Play Demo
Before the first spin, a book falls open on screen. A narrator begins in a foreign tongue, the words unclear but the story readable in the illustrations. Ryze defending a mountain of treasure, driving off the threat, shutting the lid of the chest and settling on top of it. The game opens exactly where the story ends, with Ryze perched on the treasure chest to the left of the grid, guarding what he just fought to keep. Twelve seconds of scene-setting, then it’s done. By the time the grid loads, you know where you are and who’s in charge of the gold.
Ryze 2 is Elk Studios expanding on their 2024 cluster slot with a seventh row, six Orbs positioned on the grid frame, and a new Orb Overload that fires when all six activate in a single round. The core remains unchanged. Avalanches, Multiplier Wilds, merging Coins. More surface area, one new system layered on top.
Ryze 2 runs on a 7-row grid with columns alternating between 6 and 5 symbols wide, in a 6-5-6-5-6-5-6 pattern. Symbols don’t fall straight down when a cluster wins. The offset layout means they slide left or right as they settle, filling gaps diagonally rather than vertically. Five or more identical symbols connected horizontally or vertically form a winning cluster. Winning symbols explode and the remaining pieces fall to fill the spaces; if a new cluster forms from the resettled board, the Avalanche continues. Each bet equals 100 coins, worth keeping in mind when using the X-iter.
Every winning cluster of payout symbols, not Coins, creates a x1 Multiplier Wild in one of the vacant positions left after the win. That Wild increases its multiplier value by 1 for every payout or Coin symbol in the next winning cluster it joins. Multiple Multiplier Wilds landing in the same cluster don’t sit separately; their values increase individually and then merge into a single Wild carrying the combined total. The Multiplier Wild substitutes for all symbols except Bonus and Burst.
Coin symbols carry a value expressed as a multiple of the bet. When a Coin cluster wins, its aggregate value pays out and a new Coin is left behind carrying that combined total, so Coins compound across Avalanches rather than disappearing. A cluster of solely Coin symbols doesn’t generate a Multiplier Wild. When a winning Coin cluster sits adjacent to Multiplier Wilds, their combined multiplier value is applied to the total Coin payout, which is where the large single-round figures come from.
Burst symbols are blockers that sit dormant on the grid until nothing more can happen in a round. At that point they activate, transforming themselves and adjacent pay symbols into a matching payout type or into Coins. Bonus symbols, other Burst symbols, Coin symbols and Multiplier Wilds are not affected. A Burst symbol sitting adjacent to a dormant Orb when it activates powers that Orb, connecting the Burst directly into the Orb Overload system.
Six Orbs sit in recessed positions on the grid’s frame, three on each side. A dormant Orb activates when a winning cluster forms adjacent to it, or when a Burst symbol activates next to it. Activate all six in a single round, and an Orb Overload triggers at the end of that round. Each Orb fires one at a time, performing a randomly assigned power from six options — Spawn Coin, Spawn Wild, Symbol Shift, Empower Wild, Spawn Burst, and Spawn Greater Wild. After the Overload, all Orbs reset to dormant and can be activated again in the same round if clusters continue forming. In the Super Bonus, every drop begins with an automatic Orb Overload regardless of whether the Orbs were individually activated.
A Bonus symbol reaching the bottom row of the grid triggers the Bonus game with 7 drops. During the round, Multiplier Wilds stay sticky between drops rather than clearing. Each additional Bonus symbol reaching the bottom adds 3 more drops. Land a Super Bonus symbol at the bottom during the Bonus game, and it upgrades to the Super Bonus, which can also trigger directly from standard play. Every drop in the Super Bonus begins with an Orb Overload, meaning the six Orb powers fire before clusters are even evaluated.
Five X-iter options are available. Bonus Hunt costs 2.5x stake for a spin with more than four times the normal chance of triggering the Bonus or Super Bonus. Mega Bonus Hunt costs 5x stake for more than eight times the trigger chance. Orb Overload costs 50x stake to fire an instant Orb Overload. The standard Bonus buy costs 100x stake for guaranteed entry to the Bonus game. Super Bonus costs 500x stake for guaranteed entry with each drop beginning with an Orb Overload and Multiplier Wilds remaining sticky throughout. Running a free play session through the Bonus Hunt options first gives a clear read on how the Orb system behaves before committing to a full buy.
