Release the Kraken review
Theme and Storyline
Release the Kraken takes its title from a line in the 1981 Ray Harryhausen movie: ☀️ Clash Of The Titans. The slot appears to have little to no interest in the movie beyond the borrowed line. ☀️ Nor does it seem like the makers knew exactly what a kraken is.
Instead, what you get is a by the ☀️ numbers undersea treasure hunt slot. With some vibes from Finding Nemo and a few from Pirates of the Caribbean. Not ☀️ a kraken in sight.
It remains a fun little setting though, with some cute characters and fun design features.
5 of a ☀️ kind win with top paying symbol of the game
Graphics, Sounds and Animations
The graphics are good, digimation styled fish with that ☀️ large eyed Pixar style look.
The soundtrack has a lovely ambient underwater quality, with some gentle music and soft win and ☀️ spin sounds the whole experience is rather relaxing.
The animations are similarly gentle, just enough movement to keep one from falling ☀️ asleep. But small and efficient.
Big wins can occur with some luck and stacked top paying symbol
Gameplay
Release the Kraken is a ☀️ five reel, four row slot with 20 win lines. The number of win lines doubles during the Free Spin bonus ☀️ (details below).
It has a range of randomised features to keep players on their toes, and a couple of bonus games ☀️ that make for a variety of outcomes. This is nice as the high volatility of the game means there is ☀️ a lot of spinning without winning to be done (with bigger wins making up for the wait when they arrive).
Gameplay ☀️ video
Wilds, Bonuses and Free Spins
The Wild symbol substitutes for all symbols except the three Bonus symbols.
There are a few random ☀️ features that can be triggered during a base game spin. These trigger one of three randomised Wilds. Respins with walking ☀️ Wilds, a 3x4 Wild added to the reels, or a Wild that lands at random and transforms adjacent symbols into ☀️ Wilds.
Random Spin feature can occur with any spin in the base game
The Bonus system works a little unusually in Release ☀️ the Kraken. In order to trigger a bonus, the player must hit three of any kind of Bonus symbol, one ☀️ on each of reels one, three, and five. Reels one and three sport the Bonus symbol.
However, reel five has two ☀️ different symbols that determine the kind of Bonus that is triggered. The two possible symbols on reel five are the ☀️ Treasure Bonus symbol and Kraken Bonus symbol.
If the third symbol is the Treasure Bonus symbol, then the player gets awarded ☀️ the Sunken Treasure Bonus. In this mini-game the player picks one of three chests that award a cash prize.
If the ☀️ third symbol is the Kraken Bonus symbol, the player then picks chests to determine the amount of Free Spins (maximum ☀️ of 12) with a running multiplier that increases by one for each Wild symbol that lands, up to maximum of ☀️ x10. Landed Wilds remain on the screen for the remaining free spins, changing their positions randomly in each spin. The ☀️ Free Spins cannot be retriggered.
Bet Sizes, RTP and Variance
The return to player of this game is 96.50%, well over our ☀️ yardstick for average of roughly 96%.
The range of bets on the site we tested ran from a minimum bet per ☀️ spin ofR$/£/€0.20 up to a maximum ofR$/£/€100.00 per spin.
The volatility of this game is high, which makes it a great ☀️ match for our preferred slot machine strategies. Our slot strategies target the highest possible volatility.
Full paytable for Release the Kraken ☀️ slot
Conclusion
The main selling point for us is the high volatility coupled with a 96.50% RTP. This makes it a great ☀️ match for our preferred strategies.
That Release the Kraken is also a fun, well designed game, which is just a bonus.
The ☀️ varied bonus and randomised features make sure there is plenty to look forward to in the gameplay, and the music ☀️ and visuals make for an excellent time for the player.
