- A Neon Valley Studios slot on 5 reels and 3 rows with 243 ways to win
- Link&Win with cash prizes, jackpots, Column Boost and a Win Booster
- Stacked Enchantress Wilds and castle free spins with nudging Wilds
Arctic Enchantress is a Neon Valley Studios slot released through Microgaming on 14 December 2021. An icy princess rules over a frozen kingdom, with her palace in the distance and her friendly polar animals around her. The game takes its name from the Arctic, and the reels are filled with its wildlife.
It plays on 5 reels and 3 rows with 243 ways to win, and Neon Valley rates the volatility as very high. The main draw is Link&Win, a feature where ice orbs lock in place to collect cash and jackpot prizes, backed up by a set of free spins with Wilds that nudge into place.
Reels, Ways and Symbols
Arctic Enchantress has 5 reels, 3 rows and 243 ways to win. There are no paylines to follow. A win is made by landing matching symbols on reels next to each other.
The higher paying symbols are the Arctic animals and plants: a polar bear, an Arctic fox, a snowy owl, a red rose and a pine cone. The rest of the reels are filled with lower paying symbols. Alongside these, there are three special symbols to look out for: the Enchantress Wild, the castle scatter and the ice orbs used in Link&Win.
Stacked Enchantress Wilds
The Enchantress herself is the Wild. She stands in for the regular paying symbols to help complete wins. She lands stacked, three symbols high, and Microgaming describes the Wilds as portrait symbols. She can appear stacked in the base game and in the free spins.
When a full stack lands, it covers a whole reel, so it can help link up wins across all three rows at once. In a 243 ways game, that is a big help.
Link&Win
Link&Win is the headline feature. It is triggered by landing six or more ice orbs on a single spin. Each orb holds either a cash prize or a jackpot.
When the feature starts, the orbs that triggered it are locked in place and you get three spins. Each new orb that lands also locks in place and gives you more spins, so the feature keeps going for as long as new orbs keep appearing. It ends when the spins run out or every position is filled.
As well as cash orbs, there are jackpot orbs for the Mini, Minor and Major jackpots. The biggest prize is the Mega jackpot. To win it, you need to fill all 15 positions on the reels with orbs before the spins run out. When the feature ends, all the prizes on the orbs are added up and paid.
RECOMMENDED CASINOS TO PLAY Arctic Enchantress
Column Boost
Column Boost was a new feature when the game came out. It kicks in during Link&Win when a whole reel is filled with orbs. From then on, every remaining spin in the feature boosts the cash prizes on that column.
This changes how the feature plays out. A full column is no longer just a step towards the Mega jackpot. It also starts adding to its own value with every spin that follows, so the earlier you fill a column, the more spins it has to grow.
Win Booster
The Win Booster is an option you can switch on in the base game. With it active, an ice orb is placed in the Enchantress’ tiara, which raises the chance of triggering Link&Win. In practice, it means you need one fewer orb on the reels: five are enough to start the feature, instead of six. It is meant for players who want to see Link&Win more often.
Free Spins with Nudging Wilds
The golden castle is the scatter. Landing three or more castles starts the free spins, and you can win up to 20 free spins. The free spins can also be retriggered for more spins.
The feature that sets this round apart is the nudging Wild. During the free spins, the stacked Enchantress Wilds can nudge on the reels. A stack that only lands partly in view can move into place, so it covers more of the reel and helps make more wins.
RTP and Volatility
Neon Valley Studios rates the volatility as very high, and the game’s launch listing gave the same rating. That means wins can be spread out, with the biggest results coming from the features, above all Link&Win and its jackpots.
About Neon Valley Studios
Neon Valley Studios calls itself an independent global game studio. It takes its inspiration from Las Vegas, from the lights of the Strip and Fremont Street to the Mojave Desert, and aims to make story-driven slots. Its flagship game is Aurora Wilds, a 10-line slot with expanding Wilds and a jackpot wheel. Arctic Enchantress moves away from the Vegas look to a winter fantasy setting.
For another winter slot led by an ice queen, read our Divine Queen: Heart of Ice review.
Overall
Arctic Enchantress is a winter fantasy slot with a clear focus. Link&Win is the main event, and the game adds to it in useful ways. Column Boost makes full reels grow in value, the Win Booster makes the feature easier to reach, and the Mega jackpot gives you a reason to keep filling the grid.
The free spins add a different kind of play. Stacked Enchantress Wilds that can nudge into place help build ways wins, and the round can be retriggered.
With very high volatility, it suits players who are happy to wait for Link&Win and the jackpots it can bring.