Phantom Tides Slot Review
Venture into the ghostly realm of Phantom Tides, where Captain Blackwater and his crew fiercely guard riches beyond imagination, courtesy of Realistic Games.
In Phantom Tides, special ghost ship wilds trigger the Cursed Tide Respins feature with every spin, drifting across the reels and building upon your Multiplier on its travels. In addition, triggering the Spirit Surge will push the ship back for additional Respins and wins.
If setting sail across rough seas and searching for cursed treasure is your preference, Phantom Tides has you covered. This appealing, Pirate-themed slot release joins the likes of Release the Kraken Megaways, Dead Man’s Gold, and Pirots X, to name a few.
With a fixed RTP of 96.10% and plenty of max win potential, are you ready to conquer the curse and claim the phantom’s Gold?
Base Game & Features
Phantom Tides is a medium volatility slot release from Realistic Games, covering 5 reels and 20 fixed pay lines. Wins occur when 2-5 matching symbols land from left to right, starting from reel 1.
The 10 high and low-paying symbols are represented by Pirate-themed Icons and various Card Suits (A-10). Each paytable symbol includes a fixed payout between 0.25x and 20x your bet.
In addition, special Wilds appear as a 1×1 symbol, with the opportunity to expand vertically if they create or enhance a winning combination on that reel. Lastly, ghost ship Wilds substitute for all symbols except Scatters, appearing fully stacked on certain reels.
Expanding Wild
The expanding Wild appears as a single 1×1 symbol on any reel in the base game.
This symbol will expand vertically when it creates or enhances a winning pay line from its position. When it does, it will expand to cover all 3 rows of that reel.
Please note that expanding Wilds do not appear within the Cursed Tide Respins feature.
Spirit Coins & Jackpot Feature
During any losing spin within the base game, special Spirit Coins can appear across the reels.
Once collected, they will fill Captain Blackwater’s Spirit Chest to the left of the main reel set. Once the chest is filled, the Jackpot Wheel is triggered, where 1 of 5 Jackpots of Mini (15x), Minor (25x), Major (50x), Mega (250x), and Grand (1,000x) is randomly awarded.
Cursed Tide Respins
Landing a Ghost Ship Wild, fully stacked, on reels 2, 3, 4, or 5, triggers the Cursed Tide Respins feature.
Once active, the Ghost Ship Wild will move +1 step to the left before each spin. The first Respin utilises a x2 Multiplier, increasing by +x1 for all other Respins. When the Spirit Surge feature activates, the Multiplier does not increase for that spin.
All wins caught up in the Ghost Ship Wild are multiplied by the current Multiplier value. Respins will continue so long as the ghost ship wild is visible on the reels. Once it leaves the leftmost reel, one final Respin occurs without the ghost ship wild present, before returning to the base game.
Spirit Surge
The Spirit Surge feature may randomly activate before the ghost ship wild moves from reel 2 during Cursed Tide Respins.
Ghost ship wilds can be pushed back to reels 3, 4, or 5, extending the number of Respins remaining and allowing the Multiplier to manifest.
Bonus Buy
Players outside the UK jurisdiction can participate in multiple Bonus Buy options as follows:
- Cursed Tide Respin on Reel 3: This option will cost an additional 22x your bet
- Cursed Tide Respin on Reel 4: This option costs a further 29x your bet
- Cursed Tide Respin on Reel 5: This option is set at 37x your bet
- Cursed Tide Respin on Reel 2 + Spirit Surge: Guarantees a spirit surge to occur on reels 3, 4, or 5 for an additional 32x your bet
Each of the above options includes a fixed RTP module of 96.10%.
Phantom Tides has a substantial max win potential. If this amount is achieved in a single mode, the round immediately ends, and players return to the base game.
Our Honest Verdict
Realistic Games has a mixed bag of innovative titles under their belt, but Phantom Tides marks the first Pirate-themed release to join their growing portfolio.
When you first enter the game, you’re met with an iconic Pirate scene, operating high-quality graphics and haunting sound effects. Another area of interest is the 5 Jackpot Prizes atop the reels, revealing fixed values between 15x and 1,000x your bet.
In addition, the game indulges players in 2 unique Wild symbols, including a separate Cursed Tide Respins feature. There is a lot to admire in terms of features, but the game lacks a Free Spins mode and Ante Bet functions, specifically for the UK audience.
The expanding Wild aids in the creation of winning combinations when in view, but it falls to the Ghost Ship Wild to deliver the big hits and an increasing Multiplier. Don’t get too excited, though, as the best outcome for Phantom Tides is a below-average max win potential, with half ot it tied into the Grand Jackpot.
The Cursed Tide Respins feature shares similarities to the Walking Wilds found in Riders of the Storm.
What’s great about this feature is that a Spirit Surge can cause the ghost ship Wild to push back, to obtain additional Respins and a boosted Multiplier. The only downside is that no extra Ghost Ship Wilds can appear during this feature, whereas the 2 games mentioned above can award many within a single spin.
Overall, Phantom Tides offers an engaging theme and interesting features, but its below-average max win cap and lack of Free Spins may not bode well with experienced players.
*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.
