About Crystal Quest Arcane Tower Slot
Hot on the heels of the first Crystal Quest game, Deep Jungle, comes Thunderkick’s Arcane Tower. We are big fans of this Swedish studio’s output over the last five years, from early games like Esqueleto Explosivo to high variance classics like Pink Elephants, they’ve established their own unique style and always deliver exciting gameplay in and monster visuals. Here, the narrative follows the character of Gemma who must collect precious gems on her way to confronting a Wizard / Sorcerer.
All this plays out on classic six reel and four row set up with 4,096 paylines, the same model that has been used in countless other high volatility games since the original 4,096 win ways classic, Raging Rhino by WMS. Any win will trigger the Avalanche Reels feature which comes with a progressive multiplier, whilst the added spice of up to SIX linked reels make this game an enticing prospect.
RTP, Variance and Top Payout
Beware because this is a high variance game – whilst it has a top payout of 15,000x it’s not a slot that is going to be paying out regularly. The big wins are all driven by events in the bonus round so you’ll need to be hitting a scatter combination and getting seriously lucky to have any chance of getting even close to that number. The RTP is a reasonable 96.17% and spins start at 10p per play.
Symbols and PaytableÂ
The reels are set in a kind of fantasy land, the home of a mighty Wizard, who is the highest-paying premium symbol, offering 20x bet for six of a kind. He is also the only icon on the reels that will pay even for two of a kind. There is a Crystal Warrior appearing on the reels as well, while Gemstones in red, green, blue, pink, orange and yellow represent other premium and low value symbols.
Look out as well for the W icon which is the Wild that will substitute for all regular symbols to form wins. The other important symbol is the Treasure Chest which is the Scatter that triggers the bonus round which can land you big wins when combined with progressive multipliers.
Gameplay and Features
There is plenty to play for in Arcane Tower thanks to all the feature enhancements which really kick off in the bonus round where free spins and progressive multipliers are unlimited. Here’s how they work:
Avalanche Feature
Fans of Gonzo’s Quest and countless grid and Megaways™ slots since then will be familiar with the Avalanche feature. Every time you land a winning combination, then the winning symbols will explode, making room for new icons to appear and fill the blank positions on the reels. If more winning lines are created, so the process repeats. Until no more wins occur.
Importantly, a win multiplier is also associated with this feature. This multiplier increases by 1x after each winning cascade.
Linked Reels Feature
At the beginning of any spin, the Linked Reels feature may be triggered at random. Up to 6 reels can be linked, and all linked reels will display identical symbols. The linked reel feature is not available during Avalanche Reels.
Free Spins Feature
Three or more Treasure Chest Scatters will trigger the Free Spins round, giving you 12 spins to start with. If you land two or more extra Scatters during the feature, the first two of them will secure you 3 extra free spins, while every additional Scatter adds 2 extra free spins. There is no limit to how many times you can trigger more spins.
Importantly, during the free spins round the progressive multiplier DOES NOT reset after a non-winning spin.
Finally, there is a Wild Explosion feature that triggers every time you land a non-winning free spin that contains at least one Wild. Here, the Wild will explode and blow up all the icons placed on the same reel and on the same row, and the Avalanche is then triggered to replace those symbols that exploded.
Our VerdictÂ
There’s a lot to like about Arcane Tower slot – it’s a great looking game with the kind of high production values that we’ve come to know and love Thunderkick for. The gameplay itself is the kind of high-octane mix of free spins and multipliers that has been made so popular through the volatile Megaways™ series and high-risk gaming fans will love it. It has high potential and lots of thrills and spills. Just beware that it is highly volatile and not a game for casual slots players to enjoy. So have fun, and gamble responsibly.
