Rise of Atlantis 2: Slot Overview

Pop 'why do movie sequels suck' into an internet search bar, and you'll get numerous results related to a phenomenon some have dubbed 'sequelitis'. Not all movie sequels fall flat, though. Some which have been deemed better than the original, according to an IMDB poll, are Terminator 2, The Empire Strikes Back, The Dark Knight, The Godfather Part II, and Aliens. Interestingly, when it comes to online slots, sequels often tend to be quite successful. Not always, but think of Dead or Alive 2, Money Train 2, or Coin Quest 2, where software developers have taken a good idea back to the drawing board, maybe taken on player suggestions, and come up with something to eclipse the original.

It's in this positive frame of mind we hit up Rise of Atlantis 2, a sequel created by provider Blueprint Gaming to Rise of Atlantis (2023). The original, well, it was very close to Pragmatic Play's popular slot, Gates of Olympus – both are scatter-paying slots featuring a god from Ancient Greek belief, with an additive multiplier element. All of this returns for Rise of Atlantis 2, as do several new devices that expand the gameplay. For Rise of Atlantis 2, as before, Poseidon and his trident float next to the gaming grid in an underwater domain, which looks like Atlantis, before it has arisen. Poseidon and his realm are an online slot staple, and Blueprint Gaming has created another good-looking rendition. There's not much about the view we haven't seen before on numerous occasions, but nothing eye-hurting resides here either.

Rise of Atlantis 2 provides players with several ways of approaching the game. This includes picking a regular stake of 20 p/c to £/€20 per paid spin, an Extra Bet, and three feature buys. When playing 'normally', the default RTP is 96.01%, increasing to 96.03% when using the Extra Bet and dropping to 96% when buying any of the feature buys. Activating the Extra Bet increases the stake by 25%, increasing the chance of triggering a bonus. With medium-high volatility, the action takes place on a 6x5 grid, which can grow to 6x8 in certain circumstances.

As mentioned, Rise of Atlantis 2 is a scatter paying slot. This means that a win is created when at least 8 matching symbols land in view in any position on the reels. Winning symbols are removed, and symbols tumble down to fill the empty spaces. When no new wins are formed, the cascade sequence ends. More or less, the same pay symbols have returned for the sequel. This means 4 gemstones as the low pays, followed by a column, a pot of riches, a trident, a crown, and Poseidon as the high pays. Values-wise, an 8-9 OAK hit awards 0.25 to 10 times the bet, while a 12+ scatter win is worth 2 to 50 times the bet. Rise of Atlantis 2 does not have a wild symbol.

The features Rise of Atlantis 2 does have are Rising Multipliers, Poseidon's Call, free spins, and the bonus buy.

Rising Multipliers

During the base game, Rising Multipliers may trigger and appear on the reels in random positions, displaying a value of x2 to x100. When no more winning combinations appear, all Rising Multiplier values in view are added together and applied to the total win. When wins have been processed, Rising Multiplier symbols move one step up from their current positions until eventually moving off the grid.

Poseidon's Call

On any spin, when a winning cascade is achieved in the base game, on the next spin, there is a chance the grid is increased by +1 additional row of symbols. On the next spin, if a winning cascade is achieved, then there is a chance on the following spin the grid will grow by +1 row again, and so on, up to a maximum of 8 rows high. If no win is achieved during a spin, then the grid returns to its default 6x5 size. If free spins trigger on a spin where the grid has expanded, the bonus round starts from the triggering reel height.

Free Spins

In the base game, landing 4, 5, or 6 scatters awards 12, 15, or 20 free spins, respectively. During free spins, Rising Multipliers on the grid increase their values each time they move up a position. As before, when no more wins occur, the total of all Rising Multipliers in view is applied to the win. In free spins, Rising Multipliers can have values of up to x1,000.

After any winning spin, an extra row of symbols is added to the grid, which persists until the feature ends. The maximum grid size remains 6x8. Also, the round may be extended by landing 3, 4, 5, or 6 scatters, awarding an extra 5, 7, 10, or 15 free spins, respectively.

Buy Bonus

The bonus buy menu has three different options that players can choose from. These are:

  • Regular free spins for 125x the bet.
  • Ultimate Rise – 375x the bet for free spins with enhanced multipliers.
  • Poseidon's Fury – 625x the bet for free spins with enhanced multipliers and max grid active.

Rise of Atlantis 2: Slot Verdict

As far as sequels go, Rise of Atlantis 2 is an improvement over the original. Not that Rise of Atlantis was a bad game by any means - Blueprint Gaming took a winning formula, in the form of Gates of Olympus, and put a dash of individuality on it to create a fine scatter pays slot with a Greek twist. For Rise of Atlantis 2, the studio has upped the creativity levels to make a slot which wedges even greater distance between itself and its main competitors floating around out there on the market.

The new bits include Poseidon's Call, greater multiplier values, and the row adds in free spins when wins occur. When it comes to gathering as many symbols as possible to form a scatter win, then the bigger the grid, the better, as this provides, theoretically, extra space for matching symbols to land. What dampens this effect to a degree, however, is that the top winning tier is the same as the previous game at 12+ symbols, and the values are the same as before as well. Sure, players may technically get extra space when the board expands to land larger scatter wins, but it might have been nice to have boosted the effect with a more valuable win tier, perhaps. What has been severely boosted is the potential Rising Multiplier values. Where before they maxed out at x500, Rise of Atlantis 2 doubles this to a cool x1,000. This should be more than enough to blow up scatter values. At the game's upper limits, Rise of Atlantis 2's wins are capped at 10,000x.

In any case, putting the technical debates aside for a moment, having a scatter pays slot take place on an expandable grid with the possibility of landing quad-digit multipliers is just a straight-up fun idea for those who like this style. Certainly, anyone who got a kick out of Rise of Atlantis numero uno, or its several competitors, will likely get a kick out of playing Rise of Atlantis 2, as well, maybe an even greater kick.