Power of Gods: Valhalla

Power of Gods: Valhalla™ Overview

Created by the Wazdan studio, this latest game in their canon has been inspired by the popular and powerful stories included in Norse Mythology. It is the latest game in their ‘Power of Gods’ series, which includes other titles such as Power of Gods: Medusa, Power of Gods: Hades and Power of Gods: The Pantheon. These previous products have all been decent performers in terms of the winning potential and entertainment value. Let’s hope that this latest game also follows suit. If you enjoy the rich and fascinating world of Norse Mythology and like your slot gaming varied and full of features, you will surely enjoy this slot.
Speaking of the features, these start with an understanding that this is a pay-anywhere slot.

This means that instead of trying to land symbols in specific formations across the board, you are just looking to get enough of one symbol on the board in any position – eight or more gets you a win. The wild symbol in this game is Thor’s Hammer; it substitutes for any other symbol on the board bar the bonus icon to help form wins. The other special symbol here is the gold coin bonus which helps trigger both the re-spin and Hold the Jackpot bonus. All features will be explained in more detail later on in the review.

Theme and Symbols

Most people will know by now, either through the passive absorption of Marvel movies, video games, or any other media out there, the main elements of Norse mythology. Valhalla, for example, is the hall reserved in the Kingdom of Asgard for honourable warriors slain in battle. It is a kind of Norse heaven in which human souls are rewarded for their sacrifice in Midgard. In Valhalla, they can feast and drink with the gods until their heart’s content. This aesthetic is very popular at the moment in the slot world and usually incorporates runes, Vikings and a selection of some of the most famous Norse gods such as Thor, Odin, Loki and Freyr.

The background in this game is a stormy sea and grey sky that more or less encompasses the entire screen. As great seafaring people, the Vikings will have seen many journeys look like this screen – a howling wind, huge waves and rain lashing down in torrents. The scene is exciting and mysterious and fits well with the theme of this game. It is also apposite, as the God of Thunder Thor was said to have gathered huge banks of storm clouds as he became enraged, firing forks of lightning at his foes.

The playing board is a simple rectangular design with small runic details in the corners and edges to give it that Viking art look.
The symbols for this game are split into low-value, high-value and special symbols. The low-value symbols are the four runes – C, F, M and O. The O with a green background is the most valuable, paying out at 25x the stake for the top combination of 16 on the board. On the other hand, the more valuable symbols are the four gods. These are Baldr, Freyr, Thor and Odin. Odin is the most valuable of these (as he should be), paying out at 200x the stake for the top combination. The special symbols are the golden coin bonus and Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, representing the wild.

Game Play

Power of Gods: Valhalla™ is played on a 16-reel pay anywhere board, meaning that players don’t need to concern themselves with formations, only landing multiple symbols. To score wins, players need to land at least eight matching symbols on the reels at once.

The betting range for Power of Gods: Valhalla™ is 10p to £100 per spin. To adjust their bet levels, players can toggle their stake up and down using the tool located at the bottom left-hand side of the screen.
Further information, including a short tutorial and a display of the paytable, can be found via the menu button in the right-hand corner of the screen. The spin and auto spin buttons are located in the centre of the screen.
The volatility for this slot is adjustable. The return to player percentage for Power of Gods: Valhalla™ is 96.23%, which is above average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 2,145x your stake.

Features

The first feature included in this game is the wild bonus. The wild symbol in this game is Thor’s Hammer. It can replace any other icon on the board, barring the bonus symbol to help score more wins.
The main symbol players should be on the lookout for here is the golden coin symbol. Landing between three and five of this icon will grant you a re-spin with the existing coins becoming sticky to try and find enough to trigger the hold and win bonus. This bonus is only activated when six or more symbols land on the board simultaneously.
When triggered, all coins become sticky, and you are given three re-spins to try and land more gold coin symbols. If new symbols appear, they will also become sticky, and your re-spins will be reset to three. Each of these gold coin symbols has a value. When the feature ends, when you run out of re-spins, you are rewarded for each gold coin you have collected on screen. Cover all 16 positions on the reels with coins, and you will win this game’s top prize of 1,000x the stake.

Conclusion

Following in the form of the rest of the games in the series, this is a solid performer with a fun look and feel as well as a decent win potential. The generous RTP and controllable volatility aid this latter aspect of the game. The features (mainly the hold and win bonus) also increase the likelihood of scoring bigger wins, making this game much more worthwhile. If you love Norse Mythology and hold the jackpot dynamics, this is the game for you.