Ariana Slot
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If you like your online slots with a splash of seaweed, a starfish in a central role, and a leading lady who may, or may not, have a fin instead of legs, you are in for a watery treat. Ariana Slot is a five-reel game with 25 paylines, as well as both stacked and expanding symbols. There is also a free spins feature to discover, alongside wilds, scatters, and a watery smorgasbord of icons and symbols. It’s an online slot seafood platter for the hungry gamer who digs a bit of shellfish.
- A real underwater gem!
- Vibrant, exciting graphics and sound effects.
- Generous free spins feature.
- Even the revamped version is starting to look a little dated.
Microgaming is one of the founding fathers of online gambling. The Isle of Man based business is behind some of the biggest games in the business, including Mega Moolah, Immortal Romance, Thunderstruck and Break Da Bank. If you spent most of 1984 thinking about Daryl Hannah and Tom Hanks, you clearly spent a couple of hours watching the hit rom-come Splash. We think Ariana is probably a mermaid but it’s not a given. Even when the reel is expanded, you never see her from the waist down. Is she wearing heels or a flipper? Who knows
Ariana Slot Look and Feel
Ariana is a great looking game and a good-looking dame, beautifully detailed and perfectly rendered. The five reels are suspended below the water, sat on top of a coral reef, bathed in light and surrounded by tropical fish. It’s all so very blue.
Microgaming released the game in 2015, describing its artwork as ‘breath-taking’. It is certainly illustrated with lots of love. The detailed drawings on the icons – a testament to that. However, it does feel a little short on content. It’s almost as if the designer got bored and decided ‘enough was enough’. You are left wanting more.
The audio is non-existent. In the base game, you hear only audio clips that recreate the old electronic slots. If you hit two scatters, a ‘tension’ noise kicks in to ramp up the excitement. There are other small audio hits and splashes, when you land a winning payline. Again: it’s all a little half-baked.
The only music in the Ariana slot kicks in with the bonus round. Hit three scatters, and the free spins, and you get to hear the game’s secret score. We don’t want to spoil the surprise but it’s the cheese-fest that follows the seafood platter.
How To Play Ariana Slot
The Ariana online slot comes with five reels in a classic 5 x 3 grid. Your goal is to hit at least three matching icons on any one – or more – of the 25 paylines. The winning lines pay out from left to right, with the wild substituting for everything – except the scatter.
Microgaming are masters of simplicity and function. This is elegantly demonstrated in this game, where there are only a few icons on the main game screen. They are concise, well-designed, and simple to understand.
Hit the coin icon to choose the value of your bet. It can range from £0.50 a spin to £250. Go easy on the big ones! There is no option to choose how many paylines to play with each spin. You have to bet all 25 every time.
Ariana also comes with both turbo play and auto play. The latter starts with a minimum of 10 unattended spins, up to 100. Check what version of the game you are playing. Recent UK gambling legislation has clamped down on both turbo play and automatic play. These days, you need fit fingers to keep on spinning.
The final icon on main screen links to both the basic and the detailed game rules, as well as an option to mute the minimal sound on offer. When it comes to gameplay, Ariana has no significant surprises.
Ariana Slot Symbols
This slot seems to straddle two worlds exceptionally well as it pays homage to the traditional look and feel of a slot machine as it does contain a number of traditional symbols. To begin with, you will notice that this game has traditional card symbols which include the 10, J, Q, K and A. These are the low paying symbols which means that prizes are smaller when you land these symbols but that is not the end of the world because the prizes are still worth taking home!
Along with these, you will also find the likes of the Underwater Treasure symbol, a sea dragon and a mermaid symbol while there are other symbols here such as the game logo which is used as the Wild symbol. If you’re wondering what the scatter might be then this is a Starfish.
So, this is a game that stays true to its theme by ensuring that it provides a good blend of symbols, all of which add to the game play and the overall feel.
Our Verdict
Is Ariana a mermaid? This is the burning question for which we have no answer. It’s certainly a smart, quick, beautifully designed slot from a development house you can trust. The RTP is an average 95.48%. The maximum pay-out is £30,000.
This is a game that has been kicking around for nearly a decade but it still looks fresh. The gameplay is light on features. The bonus round is underwhelming. The game’s sound track is missing in action. It’s a little bit like a walk in the park or – perhaps – a swim in the surf.
All in all, the Ariana online slot is a good game – not a great game. If you fancy hanging out on the reef, with a sassy sea siren, who may or may not be legless, grab your diving gear, snorkel up, and have a splash on this online slot. Enjoy.
Ariana Slot Bonuses
Ariana packs in one bonus. It’s the ubiquitous free spins. There is also an expanding symbols opportunity on reel one. Any full symbol on reel one expands all matching symbols on the remaining reels.