Through The Waves of Fire
demo and specs

Through The Waves of Fire is a high-volatility Viking-themed video slot from Vivid Gaming, released on 27 July 2026. It runs on a 6-column, 4-row grid with 4,096 paylines and publishes an RTP of 94.67%. The maximum win is 10,000x the stake, and the bet range runs from £0.20 to £20 per spin.

The Viking theme is a crowded slot genre, but this title brings a notably dense feature list: eight named mechanics covering Free Spins, Expanding Reels, Expanding Symbols, Walking Symbols, Additive Symbols, Scatter Symbols, a Buy Feature, and Moving Wilds. That breadth points the game squarely at players who want action across multiple feature layers, not a setup built around a single bonus trigger.

The game also sits squarely at an experienced high-volatility audience rather than newcomers. A 94.67% RTP combined with a high volatility grade means casual or low-bankroll sessions are likely to feel punishing; the design rewards those who can outlast the dry periods with a proportionate session budget.

A free demo launched alongside the real-money release. It covers the full game including the base grid and feature triggers, giving anyone who wants to explore the mechanics a no-cost route before any stake is committed. The desk has not yet logged a real-money session; this preview draws entirely from Vivid Gaming's published specification.

A **10,000x** ceiling converts to £2,000 from a 20p spin and £200,000 from the £20 table maximum.

The published RTP is 94.67%. Against the rough 96% average across much of the UK market, that is a gap of around 1.3 percentage points. In long-run theory, every £100 staked returns approximately £94.67, leaving a house edge of about 5.33%. That edge is higher than most UK competitors, and it accumulates noticeably across an extended session.

RTP is a long-run average across millions of spins, not a session-by-session guarantee. In any short run, results can scatter well above or below that figure. High volatility amplifies that scatter considerably. A player through 200 base-game spins may sit far below the published average before a single feature hit reshapes the return picture.

High volatility grades, in practice, as longer stretches of small or non-paying spins followed by occasional large swings when the feature engine fires. This is structural, not a run of bad luck. High-volatility play demands more bankroll headroom relative to stake than a medium-volatility game at the same RTP, because those dry periods are part of the design rather than an aberration.

The max win of 10,000x sits toward the upper end of the high-volatility field. At the £0.20 minimum stake, the theoretical top pay is £2,000. At the £20 maximum, the same multiplier reaches £200,000. Those are mathematical limits, not regular events; the combination of 94.67% RTP and high volatility confirms they are reserved for rare, feature-stacked outcomes.

Vivid Gaming has not published a hit-rate figure for this title. The only available steer is the volatility grade: expect meaningful gaps between winning spins rather than a steady drip of small returns. A measured frequency figure will be added to the full review once the desk logs a live session.

Through The Waves of Fire packs eight named mechanics into a single session:

• Free Spins: a bonus round of complimentary spins generally triggered by scatter landings, where any enhanced grid state or active mechanics carry over for the duration of the round.
• Expanding Reels: columns or rows extend mid-round, increasing the number of live symbols and lifting the payline count above the base-game starting figure.
• Expanding Symbols: individual symbols grow to fill a full reel or a defined section of the grid, locking positions and boosting win potential across the covered area.
• Walking Symbols: symbols that shift one step across the grid with each event, typically each spin or respin, staying active until they exit the reel set entirely.
• Additive Symbols: matched symbols or values accumulate into a running total across a round rather than resetting on each evaluation, layering returns from multiple hits into one combined payout.
• Scatter Symbols: special icons that pay or trigger regardless of position; the exact scatter count required to fire the bonus round will be confirmed at the desk-play stage.
• Buy Feature: an option to purchase direct entry to the bonus round for a set stake multiplier, bypassing the base-game trigger where the option is permitted by the operator.
• Moving Wilds: wild substitutes that reposition across the grid on each spin or event rather than staying fixed, extending their substitution coverage over several consecutive spins.

