Introduction to Ryze 2
Ryze 2 is a casino slot from ELK Studios, where you'll have a chance to browse through mountains of treasures guarded by a menacing dragon. Well, menacing might be actually a hyperbole, as the creature in charge of all this wealth resembles more an oversized lizard rather than a fire-breathing drake from heroic fantasy novels. You may remember him from the Ryze slot, for which the game in question serves as a direct sequel, in which he switched his lair from spacious halls beneath a mysterious temple to an ancient mint. However, given the endless mounds of gold coins, precious gems, and legendary artefacts towering all around, it's a distinction without a difference. Fortunately, some more significant changes occurred in the gameplay, introducing Orb Powers with six unique modifiers alongside the merging of Wilds and Coins known from the first edition. Will this combination make the max win of 10,000x the bet more achievable? Let's find out.
If you're more of a lone-wolf type of adventurer who prefers to discover the secrets on your own, feel free to check out the demo mode available at the top of the page.
Theme, Gameplay & Payouts
Ryze 2 is a video slot from ELK Studios with 6 reels, 7 rows, and a cluster-pays win evaluation system that requires 5+ matching symbols to land directly adjacent. Before starting your session, you can choose your stake from a range of options, from a Min.bet of 0.2 up to a Max.bet of 100. The game offers a default RTP of 94.00%, which is significantly lower than the industry standards, which oscillate around 96%-96.5%, so be mindful of potential lower long-term returns. The math model combines medium-high volatility, which distributes more value to high wins while making them slightly less frequent, with a max win capped at 10,000x the bet. The base game hit frequency is 25.1%.
Ryze 2, like its predecessor, places you in the quirky dragon's lair, deep beneath the surface, among the spacious halls of an ancient structure. Hoards of treasures pile up all around, glittering from every corner of the chamber with gold coins and colourful gems. The little guardian rests on the chest next to the playing panel, gazing watchfully at the surroundings, making sure there's nobody around to steal so much as a single piece of his possessions. This entire resplendent view is further enhanced by luminous and magic-infused symbols on the reels and an energetic yet somewhat ethereal soundtrack echoing through the halls. Additionally, the game's fully responsive design makes it available to be played on any desktop, smartphone, or tablet.
Winning in Ryze 2 requires landing at least 5 matching symbols directly adjacent to each other, forming a cluster. Three coins, bronze, silver, and gold, make up the low-paying symbols, awarding from 1.5x to 2x the bet for a set of 15 or more instances in a cluster. High-paying icons are represented by round blue, green, pink, and red gems framed in gold. These icons pay from 3x to 10x the bet for a cluster containing 15+ identical units. Topping the hierarchy is an image of a bird, awarding 5x the bet for a full line. Additionally, the reels contain special symbols like Multiplier Wilds in the form of blue, glowing orbs that substitute for other regular icons, hexagonal Coins with cash prizes, and Bonus symbols represented by a luminous golden orb.
Special Features & Slot Mechanics
What is the max win in the slot Ryze 2?
You can win up to 10,000x the bet.
What features are available in the slot Ryze 2?
The features are Cascading (Avalanche), Multiplier Wilds, Coin Win, Burst, Orb Powers, Bonus & Super Bonus, and Feature Buy (X-iter).
Cascading (Avalanche)
The cascading feature triggers each time you hit a winning combination. This is followed by the involved symbols disappearing from the grid, causing all the remaining ones to drop to vacant positions. New icons then come down from the top to take their place and complete the view. This process continues until no new wins can occur.
Multiplier Wilds
Every winning cluster made of regular symbols leaves behind a Multiplier Wild in one of the vacant positions after its disappearance. When a Multiplier Wild becomes a part of another successful combination, its default multiplier of x1 increases by 1 for every symbol in the set. If several Multiplier Wilds participate in the same winning sequence, all their values are first increased and then added together before being applied to a payout generated from the respective cluster. Following that, they merge into a single Multiplier Wild with the combined value.
