Phoenix Reign

Phoenix Reign Review

Mythological firebirds are a dime a dozen in the world of online slots, and Wishbone’s Phoenix Reign is the latest attempt at majestic ascent from the ashes to breathe new life into this well-used theme. The game takes you up into the sky, with a volcano peeking through the cloud layer and the fiery Phoenix bird flanking the 5x3 grid. You’ll see 7 Eggs perched above the reels, each with a different color and representing a unique bonus round feature that corresponds to its label.

However, before we get to the good stuff, we need to cover the basics. The Phoenix Reign slot plays out on a 5x3 grid, as mentioned, and it comes with 20 paylines. You can play with bet levels ranging from €0.20 to €50 per spin, which should suit most types of players. You win by landing 3 to 5 matching symbols across at least one of the paylines, and the 4 premium symbols (bird mask, fire, sword, and hourglass) pay 25x to 100x your stake for 5 of a kind. The royal symbols pay 2x or 5x your stake for the same.

Phoenix Reign Slot - Reels Screen

The Scatter Respin feature offers explosive symbol transformation, where at least one scatter symbol becomes a collector that collects symbols transformed into Value symbols or other Special symbols. The Scatter Respin feature can also trigger the bonus round, and landing a scatter and a Max Win symbol together awards the 5,000x max win there and then. The fire from the scatter symbols is collected by the Eggs above the reels, potentially triggering the bonus round.

The Eggs keep heating up as more scatter fires are collected, and each scatter can deliver its fire across multiple Eggs. The idea is to trigger the bonus round with as many Egg upgrades as you can, as this increases your chances of landing larger wins. Phoenix Reign is a medium to high volatility slot game, offering a hit rate of 27.93%, an RTP of 96.09%, and a win cap of 5,000x your stake. Please note that this game has what is known as customizable RTP ranges, meaning operators (casinos) can choose from a range of RTP settings.

Phoenix Reign Features

Take a deep breath and get ready, as the features of this game may sound overly complicated when you read about them. We will explain all the details below, but we also encourage you to sample the Phoenix Reign free play demo to see the features in action. Let’s jump in!

Scatter & Max Win Symbols

The Phoenix scatter symbol can appear on all 5 reels and add its fire to at least one bonus round upgrade egg above the grid. This collection is how the bonus round triggers, which happens at random times when a fire is collected. However, if you land the Max Win symbol together with a scatter symbol on the same base game spin, you’re instantly awarded the 5,000x max win of the Phoenix Reign slot.

Scatter Respin

Landing 2 scatter symbols on the same base game spin may trigger the Scatter Respin feature. This awards a respin if both scatters can move one position down without disappearing from the reels. This Respin is only awarded if no other feature has been triggered, and it may award a third scatter.

A random explosion can happen during the Respin, transforming a random symbol into Special or Value symbols. Scatters and Collect symbols are not transformed. At least one of the scatter symbols will turn into a Collector symbol, collecting all Value symbols in view. This can also trigger the bonus round.

Phoenix Reign Bonus Round

Whenever a scatter symbol fire is collected by an Egg above the reels, the Bonus Round may trigger. Each Egg represents a bonus round upgrade, but only the triggering Eggs that crack open award their upgrade for the feature.

You get 10 free spins either way, unless you unlock the extra free spins Egg, and the Orb Value symbols range from 0.5x to 20x your stake. The Phoenix scatter is the Collect symbol, while Orb symbols with multipliers or extra free spins are known as Special Symbols.

The scatter Collect symbol collects all Value and Special symbols in view, and also collects multiplier values from present Multiplier symbols to boost the total win. The bonus round cannot be retriggered, but you can win extra free spins from the Special Symbols. What follows is an overview of the Egg bonus round upgrades:

• Unlock Multiplier - unlocks multiplier symbols ranging from x2 to x10, and these are collected and summed up by the Collector symbol before boosting the total win. The multiplier remains active for the duration of the bonus round.
• More Collectables - increases the hit rate of Multiplier, Value, and Extra Spins symbols.
• More Collectors - allows for additional Collector symbols, with each instance collecting all collectable symbols in view.
• More Explosions - increases the hit frequency of the Explosion feature that may occur when you land a Collector with nothing to collect. The Explosion transforms symbols (bar the Collector) into Special or Value symbols.
• +5 Bonus Spins - awards an additional 5 free spins at the start of the bonus round. More Special Collectables - increases the hit rate of Multiplier and Extra Spins symbols. Unlock Extra Spins - collects Extra Spins symbols ranging from +1 to +10 extra free spins per symbol.

Phoenix Reign Slot - Free Spins

Theme & Graphics

Phoenix Reign is set against a cartoon-style backdrop of twilight clouds and jagged volcanic peaks, with the mythological Phoenix bird hovering on the left-hand side of the stone-carved grid. This fiery creature is flapping its wings with burning eyes, shooting fire onto the reels to generate Phoenix scatters at random times. The Eggs perched above the reels increase in size and burn brighter the more fire they collect, hinting that the bonus round is getting closer. With symbols like swords, bird masks, and hourglasses, the epic atmosphere is further amplified by the soundtrack and the dramatic sound effects.

Phoenix Reign Free Play

We understand that this game may seem complicated when you read about it, and this is why we recommend that you play the free Phoenix Reign demo, found at the top of this review page. Everything becomes a lot clearer after you’ve played a few hundred spins and triggered the bonus round at least once. You are then well-prepared to take on the real money challenge, and you’ll find casinos that carry this game below the demo after you’ve finished your Phoenix Reign free play session.

Pros and Cons of Phoenix Reign

Our Verdict

Wishbone has done an okay job with the mythological theme, crafting a fiery, elemental atmosphere that feels borderline epic (if that makes sense). While we’ve certainly seen our fair share of Phoenix-themed slots over the years, the visual effort here is decent, even if the overall presentation lacks the high-end polish you get from the likes of ELK Studios and Nolimit City. I especially enjoyed the soundtrack, paired with the dramatic sound effects you get as the reels stop and special symbols land.

That being said, there are several things about Phoenix Reign that became annoying rather quickly. Scatters land on almost every spin, and watching their fire being collected by the Eggs gets boring after a short while. Because of all the special symbols you land, like scatters and value orbs, regular line wins are few and far between. It can also be frustrating to wait for the Scatter Respin feature to play out, only to watch your hard-earned collectors pick up measly prize symbols worth close to nothing.

The pacing of the game doesn't help either. Even with the turbo switched on, the spin speed feels too sluggish, making the base game a less-than-relaxing experience. It’s mostly a bankroll drain where you’re constantly interrupted by different animations that rarely result in a meaningful payout. This creates a stop-start rhythm that feels more like a chore than fun, and you keep waiting for the stingy math model to finally throw you a top-up bone, which seldom comes.

It feels like everything in the Phoenix Reign slot is a buildup to the bonus round. As is typical for these types of games, your success hinges almost entirely on which Egg upgrades you manage to drag into the feature with you. If you don't trigger the right modifiers, the payoff rarely justifies the grind. And, as always, you’ll seldom see all that many features combined in the same bonus round. While Phoenix Reign offers plenty of features to go around, they aren't enough to prevent this bird from crash landing with little hope of resurrection once the novelty wears off.