Birth, death, and subsequent rebirth from the ashes characterized the Phoenix’s life cycle. From Greek mythology to Egyptian hieroglyphics to Chinese mythology’s Fenghaung and even Harry Potter’s Fawkes, the Phoenix is a ubiquitous emblem. Instead of relying on the power of rebirth, Phoenix Forge relies on the synergy of tumble wins and multiplier hot spots to produce mythical, alright, maybe not mythical, but excellent winnings all the less.
A 5-reel, 20-payline gaming grid is placed in a rather typical dungeon that is coated with gold coins. Since multipliers provide the game’s most thrilling moments, comparing Phoenix Forge to Red Tiger’s slot Dragon’s Fire is not far off. However, the functionality of the features in Phoenix Forge is completely different from Red Tiger’s invention. There are no dragons either, with the titular Phoenix serving as the story’s protagonist instead. His score features a lot of drums, making it sound more dramatic than it is. However, this helps add to the dense fantasy mood.
Players may use the plus and minus buttons on any device to place wagers ranging from 20 pence to £/€100 each spin. The numbers derived from the mathematical model are flawless, with a 96.51% RTP (which can be lower depending on where you play) and a volatility rating of 5 out of 5 to satisfy the most demanding players. Although the maximum payout of $5,000 isn’t very impressive, it’s also hard to find fault with these stats.
There are seven standard pay symbols scattered across the game, each representing a different piece of jewelery. If you get five of a kind, you can win anywhere from 7.5x your original wager on the turquoise piece to 50x your original wager on the red piece. There is also an egg, maybe a Phoenix egg but more reminiscent of a Fabergé creation. This wild appears on reels two through four and may replace any other symbol outside the bonus.
Slot Functions in Phoenix Forge
In Phoenix Forge, you may benefit from tumbles, hot spot multipliers, and free games. After each successful round, the tumble function starts. After a winning combination is paid out, all instances of that symbol on the grid are removed. When a win occurs, the offending symbols are replaced by others of the same kind, and the payout process repeats itself until no more wins occur.
After each spin, a frame showing an x1 multiplier appears over the location of every winning symbol that burst. After a roll, the multiplier goes up by one each time a new winning combination is formed thanks to symbols resting in highlighted positions. Each winning combination is awarded a prize equal to the total multipliers included in that combination. After a spin with no winnings, the frame and multiplier are reset so that the following spin can be played for money.
If you get 3, 4, or 5 of the Phoenix scatter symbols, you’ll win 2, 5, or 20 times your wager plus 10, 15, or 20 free games, respectively. During the bonus round, 3 scatter symbols trigger an additional 5 free games. All multipliers in play during free spins remain in place until the round ends, rising with each roll.
Judgment on Slots from Phoenix Forge
Phoenix Forge isn’t a game that aspires to rule the world, but it makes creative use of the tools at its disposal. Despite being quite straightforward, Phoenix Forge occasionally produces enjoyable synergies between its features. A standard line win kicks things off and sets up hot spot multipliers, which are fed by falling symbols. In free spins, when hot spots do not refresh, the game really begins to heat up, but having access to them in the basic game makes waiting for scatters to activate them a little less of a burden.
Regarding the hit rate of 1 in 3.73, it appears that the tumble/multiplier combination is balanced out by a large number of dead spins. Not enough to discourage play, and the infrequent large win on the tumble helps even things out. If you’ve played Dragon’s Fire, comparisons to that game will linger, and Phoenix Forge will seem like a step down in quality. Potentially, Red Tiger’s game can pay out 10,000 times the wager, but the best Phoenix Forge can do is 5,000 times the bet, which is still rather good.
Phoenix Forge is an enjoyable slot machine with a prominent feature that might surprise players if given the chance to do so. However, this is a large “if,” since free spins can be quite difficult to activate at times, despite the fact that the hit frequency isn’t horrible.
Although Phoenix Forge is quite simplistic in appearance, its benefits far exceed its drawbacks. When a string of low or no value spins hits, the game may be quite unforgiving; it’s not looking to make friends. However, after you’ve mastered the combination of tumbles and hot places, you’ll feel…well, not like a reborn Phoenix.