Mermaid's Tale Slot
It is said that roughly 71% of the earth's surface is water. It is the sea that has held the mysteries of the deep captive as most of it, about 95%, still remains unexplored. Folklore speaks of creatures, half human and half fish that we have come to know as mermaids. Some say they have seen real ones, for others they remain just a story like the much adapted fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen with ‘The Little Mermaid’.
In software by Novomatic, they tell a story through a water themed slot called Mermaid's Tale. Available online and mobile optimised for a range of mobile devices, it has 20 paylines with a 5 x 3 reel grid with expanding wild symbols and an added bonus of a gamble feature.
Under the Sea
Novomatic discovers this part of the ocean for us and finds it to be bright, light and not very deep. It’s drawn using more pastel shades than use of bold colour and it has a magical charm with lots of twinkles and bubbles. It features articles that would be expected to be seen, such as underwater plants, rocks and anemones. The mermaid of this tale is pretty and not too unlike Disney’s Ariel as she has red hair and wears purple clam shells to protect her modesty.
She has a friendly little clown fish buddy who swims in the sea with her, (not going to mention Nemo here), and amongst her prized possessions are a pink decorated jewel box filled with coloured pearls and a baroque style hand mirror covered in gold. The pièce de résistance in her treasure trove is the giant pearl that rests is an equally giant clam shell. But this isn’t an ordinary pearl; this pearl can grow to epic proportions!
The Reel Ocean
The pay table is the go to area to discover what possible treasure the symbols on the reels hold. For this review we are using values that are for the max bet of 400 playing the full 20 lines. The lowest stake can be just 0.40. The low paid are the classic card symbols with up to 75000 credits for 5 King or Ace. For getting 5 of the mirror of jewel box symbol, they have a value of 125000.
The mermaid’s buddy has a value of 250000 and the Mermaid can pay 1000000 credits for 5 on a line. The giant pearl plays as the wild symbol of the game and whenever they land on reels side by side, they turn into expanding wilds which helps secure more wins. It is possible for the wild to expand to fill the full screen, but we are unsure as to what this actually does. There is nothing in the pay table to explain what this will pay and we didn’t encounter this as we played ourselves so it remains a secret of the deep waiting to be discovered by players willing to take the plunge!
Never Enough Pearls
Pearl Bay by High 5 Games is another trip to the ocean in a water themed slot but this one features more than one mermaid, there’s 3. In fact there’s a merman too and more fish and lots of features to help find the treasure. For this game, the lowest stake is 0.01 with the minimum coins per line, but this can rise to the max bet being the high limit of 400. The wild symbols play as stacked wilds in base play but lock in the free games bonus. Each free game has a multiplier starting at x10 and this can increase if a +1 multiplier symbol in any position appears during the free spins. There is plenty to see and do in this special foray under the sea as players share the ocean and its treasures with the friendly merfolk.
A Drop in the Ocean
Online slots come in all different forms and themes go a long way to pigeonhole them for players to seek out according to taste and preference. When it comes to water themed slots, there are many different adventures to be had with water at the base of the story; mermaids and treasure being one of the most popular. Some slots cater for the real and others just for the feel. Mermaid’s Tale seems to be the latter and plays on the childlike fairy-tale side of the mermaid, keeping it light and magical. Novomatic has made a nice slot which some will love, but have also left it rather simple and a little bland looking.
It seems some of the magic it was trying to convey gets a bit lost to the waves. This is not helped by the somewhat ambiguous pay table and the full role of its fully expanding wild. It’s not the best pokie around as it seems a mere drop in the ocean compared to some, but it's not a write off either. A beautiful mermaid can’t be ignored and that is what this slot does have to offer, along with some decent payouts.
