Riches of Midgard: Land and Expand

The wombat says: Did you know that Midgard was the name for Earth in Norse mythology? In fact, was just one of 9  Norse worlds the others being Niflheim, Muspelheim, Asgard, Midgard, Jotunheim, Vanaheim, Alfheim, Svartalfheim and Helhei. I thought it was one of those tough little fellas.

And you thought you only came here to play slots??!

Let’s take a trip back to the Viking era alongside NetEnt in Riches of Midgard: Land and Expand slot. NetEnt are on a roll with releases like Rome: the Golden Age slot, so we were keen to get our paws on this Nordic number.

There’s some pretty awesome gameplay on offer, including the Hot Spots mechanic and expanding reels. Plus, it’s another chance to acquaint yourselves with those vengeful Norsemen (and women). Odin, Thor, and Freya to be precise…

Look and Feel

Your play is set on a background of rolling hills and mountains of Scandinavia. it’s almost as green as the Shamrock Holmes Megaways slot from All41Studios and Microgaming!

Chirpy and cheerful HD cartoon graphics characterise this slot – there’s no wrathful battle between the gods here. Instead, the deities have big beards and rosy plump cheeks which makes a nice change. And, in place of crashing drums and haunting violins, your ears will be treated to tuneful Viking chants and the odd twitter of birds.

As for the reels, well the icons spin on some kind of a mechanical wooden structure – probably built by the village handy man. And it’s this system of chains and wheels makes the reels spin wombat fans.

Another nice looking slot from NetEnt.

Game Play

Riches of Midgard: Land and Expand slot has 3 reels, 3 rows and 9 pay-lines. But don’t panic, this can transform into 7 rows with 29 pay-lines, but more on that later…  Take your Viking spins from 0.10 to 200.00 rusty runes per go. OK, that’s not as many as the Golden Osiris slot (7 reels), but wait until you see the features.

There are 5 high value icons in play and these include the 3 Viking gods Odin, Thor, Freya, plus a Viking tankard and a big old joint of ham. Meanwhile, the 10, J, Q, K and A playing cards carved in wood will make up the lower value symbols.

Your handy wild symbol is the golden ‘Wild’ and the bonus scatter icon is Thor’s hammer. Note: it will land with a thunderbolt when it hits the reels….

Free Spins and Bonus Features

Hot Spots and Land & Expand Re-spins
Look either side of the long-ship like reels and you’ll spot 2 separate positions. These are your Hot Spots. Although they won’t add to any of your winning combos, they will trigger re-spins if the both spots show matching symbols once the reels stop spinning – along with at least 2x more of the same icon on the main reels. Does that make sense? Bonza.

Next, the Land and Expand feature is triggered and you’ll be awarded a re-spin where said matching icons will expand and cover all reel positions on the reel and become sticky. This can lead to an entire reel full of the same icon.

You’ll be stoked to hear that there will ALWAYS be a guaranteed win here.

Free Spins
Land 3x or more of the hammer Scatters and it’s bonus time! You’ll scoop 8x free spins but for every scatter that hits during play, you’ll pick up 2 more AND an extra row added to the reel set. If you manage to land 7x scatters, you’ll be spinning with 7 rows and 29 pay-lines.

The Hot Spot feature is also active, but now the wild icon will only hit the reels on the left hand Hot Spot  – so it will always match the symbol on the right-hand Hot Spot. And what does that mean? Well, that the Land & Expand Re-spins will be much much easier to set off.

Conclusion

Hurrah for the Hot Spots! We loved this cool mechanic and it’s triggered often enough to keep the small wins coming in. And, to be honest, this wombat enjoyed spinning a low/medium volatile game for a change.

The comedy Viking theme tickled us immensely, too. All in all, Riches Of Midgard slot is another memorable game from NetEnt.

Wombat score: 4.5/5