Ariana Video Slot Review
If you're a fan of aquatic themed online slots like Great Blue, then Microgaming's latest release Ariana is one you have to play. What sets the Ariana slot apart from its other deep sea inspired counterparts is the fact that it's not a classic nature themed slot like we've seen over the last few years and while it does include some sea life, the focus is on the story of the adventures of the enchanting Ariana, a mermaid princess, who explores the depths looking for hidden treasure.
While Microgaming is renowned for its state of the art graphics and revolutionary game features, they have taken a different approach with the Ariana slot, which is reminiscent of the slots formats we ten years ago. This makes the slot highly appealing to some, while totally boring for others looking for more modern games with all the bells and whistles that new technology has to offer. So if you're looking for a flashy game, skip this one but if you're looking for a truly good slot with no distractions that is still highly appealing and rewarding, it may just be a breath of fresh air.
What this slot lacks in graphics, it definitely makes up for in the game play which is highly entertaining and offers you a number of ways to win. It is also not completely devoid of features. Designed in a 5 reel, 25 payline format the game features standard symbols as well as Expanding Wilds. This means that whenever a full symbol stacks on the first reel, it will transform other matching, high and wild symbols that are part of a winning combination into stacked symbols too, taking up the entire reel and racking up your winning payouts!
The Ariana Slot is full of features
The Ariana symbol is wild and appears on all reels substituting for all symbols except the scatter to help you achieve the highest possible winning combinations. The Starfish is the scatter symbol and if three or more appear anywhere on the reels the Free Spins feature is triggered and you have the chance to earn an extra scatter payout with five starfish rewarding you with 12,500 coins!
In the Free Spins feature you will be rewarded with 15 spins and for the duration of these the full first reel will be stacked with wilds to give you some handsome returns and if you're lucky enough to get three or more starfish during this feature, you will re-trigger the bonus game for even more rewards.
Ariana is a medium variance slot which means that you'll usually experience a number of small wins quite often. The highest win per spin is 240 times your wager, which when placing the maximum bet equates to €30,000 and this is awarded within the aforementioned Free Spins feature.
This game has been designed for players with small to mid-sized bankrolls with coin sizes ranging from €0.01 up to €0.50 and the maximum bet topping out at 10 coins per spin. As previously mentioned, there are 25 lines and you will have to play them all, so you're looking at between €0.25 up to €125 per spin on this game. While this may not be too exciting if you're a highroller, for everyone else it's a pretty decent game.
All in all Ariana is not a groundbreaking game for Microgaming, but is definitely is a lot of good old fashioned fun, offering hours of entertainment and the opportunity for some great rewards.