Blast Your Way to a Pirate’s Treasure in Kraken’s Cove

Pirates and slots go together like peanut butter and jelly. After all, who hasn’t dreamt of a life of ultimate freedom, sailing the seven seas and enjoying adventures across the globe?

Relax Gaming agrees, which is why they’ve set us up for an epic clash against a towering squid in Kraken’s Cove.

In this article, we’ll break down what this new slot has in store for us. If you’re keen to try it but aren’t sure if it’s for you, our review will dispel any worries you might have.

Kraken’s Cove Visuals & Sounds

While we wouldn’t call the Kraken’s Cove slot a masterpiece, we do like its stylised look. We get a bird’s eye view of the Kraken’s lair – an unassuming archipelago of islands with chests of gold ripe for the taking. However, nearby shipwrecks and the skeleton of a stranded pirate warn us that something dangerous lurks beneath these azure blue waves.

Symbol designs consist of playing card royals shaped like barrels, a ship’s steering wheel, a flask, a tricorne, and the pirate captain. Blue chests emblazoned with a golden W are Wilds while flaming skulls atop cannon balls are Scatters. Wilds can also appear as a ship, moving across the playing area.

The music suits an adventure out at sea with an epic and upbeat tune that helps immerse you in its world. We also love the sound effects. Our favourites are the barrels exploding in coin showers and how heavy the cannon sounds when it fires at the Kraken. Both the pirate and his parrot companion also have a few lines to get you excited when something happens on the reels.

Kraken’s Cove Gameplay & Features

Relax Gaming built the game around cluster pays and the Cascading Reels feature. Both of those elements work best with a big playing area, so we weren’t surprised to see Kraken’s Cove offering a 7×7 grid full of colourful symbols. You need at least five matching icons in adjacent positions to create a winning cluster. Each cluster will always grant a prize for its highest-paying combination.

Cascading Reels

The Cascading Reels feature kicks in after every win. Symbols that were part of the payout are removed from the playing area, with existing icons falling to take their place. Meanwhile, new symbols drop from the top, refilling the grid and giving players a chance to chain multiple consecutive wins while only paying for one spin.

Wilds

Keep an eye out for the Ship Wild. Each time the reels cascade occurs, it moves one step closer to the centre of the grid, where the Kraken lays in wait. If it reaches the spot, it will reappear in the same place with an expanded size.

This usually leads to a guaranteed win, after which the Ship Wild will reappear in its original size somewhere on the reels. It also comes with an attached multiplier that increases every time it’s involved in a cluster win.

Each treasure chest Wild holds between 1 to 5 coins within. These coins are collected when they appear on the grid. Once five coins are collected, the Ship Wild increases in size. The ship can go up to a 5×5 configuration, though that will require a ton of luck.

Free Spins

Collect three Scatters to unlock the Free Spins feature. However, before the bonus round begins, the game offers you a chance to gamble. With a bit of luck, those 5 free spins can increase to 20. You can also gamble the multiplier, increasing it to 50x. However, losing the gamble means you miss out on the free spins altogether.

During free spins, the Ship Wild expansion and multiplier are persistent between rounds rather than resetting with each spin. Collected Wild chests also do not reset while the feature is active, which is a big plus.

Finally, you can buy regular or upgraded free spins at 50x or 250x your stake. This lets you jump straight into the action if you’re willing to cough up the cash.

Kraken’s Cove RTP and Payouts

The RTP for Kraken’s Cove is 96.1%, which is slightly above the average for video slots. Meanwhile, its maximum prize is a mouth-watering 10,000x your bet. It’s certainly a treasure worthy of a pirate, though don’t expect it to just fall in your lap. You’ll have to get very lucky to get the coveted top prize.