Kraken's Cove (Relax Gaming) Slot Review

Kraken’s Cove (Relax Gaming): Slot Overview 

With Kraken’s Cove, released on January 8, 2025, Relax Gaming dives back into aquatic territory, blending charm and chaos in a pirate-themed adventure that rides the waves of earlier releases like Plunderland and Dead Man’s Trail. But where those titles leaned darker or more dramatic, Kraken’s Cove brings a lighter, more whimsical tone, mixing cutesy aesthetics with an impressively volatile math model. 

Set on a 7×7 cluster-pays grid, Kraken’s Cove is a vibrant slot with medium-high volatility, 96.10% RTP, and a whopping max win of 10,000x your stake. It features a robust mix of bonus mechanics, including an evolving Ship Wild, a gamble feature, and highly interactive free spins, making it an engaging ride for both casual players and seasoned gamblers.

Design and Graphics 

Visually, Kraken’s Cove is a colorful spectacle of cheerful ocean vibes with a dash of eerie charm. While the intro shows a terrifying Kraken bursting out of the sea, the tone quickly pivots to fun and playful. The 7×7 grid floats above bright, crystal-clear water, surrounded by miniature islands, cartoon pirate paraphernalia, and charming sea creatures. It’s like Dead Man’s Trail met a children’s picture book—with a Kraken hiding beneath the surface.Symbols are a blend of card suits (hearts, spades, clubs, diamonds) for low pays, and quirky pirate items for premiums—like ship wheels, hats, bottles of Kraken Juice, and treasure chests. Animations are smooth, particularly during wins where symbols explode off the grid, and others cascade down in their place. 

The evolving Ship Wild, which grows in size and gains multipliers, is both a visual centerpiece and mechanical powerhouse, drawing the player’s focus to the grid’s center hot spot.

Gameplay Mechanics 

At its core, Kraken’s Cove is a cluster pays slot. Wins are formed by landing 5 or more matching symbols in a connected cluster, either vertically or horizontally. Winning clusters explode, clearing space for new symbols to cascade down—allowing for chains of wins within a single spin. 

A unique twist comes via the hot spot in the center of the grid. The game’s key mechanic, the Ship Wild, is aimed at this area and builds tension as it attempts to land there and unleash its full power. 

There’s a strong progression feel to the base game: 

Coins are collected from Wild Chest symbols, which help expand the Ship Wild’s size. 

Each spin feels like it’s building toward something bigger, with anticipation baked directly into the gameplay. 

The pace is brisk, and although wins may appear modest early on, the mechanics work synergistically to increase potential—especially when multipliers start stacking.

Sound and Music 

Kraken’s Cove blends light-hearted sound design with subtle suspense. The background music features upbeat pirate shanty tones, punctuated by watery plops, coin jingles, and cannon-fire effects when big wins hit. 

Tension builds when the Ship Wild is close to reaching the hot spot or when entering the free spins gamble screen, where spinning wheels and rising orchestration make you feel like you’re wagering treasure rather than credits. 

The overall audio experience is immersive and tonally appropriate, never overshadowing the gameplay but enhancing it.

Bonus Features 

Ship Wild Expansion CollectionWild Chest Symbols land with 1–5 coins. 

Collecting 5 coins increases the Ship Wild’s size (from 1×1 up to 5×5). 

Coins are collected only in the base game, and always—regardless of wins. 

This mechanic adds a progression loop that feeds directly into the Ship Wild’s potential, encouraging sustained play. 

Ship Wild 

Appears on every spin and moves 1 step toward the central hot spot after every win (whether part of the win or not). 

When it reaches the hot spot, it expands (to 2×2, 3×3, etc.) based on your upgrade progress. 

Once it creates a win, it’s removed and replaced randomly, but can reach the hot spot again in the same round. 

The Ship Wild also carries a multiplier, which increases by +1 each time it contributes to a cluster win. 

This is the most thrilling part of the game, often delivering the biggest wins—especially in free spins. 

Free Spins 

Triggered by collecting 3 scatter symbols. 

Starts with 5 free spins. 

The Ship Wild expansion progress and multiplier are persistent during the feature. 

Ship Wild multiplier increases +1 per win, compounding over spins for snowballing potential. 

This feature feels like a polished version of Plunderland‘s mechanics, with an emphasis on player-driven buildup and payoff. 

Free Spins Gamble 

Before free spins begin, players can choose to gamble for up to 20 free spins and a higher starting Ship Wild multiplier (up to x50). 

You may gamble either free spins count or multiplier value. 

Winning a gamble upgrades your level. 

Losing drops you to the next lowest tier, or back to the base game. 

This high-risk/high-reward gamble gives Kraken’s Cove an edge, offering serious rewards for bold players. 

Feature BuyBuy standard free spins for 50x your bet. 

Buy upgraded free spins for 250x, starting with a more powerful setup. 

For those who want direct access to the action, these options provide quicker routes to the game’s most exciting moments.

Betting Options and Payouts 

Kraken’s Cove accommodates all players: 

Min Bet: €0.10 

Max Bet: €100 

Key Specs: 

Grid Size: 7×7 

Paylines: Cluster Pays (5+ symbols) 

RTP: 96.10% 

Volatility: Medium/High 

Max Win: 10,000x your stake 

Symbol payouts: 

Clusters of 5 identical symbols pay 0.1x to 0.5x. 

For large clusters (32+), wins go up to 500x your bet. 

The Ship Wild multiplier can dramatically amplify total wins when involved. 

This balance of low entry stakes and high ceiling potential makes Kraken’s Cove appealing to both casual players and high-stakes thrill-seekers.

Conclusion 

Kraken’s Cove is another shining example of Relax Gaming’s creativity, blending highly interactive mechanics with a light-hearted yet thrilling theme. Borrowing elements from Plunderland while refining its wild mechanics, the game offers a journey filled with suspense, progression, and satisfying win potential. 

The Ship Wild is a masterstroke—its slow crawl toward the hot spot and evolving size/multiplier create natural tension and anticipation. Combine that with a free spins gamble, coin-collection system, and cascading clusters, and you’ve got a slot that manages to be fun, strategic, and explosive all at once. 

It’s not without its dry spells—particularly in the base game—but the reward curve feels fair, especially considering the max win of 10,000x. The cute visuals might disarm you, but this is a game that bites hard when its systems align.