack

The Grim Reaper Wilds are the ones you need to watch out for as they can Attack High-paying symbols and Phoenix Wilds.

When a Grim Reaper Wild attacks a High-paying symbol, it will fix a Tombstone Frame onto that position which will stay put for the duration of Respins and Free Spins.

When a Grim Reaper Wild attacks a Phoenix Wild, one of the following outcomes will occur.

• The Grim Reaper Wild is awarded a double Multiplier.
• The Phoenix Wild is awarded a double Multiplier.
• The Phoenix Wild will jump to a new position on the reels, leaving a Feather Wild behind in the same position.

Feather Wilds can transform into Phoenix Wilds on any subsequent Respin or Free Spin, securing a Multiplier if it falls into a Tombstone Frame.

Phoenix Graveyard Free Spins

Landing 3, 4 or 5 Scatters in any position on the reels, triggers the Free Spins round. Depending on how many Scatters land during the initial trigger, the amount of Free Spins and Phoenix Wilds will vary.

• 3 Scatters – Awards 6 Free Spins and 1 Phoenix Wild.
• 4 Scatters – Awards 8 Free Spins and 2 Phoenix Wilds.
• 5 Scatters – Awards 10 Free Spins and 3 Phoenix Wilds.

Once triggered, all Phoenix Wild symbols awarded will start off in the position in which the Scatters landed, gaining a Multiplier equal to the number of win ways in that position, before it Jumps to another position. In addition to this, Phoenix Wilds will remain on the reels for the duration of Free Spins, jumping to a new position with every new spin.

All Tombstone Frames that were active just before the Free Spins triggered, are carried over and will remain on the reels for the duration of Free Spins.

Phonix Graveyard Slot: X-iter Bonus Buy

Phoenix Graveyard is the latest to future ELK’s X-iter Bonus Buy option, which does a lot more than just grant entry to the bonus round.

Those within the UK won’t be able to utilise it at all, but here is the options available to those within bonus buy territory

• Sudden Death – 10x – Buy a game round where all symbol positions in a row get a Sudden Death event which creates expanded win ways in all symbol positions on the row. It can trigger for 1, 2 or 3 rows.
• Grim Reaper & Phoenix Battle – 25x – Buy a game round where a Phoenix Wild symbol and Grim Reaper symbol triggers a battle between them.
• Bonus Buy – 100x – Buy a game round triggering Free Spins with at least 3 bonus symbols (6 Free Spins + 1 Phoenix Wild Symbol)
• Big Bonus – 200X – Buy a game round triggering Free Spins with at least 4 bonus symbols  (8 Free Spins + 2 Phoenix Wild Symbols)
• Super Bonus – 500x – Buy a game round triggering Free Spins with at least 5 bonus symbols (10 Free Spins + 3 Phoenix Wild Symbols)

The theoretical RTP for all of the X-iter game modes are exactly 95% 

Phoenix Graveyard: Our Verdict

ELK Studios has definitely thrown a cruve ball into the mix with this one, and not in the bad sense. The design alone has you gripped from the start, with a dark and mysterious story behind it. Providers seem to be keen to show us their darker side recently, with Hacksaw Gaming’s Hand of Anubis and Play’n GO’s Lordi.

Phoenix Graveyard has the brains of Nitropolis with the Expanding Ways and the looks of Blood Lust, making this slot a perfect mix between 2 of ELK Studios popular games to date. It wouldn’t be an ELK Studios slot without the X-iter feature, which let’s you access the Free Spins and Features with one click, but for those of you in the UK, this is something you won’t benefit from.

For those of you who love the music that comes with an ELK Studio slot, we are saddened to tell you that Phoenix Graveyard won’t be getting you up off your seat for a rave this time.

The Phoenix and Grim Reaper Wilds makes for an interesting base game, and when the pair come together they trigger the Attack feature, which can deliver some impressive wins if you have the Multiplier that goes with them. The base game features set the stage for the Free Spins round, where the real potential can be found.

Overall, we think ELK Studios have been on a winning streak with these impressive games that they’ve been releasing lately. Phoenix Graveyard continues this streak in a meticulous fashion with hair-raising gameplay and potential to match.

If you’re a long term fan of ELK Studios and all that they do, then you won’t want to miss Phoenix Graveyard.