Riches of Midgard: Land and Expand

Delve into Norse mythology to discover the Riches of Midgard on the Land and Expand slot from NetEnt. Brave spinners will journey across three reels in a quest to hit matching symbols on the separate Hot Spots and on the main grid to trigger respins for bigger wins. Three scatters will see them ascend into the Free Spins realm where they can expand the reels up to seven symbols high and score wins of up to 435 times their bet on a single spin.

Slot Details

Riches of Midgard: Land and Expand is a video slot with a 3×3 grid and 9 fixed pay lines as default. During the free spins, the size can increase up to a 3×7 format with then 29 lines. Wins are awarded for two to three matching symbols landing on a line from left to right only, except after You can journey to the Norse lands on desktop, tablet or mobile from 0.10 to 200 credits per spin. . The game has medium volatility with an RTP of 96.03%.

Loading the game will take you to a lush realm in Midgard, one of the Nine Worlds in Norse mythology. A battle fortress on wheels holds the dynamic reel set that will increase in size during the free spins to add additional rows. Three Norse characters dominate on the reels while a medieval soundtrack provides the fitting audio.

The pay symbols start at the low end with card royals from 10 through to A, awarding 0.4x to 0.8x your stake. They are followed by leg hams, Norse drinking horns as well as a Viking trio – shieldmaiden, warrior, white-bearded chief. Hit three on a line to win 1x to 15x your stake. The game features a wild icon but it will appear in free spins on the left Hot Spot reel only. When it does, it will substitute for any other symbol landing on the Hot Spot reel to the right. Thor’s hammer acts as the scatter.

Riches of Midgard: Land and Expand Slot Features

Thanks to the immense competitiveness in iGaming we see game studios constantly trying new formats, reel mechanics and features in the hope that one will stick and make them the next shooting star in the player community. NetEnt is not stranger to such experiments, one of them being Hot Spot area as seen on Archangels: Salvation or Cash Noire. However, this is the first time they moved them completely outside the main grid area. Let’s take a closer look at how that works out.

The entire gameplay evolves around the two 1-symbol Hot Spot Reels, one on either side of the game window. During the base game, only high-value symbols and blanks can appear while during the Free Spins round, any symbol can land on them. They will not increase payouts but will activate one of the main modifiers on this slot. 

Hitting matching symbols on both Hot Spot Reels and at least on two main reels will trigger the Land and Expand feature after any initial wins are paid. The triggering symbols on the main grid will expand to cover the entire reel before they lock in place for the remaining reel to respin once. Wins are evaluated according to the pay table and awarded for all active lines irrespective on which reels the expanded symbols are. For example, having expanded symbols on reels 1 and 3 and no further lands on reel two during the respin, then pays for a 2-of-a-kind are awarded for all nine lines (applies to high-value symbols only). However, should matching symbols appear on all three reels on the triggering spin, then they will instantly expand and award the win for all active pay lines.

Three scatters anywhere on the reels will trigger 8 Free Spins which cannot be retriggered as such but you can win additional spins during the feature. Any scatter landing on reel three will award +2 free spins, no limits. Plus, it will add one row of symbols to the grid until it reaches the maximum of seven rows and 29 pay lines. The additional rows will stay active until the end of the feature.

For the duration of the bonus round, any pay symbol including the royals can land on the Hot Spot Reels, making it easier to trigger the Land and Expand feature. The wild symbol can appear on the left Hot Spot reel only and will substitute for whatever symbol lands on the right. The feature concludes when you run out of free spins.

Final Verdict

Well, not sure how to rate this NetEnt creation. I guess, kudos can be given for trying something unusual, out of the ordinary. However, that is where my enthusiasm ends. The Land and Expand feature does not trigger often enough to raise suspense levels and when it does, the wins max out at a paltry 135x your bet for a full screen of the white-bearded Viking chief. It only improves slightly in the free spins where the same will yield a still modest 435x your stake. I venture to say that this Riches of Midgard will not excite many viking or reel warriors but it should be good enough for some recreational slotting.

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