Vampires

In a complex world, much is to be said for simple pleasures: exactly what Merkur provides in Vampires, the latest of many games to take the vampires as its theme. This five reel, three line, slot is the very essence of simplicity, yet with a touch of the fantastic in its bonus play. There are five fixed paylines and only ten gaming symbols, one of which acts as both scatter and wild; two separate ways to play double-or-nothing on all wins; free spins; and a decent return-to-player ratio of 96%.

Theme

A vampiric spirit reigns over the reels in this slot, and all design factors are in keeping with this aesthetic. Gaming symbols include a pasty male vampire, a human lady who seems uninterested in being anyone’s prey, an ominous castle, goblets, daggers, and the playing cards valued ace through ten. The male vampire pulls double duty as a wild symbol and scatter – he will help form winning combinations and also, when three or more of his symbol appear on the reels, will set bonus play in motion. The reels are framed by a forest in silhouette as night falls, with baroque gargoyles overlooking the reels from its upper corners.

Betting Options and Functions

Merkur keeps things very simple in this game; betting structure is no exception. There are only five fixed paylines, and bet size is easily adjusted from 0.10 to 100.00 times the betting currency per spin. Autoplay can be set as high as 100 spins. Two pop-up menus explain payouts and game rules, respectively; the overall theoretical RTP, as previously mentioned, is 96%.

The design team provides two separate, simple ways to increase the size of wins at any game phase: the ladder gamble and card gamble features. In the former, players try to predict the color of the the next playing card to be turned up. A correct guess doubles the win size, while a wrong one reduces the win to zero. Things are less extreme in the ladder feature: here, win size will either move up or down from where it began, growing larger or smaller. In both features, players will have the option to replay at any time (up to a win of 140.00 times the betting currency only), and can also choose to stop at any time. Players can also choose to to split the win in half, banking one half of the win total while gambling with the other. None of these options is available when autoplay is on, however.

Features

The appearance of three or more vampire symbols on the reels triggers free games, where a unique and delightful bonus feature appears. In bonus play, whenever the vampire wild is involved in a winning combination, a bloodthirsty turn of events transforms all other symbols involved in that win into wilds as well. These newly wild tiles will remain so for the rest of bonus play, and can infect other tiles with their wildness as well. Over the course of free spins, it’s possible to see a tremendous quantity of wild symbols on the reels, triggering tremendous wins. Simple-yet-original features set games like this apart.

Our Take

All in all, Vampires is an excellent slot. Streamlined gameplay and efficient design make for a smooth gaming experience, with no ornate extras to interrupt flow or overcomplicate matters. While this game won’t win any points for sophisticated graphic design or originality of concept, sometimes a straightforward slot with great bonus features is as good as gold, and even better than holy water.