Casino Bonuses
| Provider | SG Gaming |
| Reels | 5 |
| Rows | 3 |
| Paylines | 20 |
| Bonus Rounds | 1 |
| Bet Range | 0.20 - 500 |
| Volatility | High |
| Max Win | 5,000x |
| Bonus Buy | Yes |
| RTP | 96.00% |
| Our Rating | 7.4 |
Latest Slots
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Game Overview
The theme behind Northern Lights new online slot isn’t just a storm… it isn’t even ‘just’ a storm at sea – it’s a Storm to Riches! That part about the sea is key to how this game works, as you’ll soon discover when I begin to break down the feature set. But first, how about those vital statistics? Storm to Riches has 20 paylines by default, but this can potentially increase to a maximum of 45 as the playfield expands. In addition, the game offers a 96.09% RTP, whilst the top jackpot is capped at 5,000x the players’ stake.
The headline feature of the game is its ‘Kraken Reels’, which function as a modifier than can trigger randomly during both the base game and free spin modes. The Kraken Reels cause the playfield to expand up to a maximum of five rows high during base gameplay or a whopping eight rows during the bonus round. When this occurs in the base game, it only lasts for a single spin, but if you are lucky enough to trigger the feature during a bonus, it will persist until your final free spin. Also, watch for the special gold coin symbols, as these can award instant cash prizes up to a maximum of the 5,000x jackpot! A bonus buy facility is also included and comes at the bargain price of just 50x the regular price per spin.
Would you dare to take a ship out on the ocean during a storm? I certainly wouldn’t be going with you – why not stay at home and spin our free demo slot of Storm to Riches? It’s a whole lot safer!
Storm To Riches Slot Theme, Stakes, Pays & Symbols
I hope you don’t get freaked out by thunder and lightning, as the online slot scene is literally overflowing with storm-themed games nowadays. Recent examples include Pragmatic Play’s Eye of the Storm, Playtech’s Age of the Gods: God of Storms series, and, let’s not forget, Hacksaw Gaming’s excellent Stormforged machine. Storm to Riches looks a little different to these previous games – whilst the backdrop is well drawn, the lack of any animation makes the game feel a little flat sometimes. Although the presentation isn’t the best, the wide range of included features should be sufficient to hold your interest for some time.
Over to the paytable next, where I found the wilds are shown separately from the regular symbols despite offering no premium prize – instead, their payout is shared with the highest-paying horned helmet symbol at 10x the bet for a full payline of five of a kind. The axe will get you 4x your stake back for all five symbols, followed by the shield at 3x and the tankard at 2x. As for the low pays, the returns for these range between 0.5x the bet for five jacks up to 1x for five aces. Nothing to get particularly excited about so far, but don’t forget about the all-important gold coins – these can pay 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 10x, 15x, 25x, 50x or 100x as standard, as well as the four jackpots listed in the next section.
Storm to Riches permits bets between €0.20 and €500.00 per spin in free-play mode. I’m unsure if all casinos will support wagers of that size, but the real issue is the significant lack of intermediate bets. There are just eight choices spanning that enormous range, which seems certain to be a problem for players who place average-sized bets.
Base Game & Modifiers
When you first begin to play Storm to Riches, everything seems fairly average by video slot standards. The game defaults to a traditional 5×3 reel set, and the 20 fixed paylines offered in that mode are also par for the course in machines such as this. Things soon get much more interesting, however, as the base game includes a wealth of features to spice up the action:
Kraken Reels Modifier
The Kraken Reels can be randomly triggered before any base game or free spin. When this occurs, the Kraken will expand the playfield for one spin during the base game or for the remainder of the feature during free spins.
The number of paylines increases in concert with the size of the playfield – there are 25, 30, 35, 40, or 45 lines active whenever the reels reach a height of four, five, six, seven, or eight rows, respectively.
Walking Wilds & Ride The Storm Feature
Wild symbols only appear on the fifth reel in Storm to Riches, but it turns out that this isn’t such a bad thing! How so? These are walking wilds, meaning that they move one position to the left at the end of each spin. You don’t get a free re-spin, unfortunately – you’ll need to pay for every round – but it’s entirely possible to hit a full payline of wilds if you are lucky enough to keep hitting them on subsequent spins.
There’s also a ‘Ride the Storm’ feature which can randomly activate whenever a wild moves off of the left edge of the screen. When this occurs, any wilds currently visible on reel one will move back to reel five, where the whole process will repeat for a second (or third!) time.
Viking Treasure
The wilds are also of key importance when it comes to the game’s most valuable symbols – the gold coins. This ‘Viking Treasure’ can only be collected if a wild is visible on the reels during the same spin when they land, at which point the coin will flip over to reveal its value.
There are ten possible cash prizes ranging between 1x and 100x the total bet, but the most exciting part has to be the four jackpots. These prizes are fixed at 20x (MINI), 50x (MINOR), 500x (MAJOR), and 5,000x (GRAND).
Storm To Riches Slot Bonus Features
A Viking helm scatter symbol is present on reels one, three, and five only, and you’ll need to hit all three of these simultaneously to trigger yourself a set of free spins.
Valhalla Free Spins
Before your feature begins, you’ll be asked to choose from one of two Viking characters. Your lucky pick will flip four coins to determine how many spins you will be awarded, which can range between a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 20.
In this mode, the Kraken Reels modifier will activate more regularly than during the base game. More importantly, the Kraken Reels stay in effect between game rounds, making them much more valuable as more reels means more paylines and a better opportunity to hit a big win.
Bonus Buy
If you’re having trouble triggering a bonus round, you can skip the base game entirely at the cost of 50x the normal price per spin. That’s a relatively low price for a bonus buy facility, and whilst it does feel like quite the bargain, it also indicates that the feature probably doesn’t have as much potential as you might hope.
Pros
- A wide range of features keeps the game interesting for some time.
- Free spins feel relatively easier to trigger.
- The Viking Treasure symbols offer a quick way to hit a big win.
Cons
- The presentation isn’t the best, especially in terms of animation.
- The Kraken Reels seem almost pointless during the base game.
Final Thoughts
Storm to Riches isn’t a bad game, but it certainly isn’t a standout release for Northern Lights, either. The wide range of features is welcome and offers a large number of ways to try and score a big win, but the relatively low jackpot cap of just 5,000x somewhat dampens the appeal.
Decent
- Game Types:
- Viking Slots
Author Bio
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