Lady Merlin: Lightning Chase

Enter a mysterious and secluded place through its iron gates where Lady Merlin resides and creates its magical formulas. The latest slot created by Boomerang Studios in partnership with Relax Gaming has a particularly spooky air about it.

It’s a shame that Halloween has been and gone as this game would have been apt. The game sees Lady Merlin creating formulas from which electricity is generated and, ultimately, large prizes too.

Built across 5 reels, this game comes with 432 ways to win and plenty of features. Along the way, you will scoop up multipliers, wilds, free spins, a Lightning Coil mechanic as well as a Boom+ option.

While the numerous features are great, its high volatility might not be to everyone’s liking. It does soften the blow with a maximum prize of up to 25,600x your wager.

As always, the lowest paying symbols are the card symbols. Five of any of these symbols pay between 1,2x and 2.4x. On the other hand, the highest paying symbols include the various coloured magic potions. A five of a kind payout between 3.6x and 10x your wager.

Wilds also play a pivotal role in this game together with the Boom+ feature. We shall describe in more elaborate detail the many features available.

With an RTP of 95.69%, this game enjoys an average payout percentage, which is further boosted by its numerous in-game features.

Short facts

• Developer: Boomerang Studios/Relax Gaming
• RTP: 95.69%
• Volatility/Variance: High
• Layout: 6 x 3-4
• Paylines: 432
• Bonus features: Wilds, free spins bonus round, hold & spin feature, Boom+ and scatters.
• Bets: £0.25 to 80
• Max wins (coins): 25,600x your stake

Lightning Merlin: Lightning Chase jackpots

This game might come with numerous in-game features, but sadly, there are no jackpots at the moment.

Lady Merlin: Lightning Chase free spins

Land three or more scatter symbols anywhere on the reels to trigger the free spins bonus round. Once activated, you are greeted with 10 free spins. However, there is a little surprise in store.

Depending on whether you landed three, four or five scatters, you will receive a multiplier pro bono. Your wins are boosted by 1x, 5x and 10x multipliers, respectively.

It does not stop there. Landing a wild or a scatter during this round will increase your multiplier tally by one plus one extra spin.

You can also retrigger the free spins bonus round. Expect it to rain big wins during this round.

Lady Merlin: Lightning Chase bonus features

If there is one thing this game is not short of is features. While the free spins bonus round is impressive itself, there are still other magically-themed features available, including:

Wilds

Wilds are one of the many benefits that come part and parcel with the Boom+ feature. When it is not, wilds work as they should. They substitute for all symbols except for the Collect symbol.

Once activated, wilds substitute for the Collect and the Scatter symbols too. That is a rarity. They also boost wins during the free spins round.

Hold and Respin feature

Land at least six lightning symbols anywhere on the reels without a no collect or wild symbol, and you’ll activate the Hold and Respin feature.

All the existing lightning coils on the reels will stay put and you get three additional respins. Land more lightning coils to retrigger the re-spins. The number of respins is reset to three.

All the lightning coils come with a value attached to them. Once you land a Collect symbol during this round, all the cash values are collated and paid out.

The cash values vary, but they start from as little as 1x to 100x your wager. Any wild symbols that land during the re-spins additionally multiplier the prizes by 2x or 4x, respectively.

Boom+ Ante Bet

Clicking on the blue orb on the lower right-hand side corner sees you entering the free spins round.

This does not happen for free. You pay an extra 60% on top of your normal bet to trigger it. The RTP and the volatility also increase, but so does your chance of winning 25,600x your wager.

It should be noted that without the Boom+ bet, the maximum you can win is 3,808x your wager.

Lady Merlin: Lightning Chase RTP

The RTP is slightly lower than that of other slot games, standing at 95.69%. Most slot games have a higher payout percentage of 96%+. It might not look like much of a difference, but it does if you are playing with a lower bankroll.

If you take the high volatility into the equation, you will also be going for longer periods without hitting a win.

Verdict

We especially love that Lady Merlin: Lightning Chase has something in store for every type of player. The team at Boomerang Studios has been experimenting over the years with different games that push the boundaries and think outside the box.

Even before you spin the reels, you must decide whether you want to opt for the Boom+ Ante Bet feature. Activating will quickly see your bankroll deplete, but players who want to skip the base game spins and head to the most important features will lap this up.

We also quite liked the many treats within the free spins feature. The fact that multipliers and extra spins can be triggered is a nice touch. It is also definitely the area where players are likely to generate the most wins.

The game itself also enjoys high-quality colourful graphics. The soundtrack may not be too memorable, but neither would you want to be distracted by it.i

Overall, this game has plenty of positives going for it. It looks nice, and the features slow nicely. The slightly lower payout percentage and the high volatility might prove costly for some players, but if you can forego these niggling facts and enjoy what the game has to offer, you are in for a fun ride.