Dear readers, players, and my former dental practitioner. Come closer, I wish to whisper into your ear about a very secret type of secret. So, secret that should this fall upon the ears of other members of the Slot Writers Guild, they may copy this review and pass it off as their own exclusive information.

That’s right… come closer.

Ladies and gentle clucking hens, I present Ryze by ELK Studios [introduction trumpets blare out of sync]. Yes, this exclusive reveal of the Ryze slot by ELK Studios can no longer be used by any other online review [the writer has inserted an evil laugh so that the audience understands that he has lost his mind]. 

So, this is how the review begins, and we now move on to the next sections that look at the slot in a more in-depth manner, or manor for those in high society; the software, design, in-play features, and performance. 

Ryze opens with a fairytale-like introduction, telling the story of Ryze [a dragon] in a language that is unknown to man, woman, or those in between. The slot glistens with gold and blues, and it comes with a unique layout pattern. There are six rows of symbols that alternate reel sizes that go 6-5-6-5-6-5, looking from top to bottom. Beneath the slot are five blocks that have images of keys, and the formation of words that spell out BONUS. The game also comes with a Clusters Pay mechanism. Plus, a special mention about the backing music. It's epic, cinematic, powerful, and hypnotic. 

Players must begin the game by selecting the value of their bet. Bets are paid per spin. Use the coin icon to open the bet price list. You get to pick from fifteen betting values, starting at $0.20 per spin that rise to an amount of $100 per spin. Once you have selected your amount, you can start playing the game. Press the Spin button to activate the reels. Upon doing this, you will notice that the game comes with an Avalanche mechanism. The symbols will drop off the reels, while new ones land into the game. To win from this slot, symbols only need to land in clusters of five or more, and yes, they need to match. The more you match, the more you win, and the symbols must align vertically or horizontally, or both, but not diagonally. 

Playing this game is a repeated process of pressing the spin button and hoping to land winning clusters. But, as with many great games made by ELK Studios, there are many features to unlock that can boost your chances of winning big.

Sticky Multiplier Wilds: A cluster of symbols without coins, will generate a x1 multiplier. This can then play a role in the next avalanche of symbols. 

Multiplier Increases: A multiplier symbol will increase in value by a factor of +1 with each win.

Multiplier Merge: All multipliers within the same cluster are then added together and set against your win. After that, those multipliers will increase in value, and they will be ready for the next win and merge. 

Coin Win and Merge: Coin symbols hold a value that is already multiplied by your bet. A cluster of these pays out the aggregate value and then, before the Avalanche feature triggers, produces a coin of that value for the next drop of symbols. 

Coin Win and Multiplier: The value of all multipliers is added and then set against the aggregate value of the coins.

Burst: This feature changes adjacent symbols and itself to the same coin or pay symbol. 

Bonus: You will unlock the game’s bonus when a bonus symbol [liquid gold orb] reaches the bottom row and lands on a key box underneath. This rewards you with seven free spins. During this bonus, all Multiplier Wilds are sticky. 

Super Bonus: Unlock this feature by getting a bonus symbol to land on the Super Bonus key [gold]. You will then play the round with seven free spins, and all Multiplier Wilds and Coins in this round remain sticky.

X-iter: Trigger the Bonus Buy feature at a cost that is 100 times the bet sum. If you want to play in the Super Bonus, this will cost you 500 times your bet value.

There is a lot of great energy in this game and when a slot boasts so many features, I’m all over it like a disgusting rash. I loaded up Ryze from my top online casino and rose to the challenge with my bets set at $2 per spin. I played fifty auto spins, and this was the outcome…

For the first win to land, it took fifteen spins, which for me was always a red flag that the experience would go downhill. The win was $0.80. The next spin went through six consecutive wins because of the Avalanche feature, returning $8.40. Again, the next spin won me $1.90. Then the game went quiet until spin twenty-five, which won me $1.80. After that, it went quiet again, and it seemed that the frequency of hitting a win happened in rounds of ten spins, because this cycle would repeat.

Anyway, the fifty spins came to an end, and I had nothing to cash out. Yet, despite the game's performance, there was still something very entertaining about the way it functioned.

Ryze has a high volatility setting, and its RTP is low at 94%. The maximum payout of this game is 10,000 times the player's bet. This means those betting at $100 per spin can potentially win a $1,000,000 jackpot. 

Given the difficulty of this game because of the volatility settings, it was never going to be easy to land a win or a big win. Nevertheless, I think the game is still entertaining enough to explore again. Ryze is so well made that it could even be considered as one of the Games of the Year. This is ELK Studios at their best, even if it’s a huge challenge to defeat the dragon.

If you want more epic gaming experiences like what you get from Ryze, then I recommend playing these free demo games here at akfxoqsd.shop.

• Rogue Rats of Nitropolis by ELK Studios
• Big Bass Halloween 2 by Pragmatic Play
• Baron: Lord of Saturday by Play'n GO

You can play more free slot games at akfxoqsd.shop, where you can also take your pick of top online casinos. If you register with any new site, you can claim a free welcome bonus with your first deposit.