Golden Ark

Golden Ark – A low return to player (RTP) detracts from an otherwise excellent slot that has high volatility and aesthetics that are a little old.

Golden Ark RTP 95.1%

Review of the Golden Ark

Theme and plot of the story

Among the main questions raised by Golden Ark is whether or not you can still be sued for copyright by Lucasfilm if you gender switch your Raiders of the Lost Ark slot machine.

With Egyptian images on the reels and a heroine who dons a fedora as she leads the ensemble, Golden Ark is attempting to evoke memories of the good old days of Indiana Jones movies in a nostalgic manner.

Despite the fact that the slot as a whole seems a touch dated, the premise is compelling and the game is done with flair.

Graphics, sounds, and animations are all included.

In terms of design, the images are starting to seem a touch obsolete, which is more due to Novomatic’s already outdated software than to the choice of art style. Despite the fact that it seems to be outdated, the slot isn’t terrible to look at, and the mix of symbols and the backdrop behind the reels do an excellent job of selling the player on the idea of a vibrant, alive environment.

Generally speaking, the noises and animations are the same as those found in other Novomatic slots, with a few additional musical cues that don’t seem to fit the theme quite properly.

It’s great if the music is turned off.

Gameplay

Golden Ark is a five-reel, three-row video slot featuring 10 paylines and three rows of symbols.

A normal set of Novomatic elements are included in the game, including a double or nothing gamble feature – which enables players to risk their wins in exchange for a higher level of volatility – and a free spin bonus game with an expanding symbol (details below).

Overall, this game will appeal to those who are satisfied with the fundamentals of current slot machine design, but it may dull the more experimental player, which is paradoxical.

Wilds, bonuses, and free spins are all included in this game.

The Wild symbol may be used to replace any other symbol with the exception of the Scatter symbol.

It is possible to land on Expanding Wilds which will grow to fill the whole reel that they land on.

If you land three or more Scatter symbols anywhere on the reels, you will be awarded ten free spins as part of the Free Spin Bonus. This bonus may be re-activated several times.

At the start of the Free Spin Bonus, a symbol is selected at random from the available options. If the selected symbol appears on a reel during a free spin, the symbol will grow to span the whole reel when the winning combinations are recalculated after any winning combinations have been computed previously.

Bet sizes, return on investment (RTI), and variance

This game has a 95.10 percent return to the player on average. The likelihood of this happening is very low, and we cannot suggest it. Every percentage point matters when it comes to calculating the average. Our yardstick is around 96 percent.

In our testing, the range of bets for a player who was betting on all ten win lines ranged from a minimum of $0.40 each spin up to a maximum of $/£/€100.00 per spin, with the least being $0.40 and the highest being $100.00.

When playing this game, the volatility is considerable, which would make it a wonderful fit for our favored slot machine techniques if the return on investment (RTI) were higher.

Conclusion

Being a high volatility game is generally seen positively in our perspective, yet the low return to player (RTP) here has a negative influence on our assessment of the slot.

Graphics and features are on par with what you’d expect from a mid-range Novomatic slot, despite the fact that the software is starting to show its age.

If the return to player (RTP) is not a deal breaker for you, this might be an enjoyable option.