Release the Kraken slot review

Release the Kraken in brief

Pragmatic Play launched Release the Kraken on 30 January 2020, its fourth new slot that month according to the studio’s announcement. The setting is the ocean floor, where a giant octopus guards sunken treasure. Treasure and sea-themed symbols fill the reels, with the Kraken itself driving most of the action. Our ocean and underwater slots page lists other games under the sea.

What sets it apart is how much can happen outside the main bonus. Three different Kraken modifiers can trigger at random on any spin, each adding wilds in its own way, and there are two separate bonus games rather than one. That spreads the excitement more evenly than many high-volatility slots, though the large wins still sit mostly in the bonuses.

Five reels, four rows and 20 paylines

The grid is five reels by four rows, giving 20 positions, with 20 fixed paylines in the base game. A fourth row means more symbols on screen than a standard 5×3 slot, and longer line patterns. Wins pay left to right for three or more matching symbols on a line.

In free spins, the game switches to 40 paylines. Doubling the lines on the same grid means each symbol sits on more lines, so a wild or premium symbol can feature in more winning combinations at once. Your stake doesn’t change: the free spins are played at the stake that triggered them. That is why the same wild tends to be worth more in the bonus than in the base game.

The three random Kraken modifiers

Pragmatic Play’s launch announcement names three Kraken modifiers that can appear at random during play. Each is a different kind of reel modifier, and each adds wilds to the grid before the spin pays.

Infectious Kraken Wilds

As the name suggests, wilds spread across the grid from where the Kraken strikes, turning extra positions wild. More wilds on a 20-line, four-row grid means more lines can complete at once.

Colossal Kraken Wilds

A large block of wild positions lands together, covering several reels and rows. Big blocks connect premium symbols across the middle of the grid, which is where many of the better base game wins come from.

Kraken Locking Wilds

Wilds lock in place, working like sticky wilds, so they can contribute to more than one result. The exact duration and placement rules are in the game’s help screen.

Random modifiers don’t change the game’s RTP; their value is already built into it. Their effect is to make some base game spins much better than others.

The Sunken Treasure Bonus and its multipliers

The first bonus game is the Sunken Treasure Bonus. Pragmatic Play describes it as triggering a sum of multipliers, with players collecting treasure from under the Kraken’s nose through a progressive multiplier. In plain terms, multiplier values are gathered during the feature and added together, and the total decides what the bonus pays.

Because the values are added, a feature that collects several modest multipliers can match one that finds a single big value. The developer doesn’t publish the trigger or the multiplier range on its page, so read the paytable in your casino’s version before playing.

Roaming Kraken free spins on 40 lines

The second bonus is the Roaming Kraken Free Spins. According to Pragmatic Play, it opens with a reveal of 10 items with free spins hidden among them; spins are added up as you uncover them, similar to a pick-me bonus. Then the free spins play out on 40 paylines with roaming wilds that move around the grid.

Roaming wilds behave like walking wilds: they change position between spins, so one wild can contribute to several spins’ wins. Combined with double the paylines, that makes each wild more valuable than it would be in the base game.

How to play Release the Kraken

1. Create or log in to an account at a UKGC-licensed casino and verify your age; the demo also requires this.
2. Open Release the Kraken and read the help screen, especially the bonus triggers and the RTP version.
3. Set a total stake for all 20 lines, at most £5 a spin (or £2 if you are 18–24).
4. Spin manually; UK rules set a 2.5-second minimum per spin and no autoplay.
5. If a Kraken modifier fires, let it finish adding wilds before the spin pays.
6. In the Sunken Treasure Bonus, watch the multiplier total build; in free spins, reveal items to set your spins.
7. After each bonus, check your balance and net position against the limit you set.

Release the Kraken RTP and volatility: a £30 session

The default RTP is 96.50%, an average long-run cost of £3.50 per £100 staked. ‘Default’ means lower versions exist; casinos choose which to run, and the game’s help screen shows the live figure. Volatility is high, so session results scatter widely around that average.

Consider £30 at 30p a spin: 100 spins, with an average cost of £1.05. Random modifiers will give a few better spins along the way, but without a bonus game most sessions of this size finish well down. A Sunken Treasure Bonus totalling 50x would return £15, and a strong free spins round could return several times the budget; both are uncommon.

Our volatility guide explains why the same average cost can feel very different at different stakes.

Release the Kraken max win of 10,000x

The cap is 10,000x stake: £2,000 at 20p, £10,000 at £1 and £50,000 at the £5 UK maximum. A result near that would need a free spins round with roaming wilds landing on premium-heavy spins across 40 lines, or an exceptional multiplier total. Both are extremely rare. Our slot max win explained guide shows why such caps sit far above typical results.

UK rules that apply to Release the Kraken

• No feature buy: both bonus games are reached only through normal play in Great Britain.
• Stake limits of £5 a spin (25 and over) or £2 a spin (18–24).
• A minimum of 2.5 seconds per spin and no turbo, quick spin or slam stop.
• No autoplay.
• No win celebrations for returns below the stake, with balance and net position always visible.

Demo play is available only after age verification. The demo shows the same features as the real-money game.

Release the Kraken compared with other sea slots

Razor Shark is the closest match: same 5×4 shape and 20 lines, an ocean theme and a higher published RTP. Great Blue is the classic underwater game, older and simpler. The Dog House is a Pragmatic Play 20-line game with sticky wilds in free spins, for those who like that mechanic without the sea. Pragmatic Play has also released a Megaways version of Release the Kraken.

Release the Kraken pros, cons and who it suits

It suits players who want a high-volatility game with more going on in the base game than most, and who like the variety of two bonuses. For something steadier in a similar setting, the fishing slots page has lower-key options.

Where to play Release the Kraken

Release the Kraken is a widely distributed Pragmatic Play game, but confirm it in the lobby first. Ladbrokes gives up to 500 no-wagering spins (50 a day for 10 days) on selected games after £10 on slots, 10bet offers a 100% match up to £25 with 10x wagering on slots within 3 days, and PlayOJO gives 80 no-wagering spins on Big Bass Bonanza after a £10 first deposit. 18+, T&Cs apply.

18+. Gambling should be entertainment that costs money, not a way to make it. Set a deposit limit before you play: how to set limits. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.