Age of Conquest slot: The Free Spins bonus game can be very profitable

Somewhat fittingly, Age of Conquest is the name of this brand new 5x3 reel and 20 non selectable pay lines, which features a number of different bonuses and a chance to win up to 10,000x your bet if you are fortunate enough.

Best known for developing the Mega Moolah powered Atlantean Treasures slot, which has already seen a huge 13.6 million New Zealand dollar win in May 2020, as well as Aurora Wilds, Neon Valley Studios latest release transports you back to medieval times, when Kings and leaders roamed the lands vanquishing foes in what was the Age of Conquest.

Having played the game for a little while I think it is a medium variance offering, which offers a nice mix of wins, but how does it shape up when compared to some of the more recent Microgaming releases, or even some of Neon Valley Studio's best efforts?

We decided to take a closer look to find out.

Overview

• Game: Age of Conquest
• Developer: Neon Valley Studios (for Microgaming)
• Reels: 5x3
• Pay Lines: 20 (non-selectable)
• Minimum Bet: 0.20
• Maximum Bet: 200.00
• Jackpot: 10,000x
• Free Spins Bonus: Yes
• Other Bonuses: Yes
• Progressive: No
• Volatility: Medium

Presentation

It has to be said that Neon Valley Studios tend to do a very good job when it comes to the presentation of their games and the Age of Conquest slot is no different. The backdrop is of a large castle against a pink, foreboding sky with green hills, rocks and foliage in the foreground. Set against this backdrop are the five reels, which are semi-transparent and have flaming torches either side of them.

The main controls are at the foot of the screen and a rather atmospheric and cinematic soundtrack plays as you hit the spin button and play through your spins. Neon Valley games are usually a feast on the eyes and ears and they have not disappointed here with some especially nice touches when you land wins or hit some of the bonus features.

What is on the reels?

There are the usual mix of symbols on the reels including Wild Symbols, a Scatter a Diamond Symbol (which has its own Wild-themed bonus) and the usual higher and lower value symbols. The lower value symbols in this game are the playing card symbols from the Jack through to the Ace and they fit in well with the King's Court feel of the slot.

Wins start from ¼ of your total bet up to 2x your total bet for five Aces or Kinds across the reels. So it isn't the highest paying of slots you can play.

There are six higher value symbols and these include the blue potion and the sword and shield which offer wins from 0.35x your bet up to 3x your bet. There is also the Eagle and the knights' horse which offer wins ranging from 0.5x your bet up to 5x your bet.

The highest value symbols are the lady in blue and the man in orange, who we can assume are the two leaders trying to vanquish each other. The lady offers wins from ¾ of your bet up to 10x your stake and the man offers wins from 1x your bet up to 15x your bet.

The last two symbols can be single, double or triple stacked on the reels, so it is possible to win with them across multiple pay lines on a single spin.

Wild features

There are a couple of Wild features in this game. The first of these is the standard Wild symbol, which can appear on all five of the reels. It serves as a substitute for all symbols apart from the Scatter and the Diamond Symbol.

However, you can also land Wilds in succession across the reels and when you do you can win the largest base game prizes of between 2x your stake and 50x your stake.

The other Wild bonus is linked to the Diamonds that you can land on the reels. These symbols do not offer a pay, but instead you collect each Diamond landed on the reel in the counter above each reel. When you have landed two diamond symbols on a reel, it will turn that reel completely Wild for the next two spins.

You can collect Diamonds across all reels on any spin, which means you can trigger multiple Wild Reels in this bonus feature, which is indeed the best way to land some of the better value payouts in the base game. Once the feature has been played twice, then the diamond counter on the affected reels will reset and the game continues.

One thing to note here though is that your counters are linked to your bet size, so if you change the size of your bet during a game, you can't take any active Diamonds already landed on the reels with you when you play for a new stake.

Free Spins features

The golden throne is the Scatter symbol and this appears only on the first, third and fifth reels. If you land three Scatters in a spin you win 2x your total bet as a cash prize, but you also trigger the Free Spins bonus game. Scatters can appear on Wild reels in the base game too, so do keep an eye out for them there too.

Here you get to pick which one of three Free Spins bonus games to play. Each game offers a mix of Wild Reels and Free Spins, and it is up to you decide which combination is the best suited to you. They are as follows:

• 2 Free Spins with 3 Wild Reels on Each Free Spin
• 8 Free Spins with 2 Wild Reels on Each Free Spin
• 25 Free Spins with 1 Wild Reel on Each Free Spin

One positive is that you can re-trigger the bonus from within the Free Spins round if you are lucky enough to earn additional Free Spins.

Best feature of the Age of Conquest slot

There is a lot to like on the Age of Conquest slot. The base game is fun to play and the addition of the Diamonds turning reels Wild for two spins once two have been collected really does give the base game an added dimension. It does need it though as the Free Spins bonus can be incredibly difficult to trigger at times and as such, while they can be very profitable, I still feel those Diamond Wild Reels are the best feature of the slot simply because they are easier to trigger.

Conclusion

I do enjoy most Neon Valley Studios slot and Age of Conquest is no different. It looks superb and plays very nicely with some nice additions and embellishments to the base game to make it play a bit more excitingly than your typical 5x3 reel slot. My main gripe is how hard it seems to be to hit the Free Spins bonus round, but the different Wild features in the base game do help diminish that issue. This is a fun slot to play and well worth a few free spins if you fancy playing.

Where to play the Age of Conquest slot?

You can play the Age of Conquest slot at any of the Mega Moolah casinos on the Where to Play page, Bonus page, Rewards page or Country page.