Kraken Gold Rush Slot Review
In the distant tides, rich waters once promised paradise to many Fishermen…but now terror reigns. The legendary Kraken has awoken from its slumber, triggering violent thunderstorms and deep-sea chaos.
To save the seas, the city of Junhai offers a bounty of 10 million Gold to anyone brave enough to face this ancient beast, but who will rise and seize glory and riches? Kraken Gold Rush from PGSoft takes us on a dangerous overseas adventure, where only the bravest sailors survive…fail, and you’ll succumb to a watery grave.
Kraken Gold Rush joins a catalogue of exciting releases from PGSoft, including Doomsday Rampage, Knockout Riches, and Dead Man’s Riches, which also shares the same Pirate theme as the one found here.
As with every new PGSoft release that comes our way, Kraken Gold Rush falls under the Mobile-Friendly format. When playing on a desktop, the backdrop dominates the main reel set, although it’s blurred so that every intricate detail of the game stands out.
This particular format, as the name suggests, works wonders on a mobile device, significantly highlighting every aspect of its theme, aesthetics, and soundscapes. Regardless of this, every PGSoft game maintains the same quality assurance on both devices.
With a fixed RTP of 96.75% and a high volatility score, Kraken Gold Rush can award deep-sea treasures worth up to 5,000x your bet. It’s time to sharpen your pitchforks and load the cannons, we’re hunting the most legendary sea creature…
Base Game & Features
Kraken Gold Rush is the latest high volatility release from PGSoft, featuring 6 reels, 5 rows, and the Cluster Pays mechanic. Wins occur when 4 or more identical symbols appear horizontally or vertically adjacent on the grid.
The highest-paying symbol falls to the Pirate, followed by the Cannon, Sword, Anchor, and the Low-paying (spades, diamonds, hearts, & clubs) symbols. Each available high & low-paying symbol as part of a winning cluster awards a fixed payout between 0.5x and 1,000x your bet.
After each winning cluster is paid out, an Avalanche Feature takes effect, causing all winning symbols to explode from the grid. This enables additional symbols to land in the empty positions, giving you a chance to create further wins.
Lastly, the Wild Kraken symbol is fixed in the centre of the grid, substituting for all symbols except Scatters.
Wild Kraken & Multiplier
During each game session, the Wild Kraken symbol will occupy reels 3 & 4 of the third row. Paytable symbols will always connect to it so long as there are enough instances of that particular symbol, without leaving the grid during an avalanche event.
When 3 or more consecutive wins occur in a single spin, the Wild Kraken symbol will reveal a x5 Multiplier, which applies to the Total Win of the session. Upon the Multiplier Wheel are individual Multiplier variants, up to a maximum of x100.
Kraken Gold Rush Free Spins
Landing 3 or more Scatters anywhere in the base game triggers the Free Spins mode, awarding 10 Free Spins, plus a further +2 Free Spins for every Scatter after the third.
Throughout this mode, the Global Multiplier Wheel is set at x5. For every 3 consecutive wins to occur within a spin, the Global Multiplier Wheel will increment to the next available Multiplier. At the end of Free Spins, the Total Win is multiplied by the current Multiplier Level and paid out.
Our Honest Verdict
The Pirate life isn’t always for everyone, but it’s a lifestyle that’s pushed onto us more than we’d like through the iGaming industry. Kraken Gold Rush is the second Pirate-themed game from PGSoft in quick succession that takes us across the briny seas in search of something that has been long-forgotten or simply doesn’t exist.
Instead of digging for Gold, we’re earning it by defeating the legendary Kraken that currently roams the reels. In the base game, the main source of entertainment comes from the Kraken Wild symbol, which is perfectly placed in the centre of the grid.
While you only need 4 matching symbols to create a winning cluster, having the Kraken Wild permanently active means there are more opportunities to connect multiple winning clusters per spin.
On their own, each winning cluster does not amount to much, but when 3 consecutive wins occur via the Kraken Wild, a x5 Multiplier is applied to the Total Win of that spin, and it doesn’t seem overly difficult to achieve, either.
The Kraken Wild feature is simple yet effective, and performs even better during the Free Spins mode, thanks to the Global Multiplier Wheel. For every 3 consecutive wins during Free Spins, the Global Multiplier will climb, up to a maximum of x100.
As you watch the Multiplier grow bigger, the suspense from each spin really kicks in. Suddenly, the smallest of wins transform into sizable payouts, even after the first 2 upgrades. While this is great, it would have been even more thrilling to see the Kraken Wild increase in size.
With all this happening in the Free Spins mode, you’d think the maximum win potential would be much more rewarding than a standard 5,000x your bet, but who are we to turn our noses up at this figure if it were to happen?
All in all, Kraken Gold Rush is a thrilling release with a popular theme and high-quality graphics, offering simple yet renowned features that have proved to be successful time and again.
*The images found in this slot review are currently from Demo Play. On average, our reviews are written prior to the initial release date and before real play is available.
