Black Sails: Kraken's Hoard Slot Real Money Review – Bonuses, RTP and How to Play

Introduction to Black Sails: Kraken’s Hoard

Black Sails: Kraken’s Hoard is a casino slot from Infinity Dragon Studios featuring the same pirate couple as in Black Sails Wild Seas. This fearless duo embarks on another sea adventure, where giant octopuses hide in the dark waters. The setup of the game is similar to its predecessor but has one row less in the grid, despite an increase in the number of paylines. The most significant change is the replacement of the Free Spins feature with a Link&Win respin feature, where each of the four Scatter Symbols represents a special feature mode. If you are fortunate, you can combine all of them into a powerful bonus game.

To experience how the features work in Black Sails: Kraken’s Hoard, you can explore the free demo available.

Theme, Gameplay, and Payouts

Black Sails: Kraken’s Hoard is a video slot featuring 5 reels, 3 rows, and 40 paylines. The game allows a minimum bet of 0.2 and a maximum bet of 25, with an RTP of 96.14% and medium volatility. Players can aim for a maximum win of 11,851x the bet, while the game offers a hit frequency of 24.58%, meaning about one in four spins results in a win.

The setting is depicted on a tumultuous sea, featuring waves that move from left to right, creating an immersive backdrop. Dark blue reels are situated in the center of the screen, with four treasure chests above them representing the four feature modes in the Link&Win bonus game. To the left, a display showcases the Jackpots, with the 10,000x Mega prize at the top, while the right side features a skull and crossbones icon indicating the Bonus Surge, which represents the minimum win during the bonus game. To secure a win, players must land at least three matching symbols on one of the 40 paylines, starting from the leftmost reel, and the game is accessible on mobile devices, tablets, and desktop computers.

The lower-paying symbols include 10, J, Q, K, and A, offering payouts between 1.5x and 2x the bet for five of a kind. The higher-paying symbols consist of bottles, swords, a female pirate, and a male pirate, rewarding between 2.5x and 5x the bet for five matching symbols. The Wild Symbol can substitute for all symbols except for the Scatter Symbols and Kraken Doubloon Symbols.

Special Features & Slot Mechanics

What is the max win in the slot Black Sails: Kraken’s Hoard?

You can win up to 11,851x the bet.

What features are available in the slot Black Sails: Kraken’s Hoard?

The features include Kraken Wild Symbol, Wild Reels, Bonus Surge, Sunken Jackpot Wheel, Link&Win Feature, and Feature Buy.

Kraken Wild Symbol

The Kraken Wild symbol can replace other symbols to complete winning combinations. It substitutes for all symbols except for Scatter symbols and Kraken Doubloon symbols.

Wild Reels

Kraken Doubloon symbols can appear on any reel during the base game. When one lands, it unlocks the corresponding reel meter and activates a Wild Reel. An active Wild Reel adds Kraken Wilds to random spins, enhancing your chances of achieving larger wins. Unlocking additional Wild Reels increases the frequency of Kraken Wilds and creates more winning combinations. Once a Wild Reel is unlocked, your progress is saved and remains active upon returning to the game.

Bonus Surge

Landing two or more differently colored Scatter Symbols triggers the Bonus Surge feature. These Scatter combinations activate the Win Boost multiplier, ensuring a win during the Link&Win feature. The multiplier begins at 20x and can increase to 200x. As the Bonus Surge enhances, the skull and crossbones icon shines brighter and eventually turns gold. The Bonus Surge can be activated simultaneously with Link&Win for optimal rewards.

At the start of this feature, Bonus Surge may also unlock Treasure Chest upgrades, increasing win potential from the initial spin. Bonus Surge activates on the final spin in the Link&Win Feature, providing end-of-feature boosts to enhance your total win, even if the guaranteed Win Boost has already been achieved. Activating Bonus Surge also grants access to the Sunken Jackpot Wheel.

Sunken Jackpot Wheel

During the Bonus Surge feature, Kraken Bonus symbols are added to the reels. When these symbols land, they grant a spin on the Sunken Jackpot Wheel, encircled by the Kraken’s tentacles. Each Kraken Bonus symbol will convert into the corresponding jackpot prize indicated on the Wheel, payable at the end of the feature. There are four potential jackpots: Major (100x), Maxi (50x), Minor (10x), and Mini (5x). The Grand Jackpot can be secured without the Bonus Surge by filling all coin positions on the reels, with a payout of an impressive 10,000x the bet.

Link&Win Feature

Four Coin Scatter Symbols of different colors can randomly trigger the Link&Win feature whenever they appear. Each coin is associated with a Treasure Chest that enhances the bonus game with special features. The Link&Win feature begins with three spins on a special grid where only blanks, coins, and special symbols can show up. Any time you land a symbol, the spins reset to three.

Players can potentially combine several Chest features within the same bonus game. A Scatter Symbol landing during the Link&Win Feature may activate an unlocked feature.

Purple Scatter Treasure Chest Upgrade

The Purple Scatter symbol can trigger the Multi Boost feature. When active, the reels are split into four colored zones. If the Giant Reels feature is also active, the reels expand into six zones. Each zone contains its own randomly selected multiplier, picking from values of 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x at the start of the feature. The size of each zone is also randomized for every feature activation.

If a zone is completely filled by the feature’s conclusion, all prizes within that zone are multiplied and added to the total win. Zone multipliers can increase by 1x when a Multi symbol lands within that zone. Multiple Multi symbols may appear at once or across different spins, upgrading a zone up to a maximum of 10x. After upgrading, the Multi symbol converts into a coin symbol, resetting the spin count to three.

Blue Scatter Treasure Chest Upgrade

The Blue Scatter symbol can activate the Treasure Chest Boost feature, where the Blue Treasure Chest can randomly enhance coin values through the Kraken’s grasp.

Green Scatter Treasure Chest Upgrade

The Green Scatter symbol can trigger the Giant Reels feature, expanding the reels into a 5×5 grid.

Red Scatter Treasure Chest Upgrade

The Red Scatter symbol can activate the Treasure Chest Collect feature. With this feature active, the Pirate Ship Collect symbol can appear in any position. When it lands, it fires its cannons and collects all coin symbols on the reels, instantly awarding their respective values.

Feature Buy

Players can purchase the Link&Win Feature with all four feature upgrades for 89.6x the bet.

Final Thoughts on Black Sails: Kraken’s Hoard

After navigating through the tumultuous sea of features, symbols, and tentacles, it is evident that Black Sails: Kraken’s Hoard is a slot game that does not hold back. Instead of Free Spins, it introduces a robust Link&Win feature filled with treasure chests, multipliers, expanding reels, and jackpots substantial enough to astonish. The game maintains player engagement with steady base-game action, courtesy of Wild Reels that stick around like reliable crew members, while the Bonus Surge element generates excitement in a dynamic fashion. Each spin can potentially lead to something extraordinary, be it a glowing skull, a treasure chest upgrade, or a thrilling jackpot wheel spin.

The slot successfully captures the dark pirate theme, although the graphics may appear somewhat basic. With a maximum win close to 12,000x the bet, the medium volatility offers appealing potential, and the hit frequency is at a favorable level, delivering frequent wins.

The game developer has crafted this title with similar characteristics to its predecessor without it feeling repetitive. For those seeking more exciting pirate-themed games, we recommend checking out Octoplay’s Davey Bones and Backseat Gaming’s Pirate Bonanza 2.

Black Sails: Kraken’s Hoard from Infinity Dragon Studios offers a bold, feature-rich pirate adventure with genuine excitement.