Rise of Ymir

Rise of Ymir: Slot Overview

Let's generalise for a bit by saying, we modern humans, we're pretty frigging clever, aren't we? With our rationality, our mathematics, our science, we've got it all worked out - from nature's laws, to how it all began, to how it's all going to end in one big heat death billions of years from now. There are no ghosts besides one or two unexplained particles, no god besides the almighty algorithm, and there's certainly no magic in this rationally explainable universe. But what if we've got it wrong? What if, in our hubristic rejection of the old ways, we've blinkered ourselves to a deeper level of existence which science will be forever blind to? A world of gods, monsters, giants, legends and heroes? Hold that thought as we explore Rise of Ymir, an online slot drenched in Norse mythology designed by Hacksaw Gaming.

First, a quick word on Ymir (also known as Aurgelmir), who was the first being, according to interpretations of Norse mythology, formed from drops of water when Niflheim's ice met Muspelheim's heat. Ymir was the father of the giants, who was killed by gods, and his body set in the void. From there, his flesh formed the earth, his blood the seas, his bones became hills, his skull became the sky, his brain the clouds, and his teeth the stars. Well, Ymir's having none of that in Rise of Ymir, where he literally rises up over a 5x4, 14 payline gaming grid like a God of War boss battle. Pity the characters standing against him in the snowy, desolate background because they look like they're about to be obliterated by godly force.

For players to find out whether they're going to be obliterated or the ones doing the obliterating requires choosing a stake of 10 c to $/€100 per spin. Rated 4 out of 5, Rise of Ymir's home screen alerts participants to its medium-high volatility. The RTP can vary, depending on configuration and bonus buys, but the maximum regular value is 96.31%.

Ten though Ace are Rise of Ymir's low pay symbols, while the highs are a horn, an axe, a hammer, and two characters that look like Thor and Odin. Lines of 5 matching royals pay 1 times the bet, increasing to 3-10 times the bet for lines of 5 matching premiums. Wilds have the same value as the highest high pay when hitting lines of 5 of them.

Rise of Ymir: Slot Features

For features, Rise of Ymir snows down Ymir's Conquest wild multipliers, trademarked Megamultiplier symbols, three bonus rounds, and five feature buys.

Ymir's Conquest

The Ymir symbol is a wild multiplier that replaces any pay symbol and possesses a multiplier value of x1 to x100. When a Ymir symbol is part of a win, the payout value is multiplied by the shown value. If more than one Ymir symbol is part of the same win, the values are added together first, then applied. After all winning combinations have paid, a free respin triggers. If any new Ymir symbols land on a respin, the process repeats until no new Ymir symbol lands. If 4 Ymir symbols land on the same reel, they merge to form a Giant Ymir symbol. The multiplier values from all 4 Ymir symbols on the reel are added together and applied to any combination it takes part in.

Megamultiplier

If the Megamultiplier symbol lands when there are Ymir symbols on the grid, the multiplier values of all Ymir symbols are added together into a global Megamultiplier that applies to all wins while it is active. The Megamultiplier also triggers a respin when it activates. Any new Ymir symbols landing on subsequent respins add their multiplier value to the Megamultiplier.

Dawn of Gods

Hitting 3 FS scatters in the base game triggers 10 Dawn of God free spins. This bonus round has the base game's Ymir's Conquest and Megamultiplier features, with a better chance of landing more Ymir symbols with higher multiplier values. Hitting 2 or 3 FS scatters awards +2 free spins or +4 free spins, respectively.

Fury of War

Hitting 4 FS scatters in the base game triggers 10 Fury of War free spins. This bonus also has the base game's Ymir's Conquest and Megamultiplier features, with a better chance of landing more Ymir symbols with higher multiplier values. The multiplier on new Ymir symbols that land while the Megamultiplier is active is collected in the global multiplier and applied to all wins. Hitting 2 FS scatters awards +2 free spins, or hitting 3 FS scatters awards +4 free spins.

Fall of Ymir

Landing 5 FS scatter symbols in the base game triggers 10 free spins in the Fall of Ymir bonus. This bonus lands these symbols - dead symbols, Volcanic Ymir symbols, Megamultiplier symbols, and Asgardian Orb symbols. A total of 3 lives are awarded, and each spin consumes a life. When any non-dead symbol lands, the 3 lives are refilled. After 3 consecutive spins without a refill, the bonus ends.

The Volcanic Ymir symbol has a multiplier that can be collected in various ways. When a Volcanic Ymir symbol lands, it sticks in place with a multiplier of 1x to 100x. When a Megamultiplier lands, all Volcanic Ymir symbol values are added to a global multiplier, while the Volcanic Ymir symbols keep their values on the grid.

When an Asgardian Orb lands, the collected value in the global multiplier is consumed and added to some or all of the Volcanic Ymir symbols. Green Asgardian Orbs add the global multiplier value to Volcanic Ymir symbols on the reel it landed on (if there are symbols present to add values to). Golden Asgardian Orbs add the global multiplier value to all Volcanic Ymir symbols. When the collected global multiplier is consumed this way, its value resets to zero and is removed. Landing new Megamultiplier symbols builds it back. When the bonus ends, the value of all Volcanic Ymir symbols on the reels is awarded.

Bonus Buy

From here, players can choose to activate any of these: BonusHunt FeatureSpins - 3x the bet. Each spin is 5 times more likely to trigger a bonus game, Might of Ymir FeatureSpins - 50x the bet. Each spin guarantees at least 2 Ymir symbols land with minimum x2 multipliers, Dawn of Gods - 100x the bet, Fury of Ymir - 200x the bet, or Fall of Ymir - 300x the bet.

Rise of Ymir: Slot Verdict

Then again, maybe science does reign supreme, and this is it: what we see is what we get, there's no magic, and we're all destined to miss out on eternity on account of fading to dust in a box. If so, then thank goodness for outlets like Rise of Ymir that let the imagination soar away from so-called reality for a moment. Norse subject matter provides excellent material to theme a slot around, and Hacksaw Gaming has utilised it well. On the front end, Rise of Ymir is everything you'd expect a Norse mythology slot to be: heavy, dense, muscular, with a confrontational 'bring it on' quality that helps amplify the highs of winning and drip extra bitterness over the losses.

Being a Hacksaw Gaming production, Rise of Ymir has had plenty of thought poured into its features, as well. Megamultiplier is one of the big talking points and plays into Hacksaw Gaming's ability to load up then dump thrilling rewards from nowhere. Well, not from nowhere exactly, in this instance, since the Megamultiplier collates values from Ymir symbols in one place and applies them to wins. Ymir symbols on their own are a solid feature, bolstered by respins that repeat as long as new Ymir symbols hit. It's a nice setup for repeat wins when the action is flowing well.

The first two bonus rounds make use of this setup, while Fall of Ymir pushes things in a different direction. Another thing Hacksaw Gaming excels at producing is refilling free spin-style features - take Evil Eyes or Chaos Crew, for example. Fall of Ymir is another good one. It might start slow, but when there's a good number of Volcanic Ymir symbols in view, then the Megamultipliers and Asgardian Orbs start landing, you can see the potential of all the spreading around of multiplier values and how they might snowball. As for full winning potential, Rise of Ymir comes with an attractive winnable in all game modes 15,000x the bet figure. A solid amount capping a solid slot that reminds you why Norse mythology slots are so great when done right.