Vampires

Vampires (Merkur): Review

When we think of vampires, the likelihood is that we think of the vicious, snarling, fanged, pale creatures that are seen in various television series and films. While one of those is present within the reels of this Merkur slot, it’s not really so central to the game’s play through. Instead, Vampires appears to tell the story of a girl who has found herself lost in the middle of a forest, she walks through it until she finds an ancient palace. In there, she discovers various trinkets and gothic items before coming across the vampire himself. Granted, that’s quite a basic story, and it is one that has been exacted in various stories, but it works well enough for the game.

Vampires takes place on a basic video slot layout of 5 reels, 3 rows and 5 paylines. These lines are fixed in position, so you won’t have any possibility of customising them one way or another. Instead, you can simply change your bet per spin by using the relevant button in the bottom-left corner of the screen. With this, you’re able to choose from wagers between 0.10 and €/$10 per spin.

In typical Merkur fashion, the visuals have a retro feel similar to the old classic land-based casino slot machines. Nonetheless, the graphics stand out quite nicely with the background of the slot depicting a thorny and overgrown forest. On the reels, you’ll see lower-value 10 to A royal values. Afterwards, there’s a symbol of a gothic goblet and another of a blue-jewelled dagger. The night-lit palace can also be seen as a symbol in Vampires. Yet, it is the girl who is making her way through the forest and into the palace that works as its highest paying standard symbol. If 5 of her come into view on a winning pay line, she can multiply your wager by up to 1,000 times your stake.

Vampires (Merkur): Features

The first feature that has been included in Vampires, is the Scattered Wild Symbol. It is the vampire himself who operates as this one, and as a wild first of all, he is able to substitute for all of the other symbols in the slot. Because it is also a Scatter Symbol, it can appear anywhere on the reels and still reward you with a payout. For example, if 5 of the vampire wild show up across the reels, you’ll be on the receiving end of a multiplier of 200x your bet.

It’s also the vampire symbol which is able to trigger the slot’s Free Spins feature round. Whenever 3 or more of this one come into view in any position, you’ll be rewarded with a total of 15 Free Spins. During this round, the Scattered Wild will also have a secondary function for you to benefit from. This sees it not only substitute for other standard symbols, but also transform them, too. The nine basic symbols will be transformed into Wild Symbols whenever they form a winning combination, which provides you with higher winning payouts throughout Free Spins.

The last special feature of Vampires that needs to be talked about are the Gamble Rounds. These activate automatically whenever you form a winning combination during base gameplay. As long as the win does not contain a wild symbol, you can play one of the gamble games. The first of these is available as the card game. Should you select this one, you will see a face down card on the screen and you need to decide whether it will be red or black when you turn it over. Get this correct and you will see your win from the triggering round doubled. The alternative is to play the ladder gamble round. In this one, you’ll see a ladder featuring different values on the screen. You need to try and stop the flashing light on the higher amount to increase your win balance.

Vampires (Merkur): Verdict

It could be said that Vampires by Merkur utilises an overdone slot theme and doesn’t really build on that theme in any significant way. While this is partially true, there is a certain appeal about the game that stands out. Since the release in May 2017, it has become a classic Merkur title and one of the most popular ever released by the provider which can likely be attributed to the retro graphics, straightforward gameplay, high volatility and, most importantly, the exciting free spins feature which, with every spin played, increases the potential for landing massive wins.

If you are into retro slots and for some reason have missed out on Vampires, we suggest you give it a try. Like many Merkur slots, it may come across as a bit choppy and bland at first, but once you trigger your first free spins round, there is no looking back.