Bragg Gaming's Indigo Magic is releasing a bit darker and more cinematic approach to the pirating business that convincingly complements a light-hearted depiction of pirates in 4 the Loot by Atomic Slot Lab. Enter Book of Blackeye's Bounty, a gripping cross between the swashbuckling and the supernatural.
The first impression of Book of Blackeye's Bounty is of a suspenseful thriller movie thanks to its shadowy visuals that nicely fit the setting: a booty-loaded pirate ship that is haunted. And it's full of treasures because, well, it's haunted, and nobody wants to go loot that. Except you, of course, the intrepid adventurer who knows no fear. The general atmosphere of the game benefits greatly from a pumping and appropriately dramatic soundtrack that authentically recreates the period and the theme of the game. It is plain to see that the game is the product of an experienced team that knows how to make compelling and convincing slots.
The general setup is fairly simple: ten paylines and a 5x3 grid with the buy bonus option that starts the free games feature, and a side bet as well. The latter comes quite handy as it increases the chances of landing book scatters that start the main game feature by 30%. Players who prefer a more daring and determined approach to slots will definitely appreciate this shortcut to free games, a useful tool that reinforces the experience of action-packed gameplay and lets players play as they want.
Book mechanic with a special twist
Book symbols are scatters: land three or more to start the free games phase. Book mechanics in other games usually draw an expanding symbol for you randomly, but here, players have the option to select it themselves, which again puts more power into their hands. There's a slight catch, however: lower-paying symbols will create lower-paying wins, but will occur more often, while higher-paying symbols are more lucrative but land less often. The selected symbol will, if it creates a win, expand across the reels in this phase - and potentially create better combos, of course. What's more: the symbols don't need to be adjacent to form a win in this case as this is a scatter pay.
After symbol selection, a dagger will spin to randomly award you 8, 10 or 12 free games. If you don't win the maximum option, you can gamble and spin the dagger again to see if you can land twelve free spins, but watch out: the dagger may land on the null option and you could lose all your spins this way.
But this is not everything the feature offers: scatters land in this phase so you can add them to the collection meter to the left. Three scatters will get you 15 paylines instead of 10, three additional free spins, and the grid will expand to 5x4. Similarly, seven scatters increase paylines to 20, the grid expands to 5x5 and you get two more free spins. And finally, 12 collected scatters raise the number of paylines to no less than 50, expand the grid to a whopping 5x7 and award you with another free spin. This reflects the increasing difficulty of exploring the haunted pirate ship as you progress further to discover better and richer loot.
Bless those cursed reels
The other main feature may be triggered randomly on any game round and delivers additional suspense: the cursed reels. Any normal symbol may become cursed which means that it expands across entire reels when it lands. It pays as scatter, guarantees a winning combo every single time it's triggered, and it's not that uncommon or unlikely to see the entire grid completely filled with matching symbols.
Our final verdict
Sometimes you can see when game developers are gamers themselves: they know what makes slots compelling and irresistible - and introduce mechanics to them they know will work well. This is the case with both the side bet option and the buy bonus option, and we especially liked the expanding reels mechanics as they feel fulfilling and provide a sense of accomplishment. Initially, we did wonder why the visuals feel so dark and foreboding, but then we understood that "it's not a bug but a feature". To convey a genuine experience of exploring a haunted pirate ship, nothing else would do and this is the only correct way to present the game theme faithfully and appropriately. After just a few spins, it's literally and figuratively all clear and player immersion (pun unintended) becomes complete.
Pirating is a serious business and no child's play, so it's only fair it's presented this way as well. The game may not attract casual players at first, but its high volatility and overall atmosphere will definitely strike a chord with experienced and dedicated slotsters who shy away from no challenge and can recognize a gem among countless games on the market. Now don't get us wrong: Book of Blackeye's Bounty may not be for everyone, but it can be played and immensely enjoyed by anyone, especially if they're in for a slot experience like no other. All hands on deck and board the haunted galleon!
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