Introduction to Rune Beasts! Sharp Peaks
Rune Beasts! Sharp Peaks is a casino slot from Jinx Gaming in a world full of beasts, magical runes and monster battles. If you like your fantasy games to have the four elements like fire and water, plus some extras like grass, then you’re in the right element. If the rune theme seems familiar to you, it’s because you may have stumbled over Rune Beasts! Deep Trenches is basically the same game with some small exceptions. You can match up clusters of the various coloured runes, watch the Wild Symbols fall in, help your beasts fight their opponents and pick up some great multipliers in the process. There are three bonus rounds to find as well, one of which features a legendary creature with a massive multiplier. Compared to Deep Trenches, this game has higher volatility and a higher max.
Theme, Gameplay & Payouts
Rune Beasts! Sharp Peaks is a video slot from Jinx Gaming with 7 reels and 7 rows. There are no paylines, but you make wins by landing 7 or more symbols in a cluster, connected horizontally or vertically. The Min.bet is 0.1, and the Max.bet is 75. Rune Beasts! Sharp Peaks has mid-high volatility and a max win of 12,500x the bet. The game’s RTP is 96.31%.
The game has a 7x7 grid of colourful runes, framed by gray stones. The majority of the setting is green grass, in the background are some tall mountains, and a blue sky with some white clouds. To the left of the reels are the seven rune stones with arrows, and to the right is one of the monsters, which changes on each spin. You make wins by landing 7 or more matching symbols in a cluster, and you can play the game on mobile phones, notepads, and desktop computers.
The symbols in Rune Beasts! Sharp Peaks are the purple, yellow, orange, light blue, green, dark blue, and red runes. There are no separate lower- and higher-paying symbol groups, as all seven runes have the same value. Landing a winning cluster of 21 or more matching runes awards 5x the bet. The Wild Symbol substitutes for all the runes to help create winning combinations, while the Scatter Symbol triggers the bonus rounds when enough of them land. The runes also play an important role in the beast battles, as certain elements are more effective against particular enemies.
Special Features & Slot Mechanics
What is the max win in the slot Rune Beasts! Sharp Peaks?
You can win up to 12,500x the bet.
What features are available in the slot Rune Beasts! Sharp Peaks?
The features are Cascades, Wild Symbols, Scatter Symbol, VS Symbol, Beasts, Runes, Beast Master Bonus, Mythical Beast Bonus, Multiplier Meter, and Mystery Pack Bonus.
Cascades
As soon as you've landed a winning cluster, the symbols in that cluster disappear from the grid and new symbols fall into the vacant positions. You now have another opportunity to land a win without having to make another spin. The cascades continue as long as you're still forming winning clusters, and this is especially useful when you've got multipliers and beast battles in play.
Wild Symbols
Wild Symbols stand in for all the normal symbols on the payline, and they can appear on any reel.
Scatter Symbol
Scatter symbols can land on any reel, and 3 or more Scatters in the base game will take you to the Beast Master Bonus. Four Scatters will take you into the Mythical Beast Bonus, and five will take you into the Mystery Pack Bonus.
VS Symbol
The VS Symbol is the ticket to the real beasties battle. It can appear on reels 2 to 6 and rows 2 to 6, starting in a single space and then expanding into a 3x3 square. The VS Symbol remains in its original position until it has expanded, and the other symbols can continue to fall through it.
Once the grid has settled, the VS Symbols expand one at a time with wins and cascades possible between the expansions. Each expansion will reveal two random beasts, each of which will have a multiplier. The beasts will fight, and the winner will transform the VS Symbol into a 3x3 block of its elemental rune. Any matching symbols (including Wild Symbols), that touch the resulting cluster will join the win. The multiplier of the winning beast is then applied to the entire cluster. Multipliers range from 2x to 10x with 15x, 20x, 25x, 50x and 100x.
Beasts
There are 21 beasts in the base game (three of each of the seven types: Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Earth, Air and Special). You get a multiplier for each beast you defeat, which is then applied to your total win for that round.
The creatures come in three levels. Common has 5 health and gives 2x, 3x, 4x or 5x. Uncommon has 8 health and gives 8x, 10x or 15x. Rare have 10 health and can give 20x, 25x or 50x. If you don't beat the beast before the round is up, it will escape, and another one will appear on the next spin.
Elemental weaknesses are key here. Water runes are good against Fire beasts, Grass runes are good against Water beasts, and Fire runes are good against Grass beasts. Earth runes are good against Electric beasts, Air runes are good against Earth beasts, and Electric runes are good against Air beasts. Special beasts have no weaknesses, and Special runes are not strong against any of the beasts.
Runes
The 7 coloured runes aren't just there to make winning clusters. They also deal damage to the beasts outside the reels. Each winning cluster deals 1 damage point, but if you use the element that the beast is weak against, that damage goes up to 3 points per winning cluster.
