Unlock The Vault to win big on Microgaming's latest slot release

When Microgaming announced at the ICE 2020 event that one of their signature games of 2020 was going to be a game called "The Vault" I initially assumed that this would be another of their popular TV show tie in games, following in the footsteps of the likes of Bullseye, Game of Thrones, Battlestar Galactica and Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway to name but four examples of these types of game.

However, that was not the case. Microgaming also announced that the game would be developed by a new partner provider, Snowborn Studios and that it would be released in late April. Well, the time has come and the game has been released (on 28 April) and we have now had a chance to play the game and here are our first impressions of this new slot.

So let's take a look at whether we think this is a vault well worth breaking into, or one that is rather alarming and should be left well alone.

Overview

• Game: The Vault
• Developer: Snowborn Studios for Microgaming
• Reels: 5x3
• Pay Lines: 20 (non-selectable)
• Minimum Bet: 0.20
• Maximum Bet: 44.00
• Jackpot: 100x
• Free Spins Bonus: Yes
• Other Bonuses: Yes
• Progressive: No
• Volatility: High

Presentation

The setting for The Vault slot is rather spectacular. Set inside a famous French museum, which is protected by a complicated and incredible laser array defense system, the dark colour palate of the slot, complete with the marbled pillars of the ceiling look superb. The reels are transparent, so you get to appreciate just what a good job Snowborn Studios have done with this game.

The person attempting to get their hands on the treasures within the museum is shown at the left of the reels. One final thing to note about the slot is that the music is very atmospheric and builds the tension of the game as you play. The main controls are located to the right of the reels and ate easy to follow and large, which is good news if you are playing on a smaller screen device.

This is a beautifully presented slot and if it is indicative of the quality of presentation Snowborn are going to bring to all their slots for Microgaming, then the Isle of Man-based company are going to be very pleased indeed with these new offerings.

What is on the reels?

There are nine standard symbols on the reels and they offer a range of payouts of all sizes. The lowest value symbols on the reels are the playing card low symbols, ranging from the 10 through to the Ace. Wins start here from a quarter of your total bet, but can increase up to 10x your bet for five of the aces across the reels.

Wins seem small but that is because they are for one pay line only. If you can land multiple pay lines on a win, using either a combination of symbols, or better still, the same symbol creating multiple lines, then you can increase the value of these wins markedly.

There are four higher value symbols and it is safe to assume that these are the target for The Vault's jewel thief. They include gold bars, an emerald, a standard white diamond and lastly a rarer pink diamond.

Wins on these symbols range from 0.75x your stake up to the maximum base game line win of 100x your stake for five of the pink diamond symbols on the reel.

There are a number of features symbols on the reels alongside these which we will look at in more detail below.

Wild features

The Wild symbol appears on all five reels in The Vault and it is simply a golden W which has been embellished around the outside with golden decoration. Three Wilds though do pay 2.5x your bet, which if you can land five on the pay line you can win 100x your bet.

Wilds mainly serve as a substitute for the standard symbols outlined above, but disappointingly they don't offer any multipliers on any wins and it can't substitute for the bonus symbols, more of which we will discover below.

Free Spins features

The first of the main bonus features of The Vault, and the one which triggers most often, is the Respin Feature. The symbol for this is the Bonus symbols which is designed to look like what I can only assume is the monitoring screen for The Vault's alarm system. You need to land two or more of these symbols anywhere across the reels to launch the Respin feature.

When this happens, the Bonus symbols landed are held in place and the other reel positions spun. If you land another Bonus symbol to add to those already landed, you spin again. Otherwise the bonus will end. This continues until you trigger the Vault Bonus game, or you land an unsuccessful Respin.

If you can land five Bonus symbols either in the base game or during the Respins Bonus, then you trigger the Vault Bonus. This gives you 10 Free Spins on the slot but best of all, there is a 3x multiplier applied to every win you land.

To help you ramp up the value of your win, there are additional symbols on the reels. A 1+ symbol landed will award you one extra spin to your total, while a 1x symbol will add one to the size of the multiplier. In addition, the middle reel is completely Wild during the Free Spins round, which gives you a much better chance of landing a win than you have in the base game.

Best feature of the The Vault slot

This is a pretty impressive game from Snowborn Studios and it is going to be interesting to see whether the same high quality of presentation and styling goes into all their games. As for the best feature on the slot, while I do like the presentation, I also love the way the bonus games interlink in the slot and while, for me, they don't trigger quite often enough (it is a higher variance game after all), when you do land a shot at the Free Spins game, you do tend to get well rewarded for the time and effort you have put into the slot.

Conclusion

The Vault is a hugely impressive debut game for Snowborn Studios as part of their deal with Microgaming and if it is indicative of their future games then players are in for a treat. It is a high-tech game that is relatively simply done, but with a clever bonus that offers an unusual twist on the usual Free Spins bonus. It is a higher variance slot, so you will need patience and a healthy slice of luck to get the better of the game, but even if you don't land that elusive big win, it is still a beautifully presented slot that is massively fun to play.

You can play the Vault slot at any of the Mega Moolah casinos.