Arcane Gems plays out inside the mysterious jewelry box on the desk of what we must assume is an old school explorer/adventurer. The Mediterranean sea chart certainly looks ancient enough to be from the 1800s, and so does the navigation equipment next to the treasure box. Quickspin has in no way invented the wheel with this game (or should we say “the reel”), but it has a few interesting features that combine well, although it could have been even better with a real bonus round to top it all off.
The 3D visuals are neatly done, and the game comes with 5 reels, 3 rows and 9 ways to win. The reels are filled with precious gems, and you can place bets between 10p and £50 per spin across all platforms and handheld devices. HTML5 technology makes mobile and tablet play a breeze, and you’ll feel the whiff of ancient times when there were still new continents and things to discover on this planet. The gameplay is rather simple and straightforward though, and it’s really all about the blending of the Arcane Locked Win Respins feature and the Arcane Reel Multipliers.
Arcane means something that is mysterious and “understood by few”, and it’s hard to understand why Quickspin has decided to exclude a bonus game or free spins feature here. Having something to look forward to keeps the motivation and morale up, but instead you will simply get sticky winning symbol respins with the occasional random reel multiplier between 2x and 5x. Granted, the medium volatile game can dish out wins above 5,000x, which is pretty impressive, but after a while the gameplay just feels kind of dull and soporific.
This is in no way a feature heavy game, but what you find in terms of bonus features is still somewhat interesting. Quickspins has done similar things before, but it’s done in a unique way here due to the 3D visuals. We’ll start with the Arcane Lock Respins feature, as this is the mechanics that’s defining for this game.
The Arcane Lock is triggered whenever you land a winning combo, and it elevates the highest paying winning symbols above the reels and locks them in place. Any other lower value winning combo will then be summed up and paid, before you get a respin for all the remaining symbols that are not locked. If the respin lands at least one new symbol that matches the locked symbols, you get another respin. This goes on as long as you keep landing new identical symbols anywhere in view, and in the end a total win calculation sums up your payout.
But wait, there is yet another twist to this tale. There is also an Arcane Multiplier feature that becomes active every time you fill a reel with the locked symbol. Above each reel you’ll see a circular display with a glowing blue X in the middle. This X will turn into a randomly assigned multiplier between 2x and 5x when you fill a reel with locked symbols.
If you get more than one active win multiplier, these will be added together and boost your total win. Please note that we said added together, and not multiplied with each other. This means that the maximum Arcane Multiplier you can benefit from is 25x, but this requires a 5x multiplier on all 5 reels at the same time.
You will not find any kind of free spins feature or bonus round in Arcane Gems slot, as the focus is solely on the Arcane Lock Respins feature and the Reel Multipliers. These mechanics are interesting enough to keep you going for a while, but it would have been nice with some kind of bonus game or free spins feature to look forward to also.
If you have played a Quickspin slot from before, you pretty much know how it works. The game interface is very characteristic and recognizable with its mix of orange and white colors, and it’s easy and intuitive to use. Experienced punters might wanna skim through this section, or skip to the next, but beginners and new players should probably read through it.
You can start by checking out the game settings via the gear icon down to the left. Here you can turn off the splash screen if you don’t want to see it anymore when you start the game. You can also turn off/on the game sound, and decide if you want to be able to use the spacebar to spin the reels.
Next, you can click the hamburger menu right above the gear icon, as this opens up the paytable. Here you can read a brief description of how each of the 2 bonus features work, and also check out the symbol values. The paytable is dynamic, which means that the symbol values will change according to your chosen total stake.
The ? icon in the hamburger menu takes you into the game rules. All the details about the game is presented here in a formal and straightforward way, and some game stats are also revealed. Not the most interesting read perhaps, but it can be useful at times. You can also check out the game history, and replay old wins via the third and last icon in the hamburger menu.
You toggle on the fast play option (or should we say “quick spin”) via the double arrow icon right next to the spin button. We always go with this option, as we enjoy fast-paced gameplay. Finally, you can choose your bet level between 10p and £50, and set up the autoplay feature with between 10 and 1,000 autospins. The advanced option lets you choose a loss and win limit for the autospins to stop, or you can simply choose to spin the reels manually and “old school”.
