Ah, romance. It is a beautiful thing, but also quite dangerous. Love can blind even mortals – so just imagine the damage it might cause to longer-lived creatures! As the chilling tunes of the piano travel through the air, immerse yourself in a tale of vampires, witches and illicit romance!
Older gamblers will recall this Microgaming release immediately. A 2011 release that took the world by storm, it quickly made its way to the top. And even today, it remains one of the most played slots in any casino you encounter.
But why does such an old game continue to top the charts? Was it simply in the right place at the right time? Or is there more to Immortal Romance than the promise of a gripping tale and fantastic wins? If you prefer to find out yourself, you can take up that journey at Loyal Casino! Otherwise, read on and prepare yourselves for a mystery!
Visuals
When it came out, Immortal Romance looked gorgeous. Beams of light illuminate the reels from the top corners of the screen. Each symbol is painstakingly crafted, especially the four ‘human’ icons. You even had minor animations crafted for them – far beyond what you expected in 2011.
But Microgaming’s release went one step further in an attempt to immerse you. It had its own story, and you could tell they were eager to lure you into it. Opening the paytable, all of the four characters have a backstory. One that is fully voiced over, too, mind you. As you played more, the slot unveiled more of its story, getting you invested even further!
It was something completely new for the time – and something that really was never replicated by other developers. Not at the same level of effort, at any rate.
Gameplay
Many players rightfully pointed out it used similar mechanics as Thunderstruck II. The sheer variety of special features was incredible to see. The novelty of unlockable bonuses was strong around the time, too. And since unlocking bonuses revealed more story tidbits, gamblers got hooked hard.
The gameplay itself was rather fun, too. Microgaming offered a medium volatility slot with an RTP of 96.86%. This suited many players, as it meant a balanced mixture between dead spins and lucrative pays. The ‘dry’ spells would still happen, but not nearly as much as in high volatility games.
Beyond just giving you visible progress for special features, regular pays would also be tracked. When you collected certain combinations, they would be highlighted on the screen. So after unlocking everything, you would open your paytable and see all winning combinations highlighted. A completionist dream!
Special Features
When three, four or five Scatters were found on the playing field, they unlocked the Chamber of Spins. The chamber offered four different free spins – with the first one being unlocked immediately. For all other free spins, you had to trigger Chamber of Spins a certain number of times. These bonuses are:
- Amber: Ten free spins where all wins are multiplied by 5x. Free spins can be retriggered.
- Troy: Fifteen free spins with vampire bats. They appear randomly and add 2x or 3x multipliers onto symbols. A maximum 6x multiplier can be applied on each spin.
- Michael: Twenty free spins with rolling reels. Icons blow up and disappear, leaving room for new ones to take their place. Consecutive wins increase the multiplier, up to 5x.
- Sarah: Twenty-five free spins with Wild vines. When the Wild vine symbol lands on the third reel, it transforms other icons into additional Wilds.
Each of the characters has their own story attached to their bonuses. So when you trigger a special feature, you get a hint of what certain characters are. A perfect blend of gameplay and story – a key factor as to why Immortal Romance was so successful.
There is also the Wild Desire bonus, that activates randomly. When it fires, it can transform between one to all five reels into Wilds. This nearly guarantees a winning combination will be formed.
Summary
Microgaming’s 2011 release continues to be popular to this day because it was enjoyable on every level. The developers compromised on nothing, and gave players incentives to keep coming back. Unlocking special features also meant a new step in the twisted tale of love and betrayal.
This perfect blend of storytelling and gameplay was something we never saw entirely replicated. More powerful hardware came, as did impressive visuals and new mechanics. But the immersion factor of Immortal Romance remains unmatched to this day. And may just remain that way, given Microgaming’s less than stellar record.
If you want to live the experience yourself, and learn what happens with these characters, you can do so! Simply follow our handy link to Loyal Casino, where you will find Immortal Romance waiting for you. Boot it up, get comfortable, and start spinning until you discover the truth.