Pragmatic Play’s Fire Portals is a Cluster Pays slot game with many surprises. The fantasy theme suits it wisely, especially after the studio released all those fishing slots. I found this one refreshingly different. It’s not the first Cluster Pays slot in the studio’s portfolio, meaning that Pragmatic Play knows how to make things exciting.

Fire Portals draws inspiration from alchemy and mysticism. The main character is a sorcerer with a fireball or a portal that takes you to another dimension. Wins are formed for a minimum of 5 symbols in a cluster pop. The highest prizes are for a screen full of symbols, with the sorceress paying the highest amounts.

There are fire portal wilds and a scatter book that triggers the bonus round. It’s not the Book of Dead – this one’s probably some kind of alchemy notebook. The slot’s main features are tumbles, fire portal wilds, and free spins. It has a highly volatile math model with an RTP of 96.06%, so you should be mindful of your bets. If it sounds like something that might interest you, read my Fire Portals review below and see how it is to play.

Fire Portal has a 7x7 grid set against some mythical ruins with runes. It may take place on an ethereal plane – at least, the background looks like that. The symbols include the sorceress, a fire portal wild, an hourglass, a cup, and some other alchemical symbols. It has that classic Pragmatic Play look and feel, with the controls beneath the reels.

You can easily set your bet by clicking on the – and + buttons and play the slot by hitting the big spin button. The visuals are as impressive as it gets, and so are the audio and sound effects. It’s an undeniable Pragmatic slot machine and one that you’ll have fun with.

Before you start playing, make sure to check your bet. You can choose between 20c and $100 per spin, a range suitable for new and seasoned players. If you’ve ever played Cluster Pays slots, you know that popping clusters with as many symbols as possible brings the biggest wins. In this case, you need at least 5, with the highest payouts for 49 and over. The sorceress pays the most, with a maximum of 150x for 15-49.

The Fire Portal Wild can link wins and improve them. It substitutes for any other symbol except for the scatter. Whenever a wild appears, it has an x1 multiplier attached to it. Every time you score a wild win, the multiplier climbs up by +1. It also moves one position up-down-left-right after being used in a win. If you score a win of 2 or more wilds, they will merge into a single one with their multipliers combined. The fire portal wilds remain on screen until the end of all tumbles.

Land 3-7 scatters to enter the bonus round. The minimum number of free spins is 10, while the maximum is 18. During the bonus round, the Fire Portal Wild is sticky on the reels. The bonus round can be retriggered in the same way you triggered it in the first place.

If you don’t want to wait for the bonus spins, you can buy the feature for 100x the bet. The slot will then provide up to 7 triggering scatters randomly. There’s also an Ante bet you can activate, which increases your bet by 25% and your chances of getting to the bonus round. It costs 0.25x, but it’s worth it.

I’ve had a pretty decent experience with the Fire Portals online slot. It managed to pay decently in the base game thanks to the Fire Portal Wild multipliers. I was lucky enough to get the multiplier running quite high, which resulted in a few big wins my way from the get-go. Instead of paying for the bonus round, I went with the Ante bet. It cost a bit more, but eventually helped me reach the bonus round.

I didn’t find it all that different from the base game, nor did I hit big wins. Overall, the slot’s base game specials are more than enough to satisfy your curiosity. Sure, the bonus round can be rewarding, but what I’m trying to say is that even if it isn’t – like in my case, the base game features are excellent.

Fire Portals has an RTP of 96.06%, which is excellent for a highly volatile slot game. The slot uses the cluster pays engine and has a maximum payout of 10,000x the bet.

Fire Portals was a fun slot and one of the rare games where I feel the base game is more valuable than the bonus round. I hit more than solid wins in the beginning and didn’t have that much luck with the bonus. Of course, things can be different on your end. Try the slot for free before you splash the cash, and you’ll see if it’s the right fit for you.

The developer’s lobby is filled with many great games. Some of those you must try include Big Bass Bonanza and Sweet Bonanza. They’re obviously different than this slot, but they’re well worth your time.