Quickspin has a high status both among players and operators, and it does not take long before most notable casinos have any new game they come up with in their arsenal. You will have no trouble finding a decent casino where you can play this game, and we’ll point you in the right direction here. First off, you need to decide if you want to play the free demo game first, or if you feel ready for the real deal. Either way, we have great solutions for you right here.
Since Arcane Gems is not exactly a complicated game, most players with a bit of casino experience will have no problem getting right into it. Since we scan the whole casino market on a daily basis, you’ll find the absolute best overview of casinos that carry this game right here on this page. Simply follow the link to the top of the review, and you can pick and choose where toplay Arcane Gems slot with a nice welcome bonus.
Even if you do have experience playing online slots, it can still be a good idea to check out the free demo version of the game first, before you risk anything from your own pocket. Getting familiar with the game up front never hurts, and it gives you more confidence when you start to spin the reels for real. We have the free game installed right here on top of this page. Just follow the link up there, andtest Arcane Gems demo gamerisk free right away.
Whenever Quickspin cooks up a new game, we’re always excited and eager to check it out. A medium volatile slot with a solid potential certainly sounds interesting, but will it live up to the hype in our 200 spins test run? Only those who read on will know, but please keep in mind that our results are subjective, and not to be mistaken for a billion spin test run that the developers themselves perform.
We kept the default stake of £1 per spin, and loaded up the autoplay feature with our first 100 spins in eager anticipation. Every 5 spin, or so, we would land a winning combo, while the rest were dead spins. Usually, the Arcana Lock Respins that followed did not really amount to all that much. We got the 4x and 5x multipliers a few times in our first 100 spins, but the payouts were still nothing to write home about.
The game has a nice flow to it most of the time, but the pause as the elevated winning symbols are reset is a bit annoying after a while. You just want a new spin to start already, and not get that break in the flow ever so often. With no bonus game or free spins feature to look forward to, we have to say that the gameplay experience became a bit monotone after a while.
Our biggest win came towards the end of our session, as we almost filled the screen with a royal symbol gemstone. This gave us two 2x multipliers, but the win summed up to “only” 20.8x our stake in the end. The game made quite a big deal out of it, and called it a “big win”, but it felt more like a big loss to us, as we were down around £100 when the final dead spin rolled in. We certainly hope your beginner’s luck is better than ours was with Arcane Gems.
The Respin Locking Win feature (called Arcane Lock in this game) is nothing new, although the 3D elevation of the symbols gives the feature a fresh look here. Even combined with the reel multipliers, it’s not quite enough to carry this game. With no bonus round to look forward to, it does not take all that long before the monotony of the gameplay becomes somewhat tedious.
It’s not exactly a bad game either, and if you prefer simpler games this might light up your day, but we feel that the game somehow pretends to be innovative, when it’s really not. There are better alternatives out there, including from Quickspin themselves (as we shall take a closer look at below), but the upside here is the solid 5,625x potential combined with medium volatility.
Pros
Cons
The defining feature of this game is the Respin Locking Win feature, and as we mentioned above, there is no shortage of games with this feature out there (click the feature tag in the right-hand side menu to see for yourself). We’ll present you with some very good alternatives here, if this is a feature you enjoy. Not all the games we recommend will have multipliers, or as high a max win potential as Arcane Gems does though, so keep that in mind.
Jack Hammer- can soon celebrate its 10-year anniversary, which is an impressive feat in this business. The follow-up game is quite similar, but with a lower potential, which is why we recommend the original. The private eye hero is still going strong, and you’ll see winning symbols become sticky as the rest of the reels respin. Jack Hammer includes a free spins bonus round with up to 30 spins, which keeps the game in proper balance. Wins up to 3,000x your stake is possible here, which is very solid for a low volatility slot.
Wild Cauldron- is the best Quickspin alternative we know if you’re looking for a Respin Locking Win feature combined with a massive 21,199x potential. The game has plenty of engaging features, as well as a progressive multiplier that can go all the way to 20x in the bonus round (7x in the base game) via the tumbling win reel expansion feature. You need to brace yourself for brutal volatility though, but this game is really a must try.
Mega Flip- is inspired by the classic fruit slots, but it comes with a somewhat unusual 2-2-3-3-4-4 reel setup. There is an 80’s arcade vibe resting over this game, and it comes with a sticky winning symbols respin feature, as well as a bonus round that flips the whole reel setup horizontally. Wins up to 5,493x your stake is possible, and this is a highly volatile game from Relax Gaming.
