Release the Kraken Slot Review
We played Release the Kraken properly before writing this Release the Kraken slot review, because the game has enough moving features to need real session time to understand. Pragmatic Play launched it in January 2020 on a 5×4 grid with 20 base game paylines that double to 40 during free spins. The game built its reputation on three random wild features that trigger during the base game, a pick-me Sunken Treasure bonus, and the Roaming Kraken Free Spins where sticky wilds roam the reels and each new wild landing adds one to the multiplier. The RTP is 96.50%, the volatility is high, and the maximum win is 10,000x. This review covers all of it so you know what you are getting into before spinning.
| Provider: | Pragmatic Play |
| RTP: | 96.50% |
| Type: | Video Slots |
| Launched: | 2020 |
| Volatility: | High |
| Max Win: | 10000x |
| Min/Max Bet: | $0.20/$100.00 |
Release the Kraken Demo
Where To Play Release the Kraken
- FastPay100% up to NZ$750 + 100 Free SpinsSecond deposit bonus 75% up to NZ$75
Author: Liam Harrington
Release the Kraken Slot Game Overview
Release the Kraken is a five-reel, four-row video slot from Pragmatic Play released in January 2020. The base game runs on 20 fixed paylines, expanding to 40 paylines during the free spins feature. The underwater setting places an old sunken galleon in the deep background with translucent reels and animated sea life filling the symbol positions. Premium symbols include sea creatures: octopus, jellyfish, seahorse and fish. Card royals from J to A fill the lower end. The game logo is the wild, paying 25x your stake for five on a payline. The Release the Kraken online slot carries a 96.50% RTP, above the industry average, and Pragmatic Play’s 4 out of 5 volatility rating. The maximum win is 10,000x your stake through the Roaming Kraken Free Spins with a fully built multiplier.
Our review of Release the Kraken found a game that earns its reputation through sheer feature variety. Three random base game wild modifiers, a chest-pick bonus and a roaming wild free spins round with a multiplier give every session multiple routes to meaningful outcomes. The underwater theme is well-executed with the friendly animated characters making it visually appealing without being garish. Pragmatic Play built Release the Kraken as an interactive experience where something is regularly happening on screen, which sets it apart from the studio’s more passive slot designs of the same period.
Release the Kraken Payouts, Volatility and RTP
The Release the Kraken slot review figures begin with a 96.50% RTP, above the online slot industry average of 96%. Pragmatic Play also offers lower configurations of 95.50% and 94.50% at some operators. Always check the in-game paytable before playing. RTP is a theoretical long-run measure calculated across millions of spins. Individual sessions can vary significantly above and below it, especially at this volatility level.
The paytable splits into card royals at the low end and sea creature premiums at the high end. The game logo wild is the top-paying symbol at 25x your stake for five on a payline. The four premium sea creatures range below it. Card royals pay modest amounts. The Release the Kraken online slot reaches its 10,000x maximum win through the Roaming Kraken Free Spins where each roaming wild landing adds one to the multiplier. A productive free spins session with multiple wild landings and the multiplier climbing across 40 paylines is the specific scenario that drives the ceiling.
| Slot Name | Release the Kraken |
|---|---|
| Game Provider | Pragmatic Play |
| RTP | 96.50% |
| Volatility | High |
| Paylines | 20/40 |
| Bonus Buy | Yes |
| Progressive Jackpot | No |
Release the Kraken sits at Pragmatic Play’s 4 out of 5 volatility rating, which means it is high volatility without reaching the extreme 5/5 tier of games like Wild West Gold or Gates of Olympus. In practice this means the session feels more active than a maximum-volatility game. The three random base game features trigger with reasonable frequency, the Sunken Treasure pick bonus provides additional engagement, and the Roaming Kraken Free Spins arrive more often than free spins in a pure 5/5 title would.
That said, this is still a high-volatility slot. Base game standard payline wins are modest. The meaningful session results concentrate in the free spins feature where the roaming wilds and multiplier interact. A free spins session where wilds land frequently and the multiplier climbs to five or higher produces outcomes that justify the 10,000x promise. A session where wilds are sparse and the multiplier barely advances ends with a modest result despite the 40-payline format. The random base game features do break up extended base game stretches and keep sessions from feeling completely passive between bonus triggers.
Release the Kraken Bonuses and Special Features
Release the Kraken online slot bonuses operate through five distinct pathways: three random base game wild features triggered by three tentacles appearing on the reels, the Sunken Treasure chest-pick bonus, and the Roaming Kraken Free Spins. Release the Kraken slot game features are more varied than most Pragmatic Play releases of the same era, which was part of the original game’s appeal. Compared to Wild West Gold from the same studio which concentrates everything into one sticky wild mechanic, Release the Kraken spreads engagement across multiple smaller features that activate throughout both base and bonus play.
