Cat Clans Online Slot by Microgaming and Snowborn Games offers up a winning combination of elements with some great surprises along the way. The game follows the battle between four cat clans and it was a battle I was glad to be thrown into. I was impressed by the chunky cartoon-style chunky graphics, especially the four clan leaders who are fierce-looking felines with distinct personalities. The gameplay, which I thought appeared basic upfront, soon revealed some thrilling innovations with bonus features including free spins and wilds.

Game Symbols

J to A card royals are the low-paying symbols.
Pine cones, roses, owls, Arctic foxes, and polar bears are the high-paying symbols.
A golden palace is the scatter that activates free spins.
The enchantress herself appears as a stacked wild that can cover an entire reel.
The icy blue orb triggers the Link & Win feature.

Bonus Features

Link & Win

This feature kicked in when I landed 6 ice orb symbols on the reels that instantly became sticky for the duration of the feature. I gained 3 respins where the remaining reel positions were emptied and only ice orbs with cash values between 1x and 50x my bet or jackpot symbols could appear. Every time one of these symbols landed, my respin count was reset to 3 and they also remained locked in position. The objective is to fill the entire grid to claim the maximum prize of 50000x the stake before the respins ran out, something I didn’t quite achieve, but when I ran out of respins was paid out the combined value of all the ice orbs in view as well as any jackpot symbols. The jackpots I could win were the Mini, Minor and Major jackpots which pay out 15x, 75x, and 250x the stake, respectively.

An excellent enhancement to this feature is the Colum Boost that activates when you fill any column with symbols, increasing the value of any ice orb symbols within it.

Free Spins

I got this feature going by landing the minimum required 3 scatter symbols to receive 10 free spins. If I’d been lucky enough to begin with 4 or 5 scatters, my bonus round would have started with 15 or 20 free spins. Whenever the Enchantress wild landed partially, it would always be nudged fully into view, which was great news for my winning chances.

Our Verdict

Arctic Empress slot follows the Neon Valley Studios formula of creating beautifully illustrated experiences with enjoyable gameplay and various winning opportunities. Some might say the slot’s fantasy theme seems a bit dated, but I was impressed by the classic fantasy feel which creates a magical ambience. All the regular features came out to play, and I was pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of the Column Boost feature which awarded me boosted wins in what can be a challenging bonus round. The top potential prize of $270 800 is about average for this style of game and I had a lot of fun trying to get there.

If you like this slot, then check out Wolf Howl or Atlantis the Forgotten Kingdom