Beast Master Bonus
Landing 3 Scatter symbols in the base game will trigger the Beast Master Bonus, which starts off with 8 spins. The gameplay itself is the same; the battles just become more important as you're going to be facing up to 3 beasts of the same type (starting with the weakest and working your way up to the strongest).
Every defeated beast contributes its multiplier to the Multiplier Meter, which then applies to all wins. Both the beast's remaining health and the accumulated multiplier carry over between spins. That's a very useful feature when you've got a particularly tough beast that takes several hits to kill. Land 3 Scatter Symbols in the bonus and you get 4 extra spins.
Mythical Beast Bonus
Four Scatter Symbols in the base game will trigger the Mythical Beast Bonus, which also sees you start off with 8 spins. The rune clusters and beast battles are all there as before, just this time you're up against a considerably larger foe in the form of the Mythical Beast (25 health points).
The creature can attack at random during a round and will add a multiplier to the Multiplier Meter. The attack can add 1x, 2x, 3x, 5x, 8x, 10x, 15x or 20x. If you defeat the Mythical Beast, it will reveal a much larger multiplier of 50x, 75x, 100x, 150x, 200x or 250x, which is then added to the meter.
The Mythical Beast's health and the multiplier meter carry over from spin to spin. The multiplier only comes into play during a round if the beast attacks, unless you defeat it, in which case the multiplier will remain active for the rest of the bonus. 4 Scatters in the round get you 4 further spins.
Multiplier Meter
The Multiplier Meter is available in both the Beast Master Bonus and the Mythical Beast Bonus (though it operates in a slightly different way in each round).
During the Beast Master Bonus, each beast you defeat adds its multiplier to the meter. That accumulated value then applies to all your wins for the rest of the bonus.
In the Mythical Beast Bonus, the meter starts off inactive. It becomes active when the Mythical Beast attacks, and the accumulated multiplier is applied to that spin's total win. If you kill the beast, its revealed multiplier gets added to the meter, and the meter stays active for every remaining spin.
Mystery Pack Bonus
Landing 5 Scatter symbols in the base game takes you to the Mystery Pack Bonus. That round is very different from the normal game as it's played on a single reel and a single row rather than the normal 7x7.
A pack of six cards opens with the values of the cards being paid out as a win. The cards are always in the same order: a Rune card, then two Low Level Beast cards, two Medium Level Beast cards and finally a Rare Beast/Holographic Rare Beast/Super Rare Beast card. You win the total value of all six cards shown.
There are 34 cards in the full collection (8 Rune cards, a number of common beasts, 3 Holo Rare Beast cards and 1 Secret Rare Beast card). The Rune cards pay between 0.1x and 1x. The Common Beast cards pay between 0.3x and 1x. The Uncommon Beast cards pay between 0.3x and 2.5x, and the Rare Beast cards pay from 5x to 500x. The Holo Rare Beast cards are the exciting ones at 1,000x, 2,500x or 5,000x. The big one is the Secret Rare Beast card, which is worth 12,500x the bet.
Final Thoughts on Rune Beasts! Sharp Peaks
Rune Beasts! Sharp Peaks is very much the same adventure as Rune Beasts! Deep Trenches. Both games have the same core mechanics, the same colourful runes, and the same collection of elemental creatures. They’re also released on the same day, so we can’t call one of them a sequel to the other.
We weren’t overly impressed by the graphics in Rune Beasts! Deep Trenches, and we have to say that this game isn’t going to be remembered for great graphics either. The sandy beach has been replaced by a grass field with mountains in the background, but it once again feels like a photo that the developers have slapped a filter on to make it look sort of like a painting. Jinx Gaming could have worked harder to make it more like a magical adventure. However, a lot of it is excused by the interesting gameplay.
After a few spins, you’ll realize that the game has more depth than it first appears. The VS symbols, cascading clusters, elemental weaknesses, and ongoing multipliers all make this a pretty enjoyable experience. The three bonus rounds are also interesting, with the third completely changing the setup. We also like that the correct elemental runes do make a difference when you're taking on the more difficult beasts.
The main difference from Deep Trenches is the potential reward. Sharp Peaks has a maximum win of 12,500x the bet, compared to 5,000x in Deep Trenches. The compromise is that you're looking at mid-to-high volatility rather than the low-to-mid volatility of the other version. It’s impossible to say that one version is better than another; it all comes down to what kind of player you are. If you prefer high risk with the chance of scoring higher wins, go for this game. If you prefer a lower risk, where the big wins aren’t as frequent, head over to Deep Trenches.
Rune Beasts! Sharp Peaks from Jinx Gaming is a feature-packed cluster slot with multipliers and monster battles.
