Magical Reels Slot

The Manchester (UK) and Stockholm (SWE) located Studio Northern Lights Gaming (founded in 2017) is one of the very few Microgaming’s partners, having admission to publishing unrestrictedly on different portals: using Microgaming’s own platform Quickfire, or Yggdrasil Game Channel – YGS Masters programme. Not that this matters to the players, but it is somehow nicer to know that even the developers follow loyalty tenets.

If you want to know a bit more about the non-exclusive Studio read our column 5 Star Knockout slot.

Since it still collects stars and ‘knocks out’ symbols in the Bonus round, the resemblance to the other games in the Knockout series is obvious (point down for the new slot). However, in the Magical Reels slot, the Studio has ramped up the Multipliers and the potential (which is why they may deserve a plus point in the process of our internal rating)? Let’s see.

While we are not entirely sure of the theme, we agree with some colleagues that the slot’s name and the premise remind us of a ghostly forest laboratory, with those little potions and magic formulas including leaves, plants, forest fruits, ornamental shells and spellbook, all combined – perhaps a secret gnome chamber facilitating magic transformations.

But all this is a work of our imagination. The Northern Lights‘ camp was not specific, and the lack of a real story can certainly ‘knock off’ the adjective ‘remarkable’ before the slot’s name.

The game is centred around the Stars and Multipliers collection (per symbol) during the base spins, which will only matter in the Bonus round. In this way, the High Volatility 20 pay-liner relies heavily on its paytable to support the balance in the process of enduring till the Free Spins.

Hit rate of almost 35% and a combined default return index of 96.15% (broken down as: 34.35% for the base spins and 61.79% for the FS) are the other technical attributes important for the advanced players.

In terms of functionality, there seems to be something wrong with the concept of accumulating stars and getting the highest Multipliers (after all, they are all unlimited – according to the developer), and then the moment we hit 5 stars with 1 of the icons (i.e. trigger the Bonus), it not only gets taken off but also the corresponding (long-stacked) Multiplier disappears. What? Yeah, another point down for the new slot.

Here is what happened during 1 of our Bonuses:

Time, then, to browse and fully assimilate the provision values. If you (like us) gather and compare a lot of information, you will be surprised to find that there are no Wilds, the Scatters don’t pay and the symbols pay between x5 (for the top-valued – yellow potion) and 1x (for the Berry), all for 5OAK on a payline – as far as we have seen, 1 of the worst paytables for a 20-liner in recent years.

This is another minus point from our team for the Magical Reels online slot. And then accentuated, because it seems like a broken link in our PHP trinity (key slot factors – Paytable/Hit rate/Potential). And – take it from us – a deficiency in 1 of these ingredients always leads to a disastrous compound.

*** In contrast, another similar game on the Microgaming platform (not only in terms of magical/fantasy genre but also in technical aspects): Goldaur Guardians slot (2020), comes with 20 paylines, High Variance and an RTP of 96.36%. It offers Symbol upgrade and Expanding icons, and in addition, presents HyperSpins (paid Re-spins) – i.e. an abundance of features, lying on the foundation of a super generous paytable  Scatter – 100x, Wild 50x, premium Oberon character – 15x the bet.

By the way, the number of FS you get playing the Magical Reels slot is also very small – 5. Sure, more Books (Scatters) can bring additional stars and you can make another 5-star collection within the Bonus, but this awards only 2 extra spins, and let’s face it, the average return of the Bonus is just 30x the bet – so, 1 more unexciting property, which drains all possible enthusiasm (we are using the producer’s official stats).

And on a final note: the announced over 11000x the bet potential seems possible as a total result from the Bonus, and not in a single spin (we have never seen triple-digit Multiplier), which turned out to be the last straw for us.

Counting all points, we see the Magical Reels slot fall short on the number of features and on the payout value per symbol. In this way, we are cornered to leave neutral suggestions when it comes to sessions with real credits.

Try these Magical Reels slot first for free (here on our page), but if you find a flashy wand and want to claim the real magic, you should have to register at one of our trusted partners’ casinos.

Bonus Features of Magical Reels slot

Wilds

• There are no Wilds to contribute to creating pay combinations.

Scatters and Star-Meters

• The Spell Book is the Scatter in the game.
• Up to 5 Books are gettable in a single spin.
• Books have no value on their own, but each of them can contain A) 1/2/3 Stars or B) a +1 Multiplier.
• Landing a Book with 1of the 2 perks (Stars or Multiplier), will grant that perk to a random Star-Meter (left of the grid).
• To each of the 8 symbols (from the paytable) is assigned a Star-Meter with 5 empty spaces to adhere stars and a place for piling Multipliers.
• Initially, you will be awarded a random number of Stars and Multipliers, to begin with.
• When changing the bet the Stars and Multipliers will be stored.

Free Spins

• The feature starts when 1 Meter gets loaded (with 5 Stars)
• Each Bonus contains 5 FS.
• Unfortunately, the triggering symbol and its Multiplier will be automatically dismissed.
• You will go on spinning with 7 symbols instead.
• You keep on getting Books with perks during the FS.
• If you manage to gather another 5 stars – that next symbol and its Multiplier will also be removed.
• For each additional symbol knocked out you will also get 2 extra spins.
• All used Stars and Multipliers will be zeroed at the end of the Bonus.

Settings

• Provider – Northern Lights Gaming (Microgaming)
• Payment lines – 20 (fixed)
• Volatility – High
• Default range of bets – 0.20 to 20 CAD
• Playing field – 5х4
• The maximum winning is – 11000x the total bet
• Bonuses – Scatters, Symbols collection, Free Spins with Multipliers
• Free Spins – Yes
• RTP – 96.15%