Out of the Ice

Out of the Ice: Slot Overview

Brrr, better put an extra layer on for this one players; Print Studios is getting all Arctic in an online slot dubbed Out of the Ice, which is a fantasy-themed game revolving around the people of the water - better known as merfolk. What's worth noting is that Print hasn't slapped a bunch of chesty mermaids on a grid and called it a day. No, they've gone deeper, more cultural, into the subject matter while coming up with equally singular gameplay, which involves things like expanding reels, random multipliers, respins, and free spins.

According to NASA, the Earth's polar ice caps are melting at a rate of 9% per decade, which is a bit frightening. At this rate, the Arctic will be completely ice-free by the year 2040. If the planet ever reached Kamino status, it'd be hard for future generations to conceive of scenes like the one found in Out of the Ice. In this game, a 5-reel game grid, laid out in a 3-3-4-4-5 pattern, sits in a kind of icy floe scene decorated with some pretty winter flowers and frigidly cold water. If you've ever played the 2017 Quickspin classic Wins of Fortune, you will probably feel at home with the mechanic. Hidden, for now, are the game's most exciting parts, namely, expanding reels, and Merfolk multipliers, which are ready to break the calm serenity of the wintery scene at any moment.

Serenity isn't quite the right word to describe Out of the Ice's math model, but Print Studios has in some ways dialled back the intensity compared to previous releases. However, once the bonus round is triggered, players are given the option to choose between three different bonus rounds, ranging from medium to highly volatile. When it comes to the return to player value, Print Studios have been forced to abandon their fixed RTP policy due to market factors, now offering three ranges at 96.55%, 94.X%, and one for the German market. On a positive note, players won't have to second guess which version they are playing as it will be clearly displayed on the splash screen, making them the first studio to ever do so.

Playable from 20 p/c to $/€100 per spin, the game starts with 76 winning ways, which can grow to 259 when the grid is expanded by the Freezing Respin feature. All symbols have been custom-designed, and the pay symbols include green shells, purple shells, gold shells, blue crabs, green snails, purple fish, blue dragons, green dragons, and purple dragons, paying 0.5 to 10 times the stake for five of a kind.

Out of the Ice: Slot Features

As for features, the first on the block is the Freezing Respin feature, triggered when winning combinations hit. The leftmost reel is removed, and a new 5 position reel is added to the right-hand side. The winning symbols are locked in place while all non-winning symbols respin. This process repeats until there are no more winning combinations or free spins are triggered.

Merfolk Multipliers

When a winning combination is formed, up to 2 Merfolk symbols may bust through the Ice and apply a multiplier. Multiplier values vary from x2 to x40 and are applied independently when more than one is used in a win.

Free Spins

When 4 consecutive respins occur, the free spins bonus round is awarded. Here players can choose from 10 Multiplier Free Spins, 8 Sticky Multiplier Free Spins, or 4 Sticky Multiplier Retrigger Free Spins. All free spin options are played on a 5x5 grid. As before, when winning combinations land, the winning symbols are locked while the others respin. When no more winning symbols land on a respin, the payment evaluation takes place. Moreover, random multipliers may apply to any win during the free spins bonus. In Sticky Multiplier Free Spins, multipliers remain overlayed on their position for the rest of the feature, multiplying any winning symbol in that position. In Sticky Multiplier Retrigger Free Spins, multipliers also add an additional free spin the first time they are applied to a win.

Out of the Ice: Slot Verdict

As readers are undoubtedly well aware, there is a tendency amongst many designers to create the biggest, chunkiest, in some cases scariest slots they can. The good news is, there is a stack of outstanding beasts out there in the wild to fulfil this itch. Even better, there is plenty of room in the market for the sort of niche Out of the Ice is aiming to occupy. Out of the Ice is by intention not the most brutal game, but it offers plenty in the way of thrills, spills, and chills. Pun sort of intended.

So if not gunning to be the biggest, what is Out of the Ice's life purpose? For one, its set-up is exceedingly pleasant. As mentioned, mermaids might not be complete strangers to slots, yet they rarely, if ever, show up like this. It might not be the prettiest slot ever designed, that has to be said, but visually it does get the job done. Compared to Royal Potato, which completely blew our minds with its strong personality, rich visuals and excellent music, Out of the Ice, by contrast, comes across as slightly generic.

Players who are not into hold & spin type gameplay are at risk of quickly growing impatient, but those keen on dynamic reels should be intrigued by Out of the Ice's version, which seamlessly melds respins and expanding ways. The frequency with which it does so is nicely balanced, but don't worry, there is bound to be plenty of teasing, almost triggering free spins moments to provide a challenge. Balanced is an excellent word for Out of the Ice, which dangles both decent potential of 6,000x the bet and a max win frequency of 1 in 282,000. When you're used to seeing one in a billion, or what can seem at times like one in a googolplex, these look like comparatively favourable odds.

After Book of Destiny, the three slots which followed have all possessed fun fantasy elements, and Out of the Ice is arguably Print's dreamiest one so far. The mythical creature visuals and the gentle, almost trippy soundtrack create a really nice place to chill out for a bit and see how fortune fares.