Blirix Workshop

Overview of Blirix Workshop

Blirix Workshop is the latest slot from the developers at Iron Dog Studio, and to begin with I was not sure whether Blirix was a reference to an animated film, TV character or book. It soon became clear that this is a slot which has been modelled on a mad, quirky scientist engaging in some alchemical transformation. The scientist has a spell book that he uses to conjure up several modifiers when it shows up on the screen, as well as awarding free spins when the scientist makes an appearance on your reels. This is certainly a quirky themed game which is cute and is complete with features that will not only thrill players but also frustrate them. Therefore, if you ready to enter the Blirix Workshop read on.

Theme, Symbols and their worth

The workshop is a cosy place where players can hang out and hopefully have some good luck. The five reels, 15 pay line action is projected on a bubbling cauldron that has made to look as though it is floating in mid-air. Around the cauldron you will see a cat asleep on an arm chair and a mouse that is keeping his distance on the other side of the screen. Beneath this, potions are brewing whilst books, skulls and parchments adorn the rest of the screen. There is a magical soundtrack which creates some additional fantasy to the scene.

Game Play

When it comes to the gameplay you can mix up the potions on any device and the first thing you need to do is choose the bet level that you are most comfortable playing with. Bets range from 20p per spin up to £20 per spin and although Blirix Workshop is not one of the high-powered slots by Iron Dog it is certainly worth a spin or two. The slot boasts a medium volatility and there are low performance features with minimal wins. Some players will be used to a more volatile slot from this developer however, not every slot can be the same or there would be little point in playing them. This slot is a lot lighter and will suit a different sort of player as well as those who appreciate Iron Dog Megaway slots. The return to player stands at a solid 96% and this will be acceptable to most players.

When it comes to creating winning combinations, you need to land three to five of the same symbols from left to right beginning with your very first reel. If you land a line of five high paying symbols the reward will be a pay-out of 4x to 15x your stake.

Features

When it comes to the features there are several on offer and the first integral symbol is the magic book which will only ever land on the third reel. It is the games wild and activate the Book of Spells feature whenever it lands. When the feature is active a book will overlay the screen and a randomly selected modifier from the book’s pages will be rewarded. The reward could come in the form of extra wilds, symbol transformations, or a multiplier of up to 5x your stake. When the spells are awarded, they come with a strength rating that starts from one and goes up to four, the higher the ratings the greater the rewards.

Although there are the modifiers, you will find that nothing really happens in this slot until you activate the free spins feature. You can activate this when you land 3, 4, or five, Blirix scatters and for this you will be rewarded with 10, 15, 20 free spins, respectively. You can also use the buy bonus option which will also increase the return to player to 96.4%. When you are playing in the free spins feature, the symbols that land on your third reel will get collected in the bubbling cauldron. Once you have collected 15 symbols this will activate the Cauldron Combo Bonus and the symbols in the pot are then placed a on your reels for a new win evaluation.

In the feature, the book symbols also have several extra spells that they can produce, these can assist you to convert the lower paying symbols into the higher ones and they can also add a wild to the cauldron, add more free spins or introduce a global multiplier. It is important that you do not forget, spells that are available in the main game are also available here. Finally, if you land three, four or five scatters you will also have an additional 5, 10, or 15 free spins added to your total.

Conclusion

Personally, I felt that this slot could have perfected the multipliers and features more as they felt more as if they were still in the prototype phase. The developers could have added some more themed symbols such as a frog or eye of Newt. The modifiers in my opinion do not do a lot of modifying when they are in play and even when you activate a modifier it does not actually do anything. For example, when I tested the game and received a multiplier for a specific symbol there was no combination on the reels that it could be applied to. However, it is I still sat through an animation only to find out that there was no win at the end of it. It is a great shame as this slot does have an endearing quality complete with a warm environment, but good will runs short after a while and you may find the features where down your patience.

The free spins increase the pace of the game and there are more spells and far better returns are for grabs, however you do need to be patient as they do not appear that often, and when they do you will be hoping that they can restore your balance which may have taken quite a beating.

This slot could have been far better if the features were stronger, the free spins activated more often, and the base game had more pace. The type of player that this slot is aiming for will probably have no issues and really enjoy what is on offer. After all, if their only goal is to play a slot in an adorable environment then Blirix is an ideal choice.
It took me a while to get to grips with this slot, and to begin with I did feel a little let down, however once I got into the game it grew on me and I started to really enjoy what it had to offer. I would give this game a solid 6/10 and suggest you give it a spin or two so that you can make up your own mind.