Winning requires five or more identical symbols touching horizontally or vertically. Diagonal connections don’t count. Only the largest contiguous cluster of any symbol type is paid; if two separate groups of the same symbol sit on the board without connecting, only the bigger one registers. The total number of matching symbols in the winning cluster determines the payout tier, stepping up at 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15+ symbols.
Bets range from $0.20 to $100 per spin, with each spin costing 100 coins. Autoplay is available in batches of 10, 25, 50 or 100 spins. Any round ends immediately once the total win reaches 10,000x the stake, with all winnings up to that point paid out.
Values at a $1.00 stake, before Multiplier Wild values are applied.
| Symbol | 15+ | 12–14 | 10–11 | 8–9 | 6–7 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Gem | $10.00 | $4.00 | $2.50 | $1.50 | $1.00–$1.25 | $0.75 |
| Purple Gem | $5.00 | $2.50 | $1.20 | $0.60 | $0.35–$0.40 | $0.30 |
| Green Gem | $4.00 | $2.00 | $1.00 | $0.50 | $0.30–$0.35 | $0.25 |
| Blue Gem | $3.00 | $1.50 | $0.90 | $0.40 | $0.25–$0.30 | $0.20 |
| Gold Coin | $2.00 | $1.00 | $0.50 | $0.25 | $0.15–$0.20 | $0.10 |
| Silver Coin | $1.50 | $0.80 | $0.40 | $0.20 | $0.10–$0.15 | $0.05 |
| Bronze Coin | $1.50 | $0.80 | $0.40 | $0.20 | $0.10–$0.15 | $0.05 |
Coin symbols in the paytable refer to the three medal-style pay symbols, not the hexagonal Coin mechanic symbols which carry their own bet-multiple values. The RTP of 94.0% sits notably below the industry average of around 96%.
Ryze 2 does not reinvent what made the original work. Multiplier Wilds, merging Coins, Burst symbols and the offset gravity grid are all still here, running much as before. What is new is the seventh row and the Orb Overload mechanic built around it, which push the sequel into more elaborate territory than its predecessor occupied. The 94.0% RTP is a genuine consideration, and experienced players are likely to feel it across longer sessions at standard stakes. Even so, the visual quality is exceptional, the feature depth is real, and players who take the time to understand what they are spinning will find a cluster game that rewards that attention.
Standard play has a distinct rhythm. Pressing spin sends the entire grid downward, with symbols dropping through a fire pit beneath the reels as chains grind and clank while hauling the board away, before a fresh set drops in from above. Ryze marks the bigger moments himself. His eyes light up to zap the grid, his tail strikes the treasure chest, and fire sweeps across the reels between drops. These animations are more than decoration. They arrive at key feature moments, changing the feel of watching a cascade sequence unfold.
Once that rhythm settles in, the Avalanche format goes to work. A five-symbol red gem cluster forms, explodes, new symbols slide into place on the offset grid, and another cluster emerges from the resettled board. Multiplier Wilds begin to appear, starting at x1 and climbing as later cascades pass through them. When two Wilds end up in the same winning cluster, they don’t sit alongside each other; their values increase individually first, then combine into a single Wild carrying the merged total. Our sessions saw merges reach x128 in regular play, the product of several long cascade chains feeding through the same position.
Both bonus modes were tested, and the shift is clearly signalled. The background turns orange, lava runs at the edges, warm light pours through the stone arches, and the remaining drop count glows inside a fiery orb beneath the grid. The regular Bonus cost $100 and returned $97, close to even, with the Multiplier Wilds staying sticky across all seven drops and a couple of Bonus scatters extending the count.
Later, the Super Bonus was bought for $500 at the same stake. The difference is immediate and structural. Every drop begins with an Orb Overload, so before the first cluster is even evaluated, up to six grid modifications have already fired. Watching that sequence unfold, powers triggering one by one, new symbols spawning, and a Wild being empowered mid-sequence, is the centrepiece experience the game is built around. The round returned $128.80, which is well short of the buy-in, and a useful reminder of what 94% RTP and high volatility look like when it cuts the wrong way. The feature itself held up; the maths just didn’t cooperate.
Ryze 2 will suit players who want to understand what they are spinning and watch a system unfold. Go in with the rules read and a budget for the X-iter, and expect the 94% RTP to be felt over longer sessions in standard play.
Six drops remaining in the Super Bonus, an Orb power mid-sequence and Ryze keeping a close eye on proceedings.
$128.80 from a $500 Super Bonus buy — a below-breakeven result that still delivered a memorable round.
