Wild Knights King's Ransom Slots
If you enjoyed the original Wild Knights video slot by British pub fruit machine legends Barcrest, the chances are you will enjoy this new improved sequel, if you didn’t play the original or simply don’t like it then the changes in this version merit it worth a new set of spins!
Even if you don’t fancy yourself one of King Arthurs Knights Of The Round Table, charging in to rescue a damsel in distress from an evil baron, the games theme will still suit many players - it may only be 2D but this is still a well rendered medieval slot which can provide plenty of fun to experienced and new slot players alike.
At a cursory glance this is a typical 5x3 reel slot with 10 pay-lines, featuring a Barcrest pots bonus, free spins and both shifting and stacking wilds as part of the feature fun available. With bets ranging from 0.10 Credits to ‘big bets’ of 20 credits and ‘super big bets’ of 30 credits play can suit all levels – what becomes interesting about the larger wagers is that they affect the games RTP, getting better the higher bets you place in the long term.
Theme
Barcrest are playing with a familiar theme here and they haven’t tried to reinvent the wheel in any way, symbols sit on a chainmail like background and the reel display itself sits on a backdrop of traditional medieval fleur-de-lis icons. It is a little wallpaper like overall and in this day and age Barcrest have missed some modern 3D slots effects possibilities with this setting.
The backing music is quite subtle and non-intrusive for most of the gameplay which we quite like, a heralds fanfare erupts when a win or bonus round engages. Having the music increase in frequency and intensity with the status of the gameplay is no new strategy, but it is effective, hence its popularity.
Symbols will provide no shocks, the low value icons are the tried and tested nine though to Ace playing card symbols. Three classic middle ages Knights form the next 3 levels, Green, Purple and Red shields denote them in ascending value, with the highest value symbol the King himself. Wins start from any 3 symbols matched on a pay-line from left to right though it is 4 and 5 connected icons you will want to see for huge wins. A round table forms the games wild and there are 3 shield scatter icons with a familiar Barcrest pot of gold scatter pot as an added extra.
Features
The first aspect of gameplay which sets this game apart is the staggered RTP, bets of 0.10 credits to 1.00 credit pay out 94% long term, so you will be relying on the standard win symbols lining up on the pay-table with hopefully the pots bonus and free spins bonus adding to your wins.
Things start to get more interesting at 2.0 credits plus when the RTP increases to 96% and any win higher than 5.0 credits will trigger the Round Table bonus round. Hit this and the round table will spin in front of you granting a multiplier or choice of knights to enter the unlimited free spins bonus round.
The free spins round is one of the two essentials to winning big on this game, 3 mixed red or blue shield scatter symbols on the reels trigger this, as mentioned when playing the 2.0 credit level you can trigger from the knights table bonus also and if you play the ‘big bet’ (20.00 credits x5 spins) or ‘super big bet’ (30.00 credits x5 spins) your chances get even higher as shields landing will hold for the x5 spins duration. This increases your RTP to 98% which really makes this a high pay-out potential game for high stakes players. Once you reach the fabled free spins round you will have up to 3 knights to start with depending on the shield combination your triggering spin. Reels spin again and again till a black baron appears on the final reel - killing your valiant knight, once all 3 are gone, the spins round ends. You will get stepping and stacked wilds during this round which maximises your potential wins.
The most lucrative wins are to be found on the pots bonus round, this will be familiar to regular Barcrest games players and is triggered when 3 gold pot scatters appear on reels 1, 3 and 5. The round is the hardest to trigger but it will delight if and when it does.
The pots bonus is a pretty straightforward pick bonus style game, 12 cards will be displayed, face down and then shuffled, the multiplier value which displays when you pick will then multiply the stake you played (including and up to the super bet value) for some spectacular credit awards.
Summary
King’s Ransom may not be a new theme and nor is it the most graphically advanced slot on the market with 3D video slots now a regular occurrence in online casinos. What it does have is a very high level of features and the ability for players to increase their risk vs reward with the higher RTP’s available for higher bet levels, this in of itself is an unusual combination that make this game stand out from others in the genre. Factor in a max win of 250,000 credits and that will be all the attraction many players need!