The exact trigger conditions, spin counts, interaction rules, and the order in which these mechanics combine will be confirmed once the desk completes a live session. Nothing above invents specific values beyond how each mechanic category generally operates.

The Buy Feature is switched off at all UKGC-licensed casinos. UK gambling regulations prohibit licensed operators from offering bonus buy access to players. Anyone based in Great Britain must reach the free-spin round through the standard base-game route, landing the required scatter combination in the usual way.

The base grid is 6 columns by 4 rows, producing 4,096 ways to win from the outset. All 4,096 combinations are evaluated on every spin before any reel expansion activates. The Viking theme dresses the reels, but the wide starting layout is the mechanical backbone that supports the expanding and moving mechanics built on top of it.

Between feature activations, the high-volatility rhythm means the base game runs through stretches of non-paying or small-paying spins. Moving Wilds shift position each spin, so the grid is not entirely static in quieter periods. Whether those repositioning wilds connect into meaningful base-game wins with useful regularity is a session question the desk will answer on test.

The stake range is £0.20 to £20 per spin. At 20p, a 100-spin session costs £20 at minimum and gives plenty of runway to explore the mechanics, making it the sensible entry point for new players trying this on real money after the demo. At the £20 ceiling, the same 100 spins burns £2,000, which demands serious bankroll planning on a high-volatility title.

Size the stake so the dry spells do not end the session before the features arrive. As a rule for high-volatility play, a session budget of at least 100 to 150 spins at the chosen stake gives a reasonable chance of seeing the feature engine fire. Mobile compatibility is standard for a 2026 release; the 6x4 layout adapts to portrait and landscape in principle, though the desk has not yet stress-tested rendering across devices.

Through The Waves of Fire enters a well-stocked corner of the catalogue: high-volatility, Viking-themed slots with free-spin rounds and large-multiplier ceilings. The genre has several established competitors, and the field ranges widely in both ceiling size and RTP positioning. Vivid Gaming has pitched the max win at the upper end of that range, with a 10,000x theoretical top that is larger than many similarly volatility-rated rivals.

The trade is visible in the RTP. At 94.67%, this game sits on the lower side of what the broader high-volatility field offers; many direct competitors run considerably closer to the 96% mark. That gap is the cost the publisher charges for the larger ceiling, taking slightly more from each pound staked on average in order to fund the prize potential at the top.

The feature list is denser than most single-mechanic or two-mechanic competitors. Eight named mechanics, with Moving Wilds and Expanding Reels layered alongside Free Spins and Additive Symbols, suggest a more complex session than a game built solely on a free-spins trigger. Whether that density produces more frequent feature interactions or concentrates the payoff into fewer, larger events is what a hands-on session will reveal.

For players comparing options in the Viking high-volatility bracket, Through The Waves of Fire offers a higher ceiling at a wider RTP gap to the average. That is a concrete trade: more theoretical upside, higher average cost per spin, and a feature set that promises more layers than most competitors in the category. Whether the complexity pays off in practice is the question this preview cannot yet answer.

The high ceiling and eight-mechanic feature set suit a specific player profile:

• High-volatility hunters chasing the 10,000x ceiling who can bankroll extended dry runs and are not relying on consistent small returns to stay in session.
• Feature-exploration players who want to understand how Expanding Reels, Moving Wilds, and Additive Symbols interact; the free demo makes this entirely risk-free before any deposit is required.
• Mid-to-high stake players, at roughly £1 or above, who can set a session budget of at least 100 spins at the chosen stake and absorb the variance that high volatility builds in.
• Players at non-UKGC casinos who want to test the Buy Feature as a direct route into the bonus round without waiting on a base-game trigger.

Players who need an RTP at or above 96% will find better value elsewhere in the high-volatility catalogue. Casual or low-bankroll players will struggle to outlast the dry spells at any stake level. UK players at UKGC casinos should note the Buy Feature is unavailable, so the bonus round is reached only through the base-game trigger. A fully tested review, with a measured hit rate from a real-money session, will follow once the desk logs time on the reels.