Asgardian Stones slot review

Asgardian Stones is a Netent slot that brings us face to face with the home of the Norse gods. Maybe divine intervention is just what we need! Join me as I venture out to see what this slot shapes into.

Asgardian Stones is set across the usual 5 reels framework with up to 20-paylines and the mythological world of Norwegian folklore. We aren’t dealing with any of the famous gods directly. Instead, we see their faces carved into the stones we’re playing with. If you have any knowledge of Norse mythology I’m sure you’ll recognize a few of them.

If you’re familiar with Netent slots, Asgardian Stones might remind you of Gonzo’s Quest. That slot came out in 2011 and is one of the most popular games in their portfolio. It uses the same idea of dropping stones instead of spinning reels. Both also have mythological locations as their setting.

While Gonzo’s Quest has an undeniable charm that Asgardian Stones lacks, putting the two side by side shows me how far Netent has come. The graphics are nicer, the sound is better developed and the features are better integrated. Is it more fun? That comes down to personal preference.

Since this is a Netent game it has quite a lot of features to go over so let’s get into the thick of it!

Graphics

Netent does not disappoint with Asgardian Stones when it comes to the details. Even the card symbols have been designed to fit the aesthetic, with the Ace symbol made up of two ravens and the Queen symbol as a snake eating its own tail. These are things fans of Norse mythology might recognize as references to classic myths.

As far as animations go, this game is also a feast for the eyes. Even when not actively playing I can see particles bubbling up from below as if there’s a magical pond underneath the stones. The multiplier stone floats quietly to the side. Clicking on the ‘Spin’ button drops the stones with a notable weight. The faces on the stones are subtly animated with humming gems and glowing eyes, to name but a few examples.

Sound & Music

Turning on the music I’m treated to a mysterious, otherworldly soundtrack that reminds me that I am overlooking a lake with Asgard far into the distance. The water laps up softy, birds chirp and the sound of a thunderstorm booming in the distance all add to the mythical atmosphere.

Clicking on the Spin button rudely interrupts the silence with rumbling and heavily dropping stones. An aetherial ring sounds when you get a win, plus a more substantial soundtrack when you activate one of the special features.

Symbols & Features

Even though I’m massively impressed by the look and feel of the slot game, let’s delve into the gameplay features.

The symbols are relatively simple even though they look great. From the highest to the lowest value they are:

• Odin: Between 40x and 500x your bet
• Freya: Between 20x and 300x your bet
• Thor: Between 10x and 150x your bet
• Hela: Between 10x and 120x your bet
• Loki: Between 10x and 100x your bet
• Ace: Between 2x and 30x your bet
• King: Between 2x and 30x your bet
• Queen: Between 2x and 30 your bet
• Wilds: Substitute any symbol but have no value on their own

When playing there are several features to keep an eye on:

• Avalanche Feature: Any time there is a win, the blocks that make up that win explode and make room for new blocks. The remaining blocks drop as far down as possible and new blocks are added to the reels from above. This can continue for as long as new paylines are formed.
• Colossal Symbols: These symbols are bigger than normal and can be 2x2 or 3x3. All symbols in the game have a Colossal variant except Wilds. A Colossal Symbol counts for paylines just like the normal size symbols and will explode to make room for new blocks even if only a section is part of a win. There can’t be more than one Colossal Symbol on the screen at the same time.
• Colossal Crush: A Colossal Symbol can appear after the first Avalanche, dropping down the screen and crushing the symbols underneath. It will continue doing this until it hits the bottom of the screen or if there are no empty positions underneath it. Each time it drops down a row it adds a multiplier to the stone on the left of the playing field.
  
  When it comes to a halt, any new wins will gain the multiplier and added to your maximum win for that spin. After that, the multiplier resets.
• Finally, there is the Bonus Wheel. This is a special symbol of 3x3 that only appears on the last 3 reels. It holds 8 fields, 3 of which hold free spins and the rest hold coins. There are three marked slots on the right side of the wheel and whichever three fields stop underneath those are the ones that you get. This means you can get anywhere from a few hundred coins to 15 free spins.

The first three features show up often enough and work well together. I had a few times where an Avalanche would trigger a Colossal Symbol, which triggered a Colossal Crush and made my next win a lot bigger with the added multiplier.

I can’t say the same about the Bonus Wheel, unfortunately. It was extremely rare for it to show up and even then there is a less than average chance you’ll get any free spins out of it. Even though it was basically a free win, the fact it showed up so rarely did sour my opinion of it.

In Conclusion

Thanks to its many years of experience Netent really knows how to build slots and it shows with Asgardian Stones. The graphics and animations are top tier. The sound design, which usually seems to fall to the wayside with most developers, also deserves extra credit.

The game feels a little bloated with the features and although they don’t interrupt the gameplay I had to read through the information screen to understand their exact function. The Bonus Wheel was maybe the biggest downer since it added very little to the game experience and when it did show up it was rather disappointing.

However, that’s just nitpicky and I would heartily recommend this game to anyone who is looking for a modern slot that builds on the classic slot experience.