Release the Kraken Slot Review - Play Free Demo

Pragmatic Play has successfully transferred its idea into their brainchild, Release the Kraken, an underwater themed game with 5 reels, 4 rows, and 20 lines of excitement. Those words from Davy Jones, Captain of The Flying Dutchman, is one of the most iconic quotes in the Pirates of the Caribbean saga, and it is one of my favorite scenes in the whole series. As the tentacles of the Kraken arose and wrapped around the Black Pearl, my heart sank for a moment, believing this was the final stand of Captain Jack Sparrow and his beloved ship. Witness the might of the legendary Kraken and seize his treasures before he grasps his tentacles around you!

Sun Tzu once said: “If you know the enemy you need not fear the result of a hundred battles”. To beat the Kraken, you need to be the Kraken first. Understanding the mechanism of this slot is the key to Release the Kraken.

RTP and variance: Launched by Pragmatic Play Provider in the January of 2020, the five-reel online slot has a theoretical RTP of 96.5%, better than the industry average. The elevated RTP goes well with the fairly high variance, as the game gets riskier while the prizes get bigger

In addition, if you are a beginner, you can try other free slot games with low or medium volatility to have a stable investigation. 

Betting range and paylines: You can choose to bet with up to 10 Coins per line and a $0.5 Coin value, or any smaller combinations that you prefer. With a fixed 20 paylines in the base game, the total wager that you can make ranges from $0.2 to $100, catering to all types of players

Highest payout: The most that you can get from the Pragmatic Play's gaming product is 10,000 times your initial stake

Paytable:

• The Bubble Wild: Pays 500 times your stake for 5 icons on a payline
• Release the Kraken: Pays 500 times your stake for 5 icons on a payline
• The Shark: Pays 250 times your stake for 5 icons on a payline
• The Turtle: Pays 200 times your stake for 5 icons on a payline
• The Blue Fish: Pays 150 times your stake for 5 icons on a payline
• The Green Fish: Pays 100 times your stake for 5 icons on a payline
• The Card Suits: Pay 40 or 80 times your stake for 5 icons on a payline

The payouts are generous enough to keep your balance ticking over, but if you started off on the wrong foot then well…

Apart from the common Wild feature, which can replace all other ordinary symbols in the game for a higher winning chance, Release the Kraken offers the Random Spin, which is essentially a pick game between 3 tentacles. Each one will grant you a different mini-feature, as explained below.

Kraken Locking Wilds

It is another picking game, where you can trigger additional bonuses. Initially, you are given a Wild that locks onto the reel, together with 3 treasures chest to choose from. A random prize will be awarded: More Wilds, Continue Spinning, All Wins x2 and Collect, More Wilds and Collect, or Collect. If you land on any of those Collects, the spin will end and you will get the payout of that particular round. Otherwise, the reels will keep spinning for more added bonuses.

Colossal Kraken Wilds

After the spin ends, a 3x4 Wild will be placed on the reel at a random position.

Infectious Kraken Wilds

After the reels stop, at least one Infectious Kraken Wild will land in view. Any surrounding symbols will be turned into Wild.

Release the Kraken has two different bonuses: Sunken Treasure Bonus and Roaming Kraken Free Spins. In order to trigger those bonuses, you need to land two Bonus Ships on reels 1 and 3, and either Free Spins or Chest Bonus on reels 5.

Sunken Treasure Bonus

Sunken Treasure Bonus is a pick game, in which you have to choose between 3 treasure chests. If you pick the instant prizes, the game goes on. If you pick the Collect icon, the game ends and you will earn all the prizes during this session.

Roaming Kraken Free Spins

In the beginning, you can choose any number of chests to reveal your awarded free spins, up to 12 in total. Pick the Collect chest will immediately end the pick game. The Free Spins bonus has 40 paylines instead of 20, but the total bet stays the same. A multiplier of 1x will be applied during the session and can be increased up to 10x for each Wild that hits during the round. All the Wild symbols don’t stay in the same place or disappear with every spin, but they will randomly change their positions instead. This is also where your 10,000x payout comes true, so let’s pray for some miracles.

As expected from the talented software developer Pragmatic Play, this online slot has some stunning arts with a colorfully designed underwater backdrop, embellished by the floating corals and streams of bursting bubbles. The animations are also top-notch, much similar to the Finn and the Swirly Spin slot by NetEnt. The mysterious melody in the background greatly contributes to the bizarre atmosphere of the deep ocean, wrapping everything up flawlessly. A 10 out of 10 for the design in my opinion.

In conclusion, Release the Kraken is a fairly new title on the market. Hence, the game inherited all the best parts from its predecessors, including both the gameplay and the design. The merit of the 2020 release lies in the various unique bonuses and features, which all stay true to the sea monster itself. I never get tired of those tentacles rising from the seafloor and holding the “Pick Me” boards. How cool is that? All in all, the underwater-themed slot game is a fantastic game to play, whether you are in for the good look or for the prize.