Three Random Wild Features
The three random wild features activate when three Kraken tentacles appear on the reels holding signs. Players choose one tentacle to reveal which feature fires. The first option is Kraken Lockin Wilds, which adds a locked wild symbol to a random reel position that stays in place for multiple spins while the reels respin around it. The second option is Colossal Kraken, which adds a large 3×3 wild block to the reels covering nine positions simultaneously and boosting the number of paylines covered by a single wild symbol. The third option is Infectious Wilds, which adds a wild symbol that spreads to adjacent positions on subsequent respins, gradually infecting surrounding reel positions with wild coverage.
The three random features activate on any base game spin where the tentacle prompt appears. They provide regular disruption to the standard payline win rhythm and occasionally chain into meaningful payouts when they align with the highest-paying symbols. Kraken Lockin Wilds provides the most consistent result because the locked wild persists across multiple spins. Colossal Kraken provides the most immediate visual impact with its 3×3 coverage. Infectious Wilds has the most potential for extended wild spread if the respins run productively.
Sunken Treasure Pick Bonus
The Sunken Treasure bonus triggers by landing three or more chest bonus symbols anywhere on the reels. The bonus presents a screen of treasure chests and the player picks from them to reveal cash prizes and pick count additions. Picking continues until the Collect symbol is revealed, at which point the total accumulated prize from all successful picks is paid out. The chest selection phase is the interactive element that makes Release the Kraken feel more like a player-controlled experience than a purely passive slot.
The Sunken Treasure bonus also provides a direct route to the Roaming Kraken Free Spins through a separate free spins scatter trigger. Landing three free spins symbols on reels one, three and five sends players directly into the main bonus round. The Sunken Treasure bonus is an independent pathway that pays cash prizes accumulated through the chest picks without requiring the free spins to be involved. Both bonuses can occur independently in the same session.
Roaming Kraken Free Spins
The Roaming Kraken Free Spins is the main feature and the route to the 10,000x maximum win. The feature awards ten free spins on a 40-payline setup rather than the base game’s 20 paylines. A win multiplier starts at 1x at the beginning of the feature. Every time a wild symbol lands during free spins it sticks in position and roams to an adjacent reel position after each subsequent spin. Critically, each new wild that lands increases the win multiplier by one. A wild landing when the multiplier is at 4x moves it to 5x for all subsequent wins while that wild remains active on the reels.
The combination of sticky roaming wilds covering increasing portions of the 40-payline grid and a climbing multiplier that grows with each new wild landing is the multiplicative system that produces the game’s largest outcomes. Ten spins is a reasonable amount of time for the multiplier to build if wilds land with good frequency. When three or four wilds are simultaneously active and roaming across a 40-payline grid with a 5x or higher multiplier in effect, the payline coverage and multiplier interaction produce the results that Release the Kraken built its reputation on. The feature does not retrigger.
How to Play Release the Kraken
Release the Kraken has more features to track than a typical Pragmatic Play slot but each one activates clearly on screen and the game guides you through each interaction. Here is how to get started.
- 1
Set your bet and check the RTP
Release the Kraken accepts bets from $0.20 to $100.00 per spin across 20 fixed paylines in the base game. Open the paytable and confirm which RTP version your casino runs. The standard is 96.50% but lower tiers exist at some operators. There is no bonus buy on the original game. All features trigger through base game play or free spins scatter landing. - 2
Watch for the three tentacle random feature prompt
At any point during a base game spin, three Kraken tentacles can appear each holding a sign. Select one to reveal which random wild feature fires: Kraken Lockin Wilds adds a locked sticky wild for multiple spins, Colossal Kraken adds a 3×3 wild block, and Infectious Wilds spreads wild coverage to adjacent positions across respins. These features activate without a scatter and are the main source of base game excitement. - 3
Land chest bonus symbols for the Sunken Treasure pick bonus
Three or more chest bonus symbols anywhere on the reels trigger the Sunken Treasure bonus. A screen of treasure chests is presented and you pick from them to reveal cash prizes. Picking continues until the Collect symbol appears. The total accumulated from all picks is paid out. This is a completely separate bonus pathway from the free spins and provides direct cash rewards through the chest selection process. - 4
Trigger the Roaming Kraken Free Spins with three scatters
Three free spins symbols on reels one, three and five trigger ten free spins on the full 40-payline grid. A win multiplier starts at 1x. Every wild that lands during free spins sticks in position and roams to an adjacent reel position after each spin. Each new wild landing adds one to the win multiplier. The more wilds that land and accumulate on the grid, the higher the multiplier climbs for all subsequent wins. - 5
Track the multiplier as wilds build during free spins
The multiplier starts at 1x and increases by one for every wild that lands during the ten free spins. Watch the multiplier counter as wilds arrive and roam across the 40-payline grid. Sessions where three or more wilds land with the multiplier at four or higher and premium symbols align across multiple of the 40 paylines produce the outcomes that Release the Kraken is known for. The feature does not retrigger so managing the ten spins count matters.
