Just In: Lara Croft Temples and Tombs Slot

Microgaming and Square Enix unveil the new Lara Croft slot machine, Temples and Tombs.

Fifteen long years ago, Microgaming entered into a brand development contract with Square Enix Ltd. Together, they built the world’s very first license-branded online slot machine, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. It went live in 2004, and was an instant success; like nothing the iGaming world had ever seen before.

In 2008, the two brought us a sequel, Tomb Raider: Secret of the Sword. It was another phenomenal success, becoming even more popular than the first. Then in January of this year, Microgaming and Square Enix got together one more time.

The duo announced a new collaboration to celebrate the 15 year anniversary of their partnership – the longest running licensing agreement in the business. And last weekend, their efforts came to fruition with the highly anticipated release of Lara Croft Temples and Tombs.

New Lara Croft Slot Machine, Temples & Tombs

In this latest, 2019 edition of the famous slots series, the fiercely independent explorer, Lara Croft, is at it again, digging her way through ancient relics and buried treasures in search of unfathomable riches, all of which can be found hiding within the 5×3 reels of this 243-ways-to-win slot machine.

The game carries a 5000x jackpot, rolling reels, free spins and multipliers, all wrapped up in a thick, familiar plot – everything a true slot fan desires. Lara herself makes up all of the high-paying symbols, followed with a pair of golden idol busts in the middle, and her tools of the trade on the lower end of the spectrum (grappling hook, bag, torch and canteen).

Triple Edge Studios – by far my favorite exclusive supplier for Microgaming’s Quickfire platform – did an amazing job. Phenomenal graphics and a befitting musical score bring it all together as Lara triggers various features to increase the payout potential of this new Lara Croft game.

Online Slot Features

The first feature you’re sure to activate is Rolling Reels. Whenever a winning combination is lined up left to right, all symbols involved in the win explode. The reels roll downward, dropping new symbols into place and potentially creating an unlimited stream of new wins. Each consecutive win increases the win multiplier in the following order; 1x, 2x, 3x, 5x.

The golden scarab beetle is the wild, substituting for all standard symbols, and even scatters. Each time the Rolling Reels feature is triggered, any wilds involved in the win are collected in a special jackpot pouch. As the pouch fills with more wild coins, the odds of randomly triggering a jackpot grow larger. When the Jackpot Feature triggers, one of three jackpots – Minor (15x bet), Major (100x bet) or Grand (5,000x bet) – will be awarded.

The leather-bound Lara Croft book is the scatter symbol, awarding 8 Free Spins when 3 or appear on the reels. Wilds can substitute for scatters in triggering free games, which can be re-triggered during the feature.

Last but not least, the new Lara Croft online slot comes with a high variance, a 96.05% RTP, and a max payout per spin of 146,000 coins. It seems like more and more high-profile slot machines are equipped with high volatility these days, making them more appealing to big spenders than casual players. But I have to commend the combined efforts of Microgaming, Square Enix, and especially Triple Edge Studios, for bringing this epic theme to life all over again.