Iron Phoenix: Slot Overview

It’s funny the things you pick up playing online slots, the titbits from various world cultures, history, mythology, and beyond. Some topics stick around more than others. One that returns and recedes every so often, in some ways like the creature itself, is the phoenix, the mythological bird which lives for a while, burns, then rises from the ashes, renewed, to live another cycle. The phoenix is said to have originated in places like ancient Egypt or Greece, but that hasn’t stopped software provider Push Gaming from nabbing the bird for its Asian-themed jackpot slot Iron Phoenix.

Perched precariously at the top of a mountain is a building that backgrounds Iron Phoenix’s set of reels. Possible motivation or temptation, depending on the player, sits above the main grid in the form of a slowly spinning Phoenix Reel displaying various rewards, while to the left is a list of jackpot prizes which aren’t the biggest ever seen, though when the game reaches its pinnacle moment, they can be multiplied by x10. The view is steeped in Asian symbology, dragons and so forth, and for some reason, Iron Phoenix initially brought to mind Thunderkick‘s 2019 release Sword of Khans, visually at least.

A low-medium volatile math model governs the action, and Iron Phoenix is played on a 5×3 gaming grid, evaluating wins of 3 or more matching symbols with the help of 20 paylines. An RTP of 96.24% (with lower versions available as well) is generated when betting 10 c to $/€100 or when using the Push Bet, which doubles the stake to increase the chance of triggering the free spins bonus.

Iron Phoenix has ten regular paying symbols. They are the four playing card suits, fish, purple things, lanterns, and three dragon symbols. Hitting winning combinations of 5 matching suits pays 0.5x-06x, the three mids pay 1.2x-2.5x, and the dragons award 3x-20x the bet. Wilds hit on all five reels, substituting regular symbols and possessing the same win values as the top pay symbol.

Iron Phoenix: Slot Features

Rising from the ashes are features such as a Phoenix Reel, cash prizes, jackpots, free spins with a progression bar, and a feature buy.

Phoenix Reel

The Phoenix Reel sits above reels 2, 3, and 4, and Phoenix symbols land on the middle three reels beneath it – one may land per reel. When 3 Phoenix symbols hit, the reward displayed on the Phoenix Reel is awarded. This could be cash values of 3x to 100x, jackpots, or 3 scatters. The jackpots are the Mini, Minor, Major, and Mega, worth 10x, 50x, 200x, or 1,000x the bet, respectively.

Free Spins

Hitting 3, 4, or 5 scatters awards 10, 15, or 20 free spins, respectively – 3 scatters on the Phoenix Reel can combine with scatters on the two outer reels to award free spins. However, scatters cannot land on the same reel at the same time as Phoenix symbols.

During free spins, the Phoenix Reel splits into three individual Phoenix Reels. Landing a Phoenix symbol on reels 2, 3, or 4 awards the reward displayed on the corresponding Phoenix Reel. The bonus round also has a progression bar, which collects each landed Phoenix symbol. 4 collected Phoenix symbols are required to trigger a new level and award the following – Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 trigger +4 free spins each time. Reaching Level 4 grants +4 free spins and an x10 multiplier, which applies to Phoenix Reel and jackpot wins. In the bonus round, scatters may only hit on the Phoenix Reel, awarding +1 to +5 free spins.

Feature Buy

For 65 times the bet, players can activate the ‘Random Bonus Symbols’ feature in order to trigger free spins.

Iron Phoenix: Slot Verdict

Jackpot slots are a dime a dozen and are not everyone’s preferred way to gamble. A lot of players clearly like them, however, causing a demand that software providers are more than willing to meet. According to the studio’s info, when designing Iron Phoenix, Push Gaming appears to have had British and US gambling in mind and has created a casino game that should be able to entice gamblers from those regions and beyond. An Asian styling helps broaden the appeal, and Iron Phoenix doesn’t just go after low-hanging jackpot fruit but accompanies its main prizes with a measure of innovation. Iron Phoenix might not be a Push Gaming slot that breaks the mould, but innovations ensure it deviates, to greater or lesser extents, from the standard jackpot format.

For starters, there’s no pick ‘n’ click, no landing of 3 matching jackpot symbols in a hold ‘n’ win round to win the big ones. Instead, Iron Phoenix has its Phoenix Reel, which flutters eyelids at players with a single reel in the base game before becoming triple reels in the free spins round. And since you need three Phoenix symbols in the main game to trigger prizes from the Phoenix Reel, while each Phoenix symbol triggers its own Phoenix Reel in free spins, the bonus is where you want to be. Another interesting, possibly frustrating, trait is the way an x10 multi is available, but only for the lucky ones who can make it all the way to Level 4. This does mean that while the Mega jackpot is 1,000x, Push Gaming’s highest observed win was 12,242.1x the bet.

Just as the Phoenix Reel splits from one into three, so has Push Gaming these days split its focus across all manner of niches and tastes. As a result, gamblers occupying the niche that go in for jackpot slots with a twist get all sorts of stuff to try in Iron Phoenix, while those who pine for the likes of Joker Troupe or Razor Shark from the good old days get to keep on pining.