Coin Win
Coins can form clusters of 5 or more, just like regular symbols. Whenever they do, the total value displayed on them is awarded as a multiplier of the active bet. Then, they merge into a single Coin with the combined value for a chance to win it again if it creates another cluster with other Coins.
Burst
The Burst symbol may appear anywhere on the grid. Upon landing, it transforms itself and all adjacent regular symbols into matching instances or Coins.
Orb Powers
Six fields, three on either side of the grid frame, remain closed at the beginning of every spin. Creating a winning cluster adjacent to them activates the position. You need to highlight all six during a single game round to trigger the Orb Overload, which may assign one of the powers to each of the activated areas. Next, they will be triggered one by one and apply their respective modifiers.
Spawn Coin = generates a Coin in an empty position or one that's occupied by a non-winning symbol.
Symbol Shift = upgrades all instances of a randomly selected symbol to a higher-value one.
Spawn Burst = generates a Burst symbol in an empty position or one that's occupied by a non-winning symbol.
Spawn Wild = generates a Wild in an empty position or one that's occupied by a non-winning symbol.
Empower Wild = a randomly selected Wild will have its multiplier value doubled.
Spawn Greater Wild = generates a Wild with an upgraded multiplier in an empty position or one that's occupied by a non-winning symbol.
Bonus & Super Bonus
To activate the Bonus Game, you need to lead the Bonus symbol to the bottommost position of the grid. You receive 7 initial bonus drops, and 3 more every time you complete the same requirement throughout the round. During the game, all Multiplier Wilds are sticky and do not leave the playing panel until the end.
The Super Bonus is triggered in the same way, just with the Super Bonus symbol. In addition to Multiplier Wilds being sticky, every spin will begin with the Orb Overload feature activated.
Feature Buy (X-iter)
Like many other games from ELK Studios, the Ryze 2 slot comes with the X-iter menu, which offers several options for triggering features and bonuses at a set price.
2.5x = Bonus Hunt with a 4-times higher chance of triggering the Bonus and Super Bonus Game.
5x = Mega Bonus Hunt with an 8-times higher chance of triggering the Bonus and Super Bonus Game.
50x = guaranteed Orb Overload, and the bonus round is always a Super Bonus when triggered.
100x = Regular Bonus Game.
500x = Super Bonus Game, with Orb Overload triggered on every spin.
Final Thoughts on Ryze 2
Sequels and remakes became extremely common in the first half of the 2020s, with even fresh studios re-releasing their successful titles, let alone the big boys with extensive portfolios. And while some games are better suited to become an extensive series, others usually end up having one or two additional instalments that enhance the initial experience with subtle but not disruptive additions. Ryze 2 feels like it belongs to the latter category due to following most of what's been present in the first part, both in the audiovisual and technical departments. The game's theme has undoubtedly been refined and shifted slightly into a darker, more mysterious atmosphere, although the setting remained nearly identical, sitting amidst gold coin mountains, with a peculiar dragon watching over them. There's less of the overall luminosity that the previous edition carried, which suits the fantasy scene better and makes it much easier on the eyes. As usual for the ELK productions, everything is nicely organised and synced, while the effects and soundtrack provide a seamless transition between regular gameplay and any feature, win, or bonus triggers.
Mechanically, just like in the case of Ryze, it's hard not to point out similarities to other providers' productions, especially Coin Quest 2 from Slotmill and its merging Coins feature. However, merging Wilds is something we've seen in ELK's games much earlier, for example, in Propaganda, and multiple productions since. The added Orb Powers give Ryze 2 a bit of a Coba feel due to their activation method, while the modifiers themselves are primarily here to boost the attractiveness of the two aforementioned mechanics by adding more special symbols to the grid or enhancing the multipliers on Wilds. So, in the end, the sequel includes more of the studio's genuine ideas rather than the inspiration from competitors' slots. On the whole, many of the spins play out exactly as before, with occasional help from the Orbs whenever you manage to activate all six positions in a single round.
Ryze 2 safely repeats the core formula of its predecessor, while adding a range of extra modifiers to boost the significance of Multiplier Wilds and Coin prizes.
