Excalibur slot review

All who dare, come nigh the mysterious stone for the sword that’s lodged inside it can bring about marvellous events on the 20 reels, such as payouts of 500x your bet.

NetEnt’s Excalibur slot stands to match up to the legendary sword’s glory. What I find so captivating about Excalibur are the set of win multipliers, paying scatter symbols, a free spins bonus and the fact that five wilds can bring about a voluminous jackpot prize.

The maximum payout that can possibly occur from a single spin on Excalibur is 7,940x your bet just try not to get your expectations too high because the odds for that kind of a win cropping up are paper-thin.

On the other hand, a more realistic expectation involves medium-sized wins, which the game is able to produce both with major symbols and with four or five minors but with the help of the multiplier wilds.

Hang on tight, because there is more coming about the wilds, as these are what makes players return to Excalibur, even though the game was released back in 2011, which to me feels like the middle ages in terms of online slots.

Theme and Graphics

The title of the game sets the scene for King Arthur and the knights of the round table. Look closely enough and you are going to recognise Merlin, Guinevere, themes of knighthood and chivalry in the high-paying symbols. While these weren’t really drawn to impress, I still like the game even if it is a visual despair for the most part.

In terms of sound, Excalibur comes with a never-ending soundscape of village life -- creaking of wheelbarrows and neighing of horses included, but the sound design is quite on point and I actually find it enjoyable, with the exception of the trumpets which sound as if played by a jester and not a proper trumpeter.

Bonus Features

Excalibur doesn’t come with many features, but those that are part of the game feel like they are just enough to help you reach Camelot. This also depends on whether you are going to make a cameo in the game or stay for the long battle.

Whatever your choice may be, keep in mind that the game comes with two wild symbols that can land in the base game and during the free spins bonus, which improves the odds in getting better win outcomes.

• Wild

  The legendary sword in the stone is the wild that can be so beneficial. Each time that symbol is part of a winning outcome the win amount is paid double, except for wins that consist of wilds only.

  Two wild symbols result in a frugal sum, however, getting three or more to land on a payline adds 12.5x, 125x and 500x your bet. The latter is the most lucrative prize, but it isn’t the only one, as five scatters also pay 500x your bet.

• Golden Wild

  This symbol is the sword in the stone but drenched in golden hues. The elevated role that’s been designated to this symbol causes it to grace any winning combination with a multiplier of 4x. There is one caveat about it - it can only act as a substitute and doesn’t pay itself.

• Free Spins

  The scatter symbol is a golden chalice that pays cash prizes starting with two symbols. Unlike all other symbols, bonus scatters can land anywhere on the reel set. Getting three brings about 10 spins and pays a prize of 5x your bet, however, potential windfall wins may result from the 30 spins that are triggered by five scatters, which also pays 500x your bet.

  Too bad the wilds can’t factor-in their 2x or 4x multiplier for the scatters because that would have made Excalibur a far-more lucrative endeavour.

Bets and Payouts

The payout structure for each of the standard symbols is quite alright and bets start at £0.20 per spin. Wins for three minor symbols pay 0.25x your bet, while three majors can add 0.5x your bet or more to your balance. Don’t forget that even if most winning outcomes are with three symbols, they can turn into appetizing amounts with the help of the multiplier wilds.

In my experience, the low to medium variance has translated into low wins for the most part, but the game doesn’t leave you high and dry if you’ve decided to play longer. For example, five minor symbols pay 6,25x your bet and any of the pictured characters and events from the Excalibur story pay significantly more.

Conclusion

If you survive through the outdated graphics and those abominable trumpets, you may come to appreciate the potential payouts. I have the feeling that much of what happens in Excalibur depends on whether or not the wild is kindly inclined to you.

One thing that I can say for sure is that wins for two scatter symbols are not an uncommon thing to see, resulting in payouts of 0.4x. The same can be said about the regular wild symbol, it seems more helpful than I thought.