Golden Realms Slot Review

The Golden Realms Slot Game

The Golden Realms is a Bonus Buy video slot played on a 3x4x5x4x3 grid. The subtle animations and graphics in the background are just stunning while the audio is equally good. 

However, the Ancient Greek Mythology theme is far from new, even for NetEnt, as they explored it with Divine Fortune and Parthenon: Quest for Immortality years ago. 

Symbols & Payouts

Golden Realms has only eight paying symbols, including four card-like minor symbols and four character-like symbols. They always pay in threes or more, and Wild can substitute for all of them. Below are their standard payout values:

• Js and Qs: 0.10x for three-of-a-kind, 0.15x for four, 0.35x for five;
• Ks and As: 0.10x for three-of-a-kind, 0.20x for four, 0.50x for five;
• Medusa: 0.15x for three-of-a-kind, 0.40x for four, 1.25x for five;
• Pegasus: 0.20x for three-of-a-kind, 0.50x for four, 1.50x for five;
• Red Character: 0.25x for three-of-a-kind, 0.75x for four, 2.5x for five;
• Purple Character: 0.30x for three-of-a-kind, 1.00x for four, 5.00x for five. 

These payout rates are considerably lower than average, which makes Golden Realms balanced. Namely, three special features can occur both in the base game (decently frequently) and during free spins (practically every other spin) that are meant to skyrocket standard payouts. 

The betting range is exceptionally versatile, starting as low as €0.20 and going up to €200.

Golden Realms Bonus Features

NetEnt drew inspiration from natural calamities to build innovative bonus features for this video slot. Three chance-based features can occur during the base game and the free spins round, including Random Wilds, Meteor Splash, and Fire Multiplier. 

Additionally, this game awards free spins based on how many scatters you draw in one spin and allows you to purchase this bonus via the Buy Feature. Let’s dive deep into each of these bonuses.

“Calamities” 

The Random Wilds, Meteor Splash, and Fire Multiplier can be categorized under “calamities” - they can be triggered with any spin, and you may see all three of them at once. The only restriction is that each type can only occur once with every spin:

• Random Wilds: A crack of lightning hits the playing field and spawns from 5 to 9 wild symbols on random spots. All winnings are calculated after Wilds appear. If multiple Calamities are triggered, Random Wilds occur first. 

• Meteor Splash: A fiery meteor explodes on the grid, transforming all symbols adjacent to ground zero into a randomly chosen paying symbol. This calamity occurs second when multiple are present. 

• Fire Multipliers: A shockwave of fire ripples across the board, assigning multipliers from 1x to 5x to five to thirteen symbols in its path. Unlike meteor “splashes”, fire shockwaves are directional. This calamity is triggered third. 

Free Spins

Scatters can appear on any reel during the base game, and you need to draw at least 3 to start the Free Spins round. Ten free spins are awarded for 3 scatters, fifteen for 4 scatters, and twenty for five scatters. 

The only difference in this Bonus Game is that all “calamities” have a much higher hit frequency than in the base game. 

Buy Feature

If you don’t want to wait for 3 scatters to appear, you can guarantee that they’ll drop on your next spin by paying 100x of your bet. 

How to Win at Golden Realms

There are 36 ways to win in the Golden Realms, and the paylines are fixed. As I mentioned, the standard wins are fairly low, so you’ll have to rely on bonus features like Fire Multipliers and Random Wilds to score big. 

Golden Realms Slot RTP & Volatility

NetEnt emulated thousands of spins on Golden Realms and stated that the game’s theoretical RTP is 96.05%, which is slightly above average.

The volatility is medium-high because there aren’t too many unique symbols, but there are chance-based events with separate hit frequencies for base and bonus game rounds. 

Final Verdict

Golden Realms is a very interesting slot, but I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a game for everyone. On one hand, it offers simple gameplay elements and a diverse betting range. On the other hand, staying afloat, let alone winning, is very difficult without bonus features. 

That being said, Golden Realms appeared well-balanced in my tests, so I’ll give it a few spins in real money casinos soon. I recommend trying this slot first if you like how its bonus features sound - you can do so for free on our website by using our demo link.