We don’t really know if the idyllic Xmas vibe is intentional, but we somehow doubt it for a viking slot. These fierce pagan warriors celebrated Yule instead, or at least until Norway was fully christened, which didn’t happen without a fair share of bloodshed. The viking warrior in this game is toasting with a drinking horn filled with something that looks like ‘Fissionator Goo’ from the atomic reactor in The Simpsons, and we’re pretty sure it’s not an accurate depiction of mead.
Anyway, looking past the somewhat strange visuals, Viking Lock is actually a pretty solid game. You get 2-5 synced Lock Reels at random times, which can produce decent base game wins, and the feature is active on all bonus round spins. In addition, the win multiplier keeps increasing per bonus round spin, which can lead to payoutsup to 5,535x your stake. The Strike Bet is something to look into, as it comes with guaranteed Lock Reel wins while also turbocharging your bonus round chances (see details below).
The premium symbols, consisting of helmets, axes, drinking horns, and a redhead viking lady, pay between 2 and 4 x your stake for 5 of a kind wins. The drinking-horn wielding male viking is theWild symbolin Viking Lock, and he will therefore substitute for any pay symbol to help complete and/or improve wins. In addition, he is the highest value symbol, awarding 6x your stake for 5 wilds on the same payline.
You can trigger theLock Reel Featureon any given spin, and this locks at least 2 reels together. All locked reels are synced, which means that they will land with an identical set of symbols. Up to all 5 reels can become locked and synced when this feature triggers.
TheStrike Betis a somewhat unusual ante bet, as it costs 12x your regular stake to keep it on. The benefit is massive, however, as you’re then guaranteed synced Lock Reels on the first 4 reels. This means that you are guaranteed to win, and this ante bet also triggers the bonus round every 14 spins on average. In addition, the Strike Bet increases the RTP to 96.39 %.
TheViking Lock Slot Bonus Roundtriggers from at least3 scattersanywhere in view, and this gives you5 free spinsno matter the amount of triggering scatters. The scatters also pay2x, 5x, or 10x your stakeup front, from3, 4, or 5 in view, respectively. The bonus roundwin multiplierincreases by+1 per free spin, and it will boost all wins. The Lock Reel feature triggers on every free spin, and you win+1 and +5 extra spinsfrom2 or 3 scattersin view, respectively.
We have seen more fierce and engaging visuals in the vikings slot genre, but Viking Lock was a refreshing game nonetheless. The Lock Reel feature keeps you guessing in the base game, although it will not lead to anything massive most of the time. It can happen, of course, and especially if you lock in place 4 or 5 reels. It’s a feature that pops up once in a while in different games, and it’s enough to keep the base game more engaging than your average release.
The Strike Bet is a highly interesting ante bet, and it seems that Boomerang Studios has taken advantage of a loophole by also increasing the bonus round hit rate to 1 in 14 spins. This is an alternative that’s also available in the UK, and other jurisdictions where the regular bonus buy feature is banned. Getting 4+ locked/synced reels pays back a decent amount of what you pay per spin, so this is definitely something to check out. The increasing multiplier FS round with Lock Reels on each spin, and a5,535x potential, cements Viking Lock as a surprisingly solid effort.
Pros
Cons
