Kong’s Temple Slot

Not heard of Merkur Gaming before? Well, no surprise there. This software company is owned by the same organisation that owns Blueprint Gaming. Formally called the Gauselmann Group, they recently changed its name to the Merkur Group. 

If you’ve not heard of Blueprint before, then simply put, they are one of the top five software companies in the business. You could say that Blueprint is the child that Merkur Group is proud of, while Merkur Gaming is that slower kind of child that isn’t anyone's favourite. I stand by this claim because Merkur Gaming has made as much impact in the industry as a wet fish. 

So far, this is really boring information, but this is purposeful because this is exactly the quality you will get from playing Kong’s Temple and any other game by them at top slot sites. I have now primed you for this slot review about Kong’s Temple, and you will now get through all 1,500 words without dying of boredom. 

Kong’s Temple comes with a classic 5x3 slot layout. As you can probably imagine, the theme is designed around the character of Kong the ape. Here, we have a dark, moody game by design with golds and greens, as the slot is set in the deep jungle, with parts of the Kong temple framing the top part of the reels.

With Merkur, it’s all style over substance. The symbol graphics are amazingly detailed. And fair play to them. The Kong animation in the symbol is really good, and he sits there huffing and puffing. What they get right is the lighting, and if there was an award for this, then bravo, Merkur, you get it. 

Then you hear the sounds they use for their games, Kong’s Temple being no different. Think early 90s gaming, with awful-sounding bops, dinks, whizzes, beeping, and lord knows what else. But there is more to a game than just the sound. 

When you load Kong’s Temple, the game will default to a price of $1.25 per spin. You can change the total bet value as it ranges from $0.25 up to $15.

There are 25 payline in this game that cannot be adjusted. Wins are produced by landing three or more matching symbols. That said, two of the fruit or flower symbols will payout if landing on a payline. The payline patterns are visible at the beginning of the game but are not featured in the paytable. 

You can start the game by pressing the spin button, though there is an option to play with auto spins. Auto play allows you to set the number of plays, the loss limit, or the win limit.

From the design of the game, you can spot one of the in-game features along the top of the reels. Here, you have a multiplier counter. X2, x3, and x4 on all wins. For every Kong symbol that lands, the multiplier counter will be charged — one Kong = x2 multiplier, two Kongs = x3 multiplier, and three Kong symbols = x4 multiplier. 

The big bonus feature is the free games bonus round. The temple is the scatter symbol, and if you land three, you get 15 free spins; four temples give you 20 free spins, and five temples give you a huge 25 free spins. Now, during the free games, the Kong symbol adds a multiplier. However, in the bonus round, these are greater in size — one Kong = x4 multiplier, two Kongs = x6 multiplier, and three Kongs = x8 multiplier.

My experience was brief. I have learned from past mistakes and know that no game by Merkur could ever sway me differently in my opinion of them. I played the game in demo mode; never would I give them the pleasure of making me lose with my real money. 

I put the total bet value to $5 per spin and played 50 spins. As the game begins, I take pleasure in gently tapping on the mute button.  With 20 spins left, I landed 15 free games with wins at x2 multiplier minimum. I ended the bonus round with a win of $118.40.

With my remaining base game spins played, I still ended in the red despite the bonus game winnings. There is something that irks me about this game. Perhaps it’s that very old style of play and design (except for their exquisite detail and lighting). It’s 2024, and Merkur is making games like it's 1994. 

Kong’s Temple comes with an RTP score of 96.05%. The volatility of the game comes in at medium. Now, the volatility at this level is a good thing. I believe it’s the best because you get a more even balance of gaming. When you play low volatility, you win frequently, but the returns are often less than the price of the spin. High volatility makes it hard to win at all, though large returns can be made after many spins. With medium volatility, you have this fairer balance of play.

The maximum potential payout from a single win is $250,000. However, you will have to spin the reels at a cost of $15 for this to be achievable. It is very rare to mind medium volatility games carrying a payout value like this, so even though the game says this, I’m somewhat dubious. 

I’m more of a Godzilla kind of guy, so this overgrown monkey can do one. That’s just my opinion, which is why the good folks at Casinos.com provide their readers with a free-to-play demo game. Am I wrong? Does Kong’s Temple strike a chord within you? If you like the game and you'd play it at the best casino sites, then so be it, but if you want a proper Kong game, then I highly recommend these alternatives that get it right. 

I say this with glee because Blueprint Gaming does Kong justice with their progressive jackpot game King Kong Cash™. Then you have Kong: The 8^th Wonder of the World™ by Playtech—and lastly, King Kong Fury™ by NextGen.