Release the Kraken Online Slot: Pros and Cons
Release the Kraken is one of the more feature-rich Pragmatic Play releases of its era. The 96.50% RTP is above average, the three random wild features keep base game sessions active with regular interactions, the Sunken Treasure pick bonus adds a chest-selection layer, and the Roaming Kraken Free Spins with sticky roaming wilds and a building multiplier deliver genuine top-end potential. The 4/5 volatility makes it accessible to a broader range of players than the studio’s 5/5 titles. The main limitations are the non-retriggerable free spins, the 10,000x maximum win which matches many lower-complexity competitors, and the lower RTP tiers available at some operators.
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Three distinct random wild features activate during base game play, keeping sessions active with regular interactions between standard payline wins and bonus triggers. - RTP of 96.50% is above the online slot industry average and solid for a game with this level of feature complexity.
- Roaming Kraken Free Spins on 40 paylines with sticky roaming wilds and a climbing multiplier create dynamic free spins escalation.
- Sunken Treasure pick bonus adds an interactive chest-selection layer that provides cash prizes independently from the free spins feature.
- 4 out of 5 volatility rating is more accessible than maximum-volatility competitors while still delivering meaningful free spins outcomes.
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Free spins feature does not retrigger, meaning ten spins is the entire bonus run regardless of how productively the multiplier builds. - Maximum win of 10,000x is solid but matches simpler single-mechanic competitors that require less complexity to reach the same ceiling.
- Lower RTP configurations of 95.50% and 94.50% exist at some operators. Always check the paytable before playing at any new casino.
Release the Kraken Final Thoughts
Release the Kraken is a well-designed slot that does more than most Pragmatic Play releases of the same period to keep players engaged across both base game and feature play. The three random wild features create a consistent layer of interaction between standard payline wins and the free spins trigger. The Sunken Treasure pick bonus adds a chest-selection phase with direct player input. The Roaming Kraken Free Spins with sticky roaming wilds and a multiplier climbing with each new wild landing delivers a genuinely dynamic free spins experience. In testing, sessions rarely felt completely passive because at least one of the features activated before too many dry spins had passed.
We recommend Release the Kraken to players who want a high-volatility slot with more base game activity than single-mechanic games, to fans of underwater themes with friendly animated aesthetics, and to anyone who appreciates an interactive pick-me element alongside a strong free spins mechanic. Check the RTP at your casino before playing. If you want the Megaways version of this concept with 117,649 ways, Release the Kraken Megaways launched in 2024 with the same roaming wild structure on a larger grid.
FAQ
What is the RTP of Release the Kraken?
Release the Kraken has a default RTP of 96.50%, above the online slot industry average of 96%. Pragmatic Play also offers lower configurations of 95.50% and 94.50% which some operators use. Check the in-game paytable at your chosen casino before playing to confirm which version is active.
How do the three random wild features work in Release the Kraken?
The three random wild features activate when three Kraken tentacles appear on the reels during a base game spin. Selecting one tentacle reveals one of three features: Kraken Lockin Wilds locks a wild in position for multiple respins, Colossal Kraken adds a 3×3 wild block covering nine reel positions, and Infectious Wilds adds a wild that spreads to adjacent positions across subsequent respins. These features can appear on any spin without any specific symbol combination required.
How do you trigger the Roaming Kraken Free Spins?
The Roaming Kraken Free Spins trigger by landing three free spins symbols simultaneously on reels one, three and five. This awards ten free spins played on a 40-payline setup rather than the base game’s 20 paylines. The Sunken Treasure bonus triggers separately from three chest bonus symbols appearing anywhere on the reels and provides cash prizes through a pick-me chest selection phase.
What is the maximum win in Release the Kraken?
The maximum win in Release the Kraken is 10,000x your total stake. It is achievable through the Roaming Kraken Free Spins when multiple sticky roaming wilds accumulate across the 40-payline grid with the win multiplier at a high level from multiple successive wild landings. At the maximum bet of $100 per spin the 10,000x payout equals $1,000,000.
How does the multiplier work during free spins?
The win multiplier during the Roaming Kraken Free Spins starts at 1x at the beginning of the feature. Each time a new wild symbol lands during the ten free spins, the multiplier increases by one. A wild landing when the multiplier is at 3x moves it to 4x for all subsequent wins in the feature. The multiplier applies to all payline wins while it is active, meaning higher multiplier values multiply the impact of every winning combination across the full 40-payline grid.
Is Release the Kraken suitable for casual players?
Release the Kraken is among the more accessible high-volatility Pragmatic Play slots because of its 4 out of 5 volatility rating and the frequency with which the random base game features fire. The game maintains engagement between free spins triggers through the three wild features and the Sunken Treasure pick bonus. Casual players should try the free demo first and ensure their session budget can sustain enough spins to experience the Roaming Kraken Free Spins multiple times before evaluating the game.
If you enjoy the roaming wild multiplier system of Release the Kraken, the sequel Release the Kraken 2 from the same studio adds shifting stacked wilds and a different free spins modifier structure. For underwater themes with a different mechanic, Razor Shark from Push Gaming uses an ocean setting with a dig mechanic and no maximum win cap. Fishin Frenzy from Blueprint Gaming takes the fisherman collect concept in an accessible low-volatility format. Here are some other titles our readers also enjoy.
