Ancient Fortunes: Minotaur Rising is the latest release from Triple Edge Studios, and it’s definitely worth checking out. The slot offers dynamic, high-volatility gameplay with a 3-5-5-5-3 layout, a win-both-ways mechanic, and a feature-filled bonus round with loads of winning opportunities.

I spent some time playing this slot, and I quite liked it. Its intricate design might be a bit challenging for newcomers, but for seasoned slot enthusiasts eager for a fresh challenge, this game is a must-try. Dive into my detailed review below and take the game for a spin in free slots demo mode to see if it sparks your interest.

The game has a non-traditional 3-5-5-5-3 layout with 1,125 win-ways that pay in both directions. There are four low-paying and four high-paying symbols, each requiring three-of-a-kind matches for a win. Meanwhile, the wild subs for all other symbols and the scatter unlocks the bonus round. Both symbols appear only on reels 2, 3, and 4.

Ancient Fortunes: Minotaur Rising is a visually striking real money video slot. The game’s background depicts an Ancient Greek temple with a looming blue minotaur standing with his fists clenched. The foreboding hard rock tune sets the tone, and the minotaur’s roars and retorts, such as “Impressive spin, mortal!” add to the intense atmosphere and dynamic vibe.

It’s the little details that really struck a chord with me here. For instance, the stone-like symbol positions hit the ground when they stop, kicking up some dust in the process. You'll also see a cool animation when you land a few winning spins in a row, after which the minotaur raises his hands, and flames engulf the bottom of the screen.

You can easily set your stake by using the +/- buttons on either side of your displayed bet amount. Meanwhile, the Max Bet icon next to the Spin button is handy for high-rollers determined to wager the highest amount. Betting options range from $0.20 to $25.

Right of the Spin button is the Autoplay button, allowing you to set up 10, 25, 50, or 100 automated plays. For quicker action, you can turn on the Turbo Spin feature by pressing the lightning bolt.

The Ancient Fortunes: Minotaur Rising slot has quite a few features, but the first one that caught my eye was the Rising Rewards jackpot. Each time a jackpot trigger token lands on a reel, the pot atop that reel will be filled.

There are five pots, each with a different starting value and a target before which they must hit:

• Green pot (reel 1): Starts at 15x the stake and must hit by 25x the stake.
• Red pot (reel 2): Starts at 300x the stake and must hit by 500x the stake.
• Gold pot (reel 3): Starts at 600x the stake and must hit by 1,000x the stake.
• Blue pot (reel 4): Starts at 60x the stake and must hit by 100x the stake.
• Purple pot (reel 5): Starts at 5x the stake and must hit by 15x the stake.

Aside from this, the game boasts the Ultra Link & Win feature, which you can unlock by landing three scatter symbols or by purchasing it. If you choose to buy the feature, you will have three options:

• Original (costs 100x the stake): Start with three re-spins and three cash symbols
• Random (costs 150x the stake): Randomly trigger either the Original or the Unleashed feature.
• Unleashed (costs 500x the stake): Start with three re-spins, two cash symbols, and at least one guaranteed persistent collect symbol.

Now, you probably don’t understand what any of this means, and neither did I when I first unlocked the feature. Namely, Ancient Fortunes: Minotaur Rising has a rather complex bonus round that probably won’t sit well with beginners. However, if you’re looking for an unconventional real-money video slot with more than just dull free spins with multipliers, you’ll probably enjoy this one.

In any case, the bonus round is played on a 5x4 layout, starting with three cash symbols that award random prizes of between 0.5x and 10x your stake. You get three re-spins, and whenever a new cash symbol lands on one of the empty spaces, it resets the re-spin counter to three. Aside from cash symbols, you can hope to land four different Ultra Link & Win special symbols:

• Unlock symbol: Expands the active play area by one row. There can be a maximum of eight rows.
• Collect symbol: Collects all values from the currently displayed cash symbols.
• Persistent Collect symbol: Collects all values from the active play area on every re-spin.
• Countdown symbol: A chest that counts down from eight to zero respin by respin. Once opened, it can award a value of between 4x and 195x.

It took me quite some time to test out this slot. I liked that I could go through the spins quickly, even with the turbo feature turned off. This gameplay element is important since we’re talking about a high-volatility title. 

I played at an optimal betting level, watching the jackpot trigger tokens slowly fill up the pots above the reels and occasionally hitting the two smallest jackpots. Still, my bankroll was draining, so I knew that I had to trigger the bonus round to recover.

After about ten minutes of play, I landed three scatters and unlocked the original Ultra Link & Win feature without much success. However, my fortunes changed soon after I hit the third-highest jackpot (red pot) and surpassed my starting bankroll.

From there, I decided to cut the wait and use the Buy Bonus Feature to purchase the Unleashed version of the Ultra Link & Win bonus. 

The bonus round itself was pretty fun and very rewarding. I immediately got the Persistent Collect symbol, which kept collecting the coins with every re-spin. In the meantime, a couple of Unlock and Countdown symbols came in handy, too. Before I knew it, my starting bankroll had increased by almost 50%.

In any case, I had lots of fun with the Ancient Fortunes: Minotaur Rising slot bonus game, and I’m sure you will, too.

Ancient Fortunes: Minotaur Rising comes with very high volatility, so you can expect to go through many spins before finally hitting something substantial. The game has three different return rates — 96.20%, 94.01%, and 92.01% — so check its RTP on the casino site first. The max payout is 10,000x.

Ancient Fortunes: Minotaur Rising is an entertaining slot with impressive graphics, a peculiar layout, and unique bonus elements. It’s perfect for players who enjoy ancient mythology titles and wish to experience something new.

On the other hand, this game isn’t the best choice for novice players who might find it a bit overwhelming. If you’re just starting out with video slots, you should probably find something a little less complex, like NetEnt’s Starburst, for example.

Feel free to read some of our other video slot reviews, and if you wish to play these awesome real-money games, take a peek at our top online casino list. There, we feature some of the best and most trusted casino sites with high-quality games and rewarding bonuses.