Alchymedes

We always have high expectations from any Yggdrasil game, as we know them to release something that looks good, feels even better and plays amazingly. But this slot managed to not only surpass our expectations, but throw them against the floor and shatter them entirely. Released in January 2017, the developer wanted to make it very clear that they were still on top with this 5-reel 30-payline title that pays both ways and throws away Scatter bonuses in favour of a truly magical set of special features that will keep you spinning like an addict to unlock them.

At first glance booting up the slot, you would be fooled it has 30 paylines. We were too, until you read the fine print, which says that Alchymedes accepts wins left to right and right to left, effectively doubling the amount of winning combinations you could potentially accomplish with some luck.

But we aren’t done exploring the magical depths that Yggdrasil has to offer with this title. Deciding that Scatters were a little bit too old school, the developer threw them out of the game, alongside free spins or bonus games. Instead, you will be relying on spreading Wilds and completing levels to bring absolutely massive wins at the end of each one.

Still, as many steps forward as Alchymedes has taken, we can’t excuse them on the fact that their Autoplay feature suffers in the desire to keep a clean interface. To set win, loss and single win limits, you will need to go into the options menu, instead of just clicking on the Autoplay button which should offer at least a shortcut to where the player can adjust the settings.

There are bigger betting ranges in other slots, so the $0.30 to $60 spread may seem a bit humble when first looking at this Yggdrasil release. With 60 paylines on a 5×4 reel, this is not bad, but it might dissuade high rollers who want to spend a lot more with each reel spin.

But that is nothing when you include how much you can win! The unique bonus features truly change the playing field, with spreading Wilds allowing massive amounts of icons to all get activated at once, and then a multiplier increase at the end of each level that rewards you if you had to wait for a while to complete it. You climb on small wins to huge ones at the end, making this a very fun rollercoaster.

Alchymedes has an entire set of unique symbols designed specifically for itself, but they aren’t very inspired. Different coins and potions are spread across the grid, their beauty more shining when they turn a shade of gold as part of a winning combination. Otherwise, they are more or less present, but not offering any major gameplay changes.

That privilege is reserved for special symbols, and this game has only one. Wilds bubble in the surface of a golden cauldron, which tips over and spills its green liquid according to the spread you will see on the left side of your screen. All Wilds will spread according to that shape, and it changes each time you complete a level.

A level is completed when each spot on the reel was included in a winning combination. While the reels spin, occasionally liquid will drip down to increase the level’s multiplier. When the level is done, the multiplier is applied to the final win, creating a massive win combination which can go well in the thousands.

At the end of a level, you can choose if you want to enhance your multipliers or Wild spread. The choice seemed balanced enough, but we personally went with increasing your multipliers, as it seemed like a heavier hitting option.

Finally, before the start of each new level, the slot can automatically activate a bonus which can reward up to six different prizes. Increased pattern positions, increasing multipliers, or straight up cash.