Phoenix Graveyard Slot Review

Phoenix Graveyard Slot RTP, Details & Wager Limits

The Phoenix Graveyard slot begins with 5 reels, 3 rows and 243 ways to win. Winning combinations are formed by landing 3, 4 or 5 matching symbols on adjacent reels beginning from the leftmost reel. Symbols can appear on any position on each reel so just successive reels are needed.

Available to play from 20p to £100 a spin, look out for the Coins icon below the reels. When clicked on, all available bet options are shown. You should also go to the Settings section where Quick Play is available (not in the UK though). Finally, you have an Auto Spin function which again isn’t available to UK players.

The Phoenix Graveyard RTP is 95%. Lower than the 96% average for an online slot game, it’s the standard return rate for all ELK Studios slots since 2021. The volatility is high (8/10) with the hit frequency rate at 23%. The latter means a winning combination will land on average every 4.34 spins.

The maximum exposure is 10,000 x your total bet. This is the most you can win per spin. This is also the amount offered in many other ELK Studios games. The exception, for the better, is Nitropolis 3, which comes with 50,000 x stake max wins.

Theme – rise from the ashes

With a death theme, the Phoenix Graveyard slot is set in Phoenix Town which is run by a corrupt mayor and his wife. The inhabitants who do not obey their rules will get a visit from the Grim Reaper. The latter is a character that personifies Death and is known to collect a person’s soul which results in their death.

The graphics are dark and set in an olde worlde style town. With an eerie soundtrack, the visuals are high definition. Lower value symbols include A, K, Q and J which are gothic style. The high value symbols are represented by a guitar playing character, the mayor and the mayor’s wife. The mayor is the best paying symbol giving you 1, 2 or 4 times your total stake for 3, 4 or 5 on a payline.

Phoenix Graveyard comes with 3 wild symbols. There’s a Grim Reaper walking wild which sets off a whole series of events (more details below). Then you have the Phoenix Wild symbol which substitutes for all symbols above. As you’ll discover below, it jumps to a new location during respins and free spins. There’s also a Feather Wild which appears during 1 of the bonus features. Finally, there is also a bonus symbol which activates free spins.

Symbol	Payouts/Info
J	3, 4 or 5 = 0.2, 0.4 or 0.6 x stake
Q	3, 4 or 5 = 0.25, 0.5 or 0.75 x stake
K	3, 4 or 5 = 0.3, 0.6 or 0.9 x stake
A	3, 4 or 5 = 0.4, 0.8 or 1.2 x stake
Guitar Playing Character	3, 4 or 5 = 0.5, 1 or 1.5 x stake
Mayor's Wife	3, 4 or 5 = 0.75, 1.5 or 2.25 x stake
Mayor	3, 4 or 5 = 1, 2 or 4 x stake
Grim Reaper Wild	Substitutes, awards respins + shifts
Phoenix Wild	Substitutes + awards battle when adjacent to Grim Reaper
Feather Wild	Substitutes + transforms into Phoenix Wild
Bonus	3+ triggers Bonus Game feature

Phoenix Graveyard Mobile

The Phoenix Graveyard slot game is available to play on multiple devices. With ELK Studios focusing on mobile players, the HTML5 technology allows for play on iOS, Android and Windows technology. As standard, it can be played on tablets, laptops and PCs. With the potential for millions of ways to win, I would advise a laptop or PC to get the full visual experience.

Phoenix Graveyard Bonus Features

The Phoenix Graveyard slot benefits from 4 bonus features. With random slices of symbols for more ways to win, the Grim Reaper gives you respins and slices adjacent symbols for more ways to win. The Grim Reaper is a walking wild and shifts left with each respin. This will contain a multiplier equal to the number of symbols in the tombstone. If it appears next to a Phoenix Wild, they battle to double multipliers or give you another Phoenix Wild for more respins. This applies in the free spins where you can begin with up to 3 Phoenix Wilds on the reels.

Sudden Death feature

The Sudden Death feature is randomly triggered. Basically, random slicing of symbol positions will increase the number of ways to win. A paying symbol appears in a tombstone that expands to fill of each of the positions within that tombstone. This can lead to millions of ways to win. Keep tabs with the number on the left-hand side of the reels.

Respins feature

Look out for the Grim Reaper symbol which is a walking wild. When he appears on reels 3, 4 or 5, he will trigger the Respins feature. He then slices high value symbols that are adjacent (above, below, left and right). A respin is then awarded and the Grim Reaper Wild walks 1 reel left. The expanded number of ways to win will apply to all future respins.

Before the first walk, a wild multiplier equal to the number of symbols on the tombstone will be applied, if any. The process repeats itself until the Grim Reaper Wild walks out from the leftmost reel. The Grim Reaper can appear randomly on reel 5 for extra respins. Multiple Grim Reapers can appear too.

Furthermore, the Grim Reaper can attack a Phoenix Wild (if adjacent). A battle then occurs with 1 of the following outcomes:

A Feather Wild will transform into a Phoenix Wild on the next respin or free spin when a wild multiplier from the tombstone is applied (if any). It then jumps to a new position.

Bonus Game feature

The Bonus Game feature is triggered when 3, 4 or 5 bonus symbols land anywhere on the reels. 3, 4 or 5 will award 6, 8 or 10 free spins with 1, 2 or 3 Phoenix Wild symbols respectively.

The awarded Phoenix Wilds will spawn at any position of the triggering bonus symbols and give you a wild multiplier equal to the number of symbol in that position. This is before it jumps to a new position. On every respin and free spin, the Phoenix Wild jumps to a new position. Finally, you can win additional free spins and play with 20 free spins in total.

X-iter feature

Like with all newer ELK Studios slots, there’s an X-iter feature. With 5 game modes, you get access to special spins or extras. This option isn’t available to UK players. Here’s what the modes entail:

Phoenix Graveyard Review Summary – slice your way to wins

With a more sinister feel that previous ELK Studios slots, the Phoenix Graveyard slot is a different direction for the mobile-first provider. It’s welcomed though personally. The look and feel reminds me a little of Push Gaming’s Nightfall which is a positive thing.

In terms of gameplay, the Grim Reaper walking wild is key to respins and slicing of symbols which lead to more ways to win as well as multipliers. The concept is similar to the xSplit mechanic found in some Nolimit City slots such as Tombstone RIP and Punk Toilet.

I did find the bigger wins coming from the free spins but only when triggering with 4 or 5 bonus symbols. Having 2 or more Phoenix Wilds is where the real potential is. If you’re not from the UK, the bonus buy options will be appealing but aren’t cheap (200-500 x bet).

The way the tombstones work and increase the number of ways to win is similar to that used in the Nitropolis slots. In summary though, the gameplay takes elements from other ELK Studios games as well parts from other providers. I like the different direction theme wise and hopefully a sign of things to come.