Tarasque
By Print Studios
Tarasque is a stunning cluster pays slot from Print Studios set in medieval times in France and featuring a gargoyle-like monster that consumes clusters of symbols before spewing them back out onto the grid to form more wins. This is one of the most original creations we've seen in a long time and anyone who enjoys a good grid game should give it a go.
Cascading wins, a progress bar and 4 random features including random multipliers, extra wilds and morphing symbols all add to the fun. You can win up to 20,000x in this game. Spins start at 10p.
Tarasque is released on 22nd February 2024.
| Game Name | Tarasque |
|---|---|
| Developer | Print Studios |
| Theme(s) | Fantasy |
| Release Date | 22.02.24 |
| Rows | 8 |
| Reels | 8 |
| Paylines | Cluster Pays |
| Volatility | Medium-High |
| RTP Rate | 96.03% |
| Max Win | 20,000x |
| Min Bet | £0.10 |
| Format | Cluster Pays |
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Review Scorecard
What Our Reviewer Says …
It's not often that we come across a truly unique slot but this one is deserving of that description. A little complex at times but totally compelling and everyone should try it at least once!
What We Like
- Stunning design, artwork and animations rarely matched in slot games
- Clever and intricate gameplay with lots of cumulative events leading to big wins
- Progress bar fills to unlock 4 features as more wins are accumulated
- Morphing symbols can help clusters to grow
- Big 20,000x max win potential
What We Didn't Like
- Can be confusing to play at first
- High volatility means it can burn your balance fast!
- No free spins feature
Theme and Design
You've Never Seen a Slot Like It, Thats For Sure!
Tarasque is one of the most unusual slots I’ve seen in a long time. It is set in medieval times in France. The Tarasque of the title is a mythological beast with a lion’s head, bear claws, a serpent’s tail, and a turtle’s shell to protect its body. And if that wasn’t enough, it could expel poisonous breath!
In this game the Tarasque appears to terrorise the people of a peaceful town, overlooked by a castle which forms the setting for the game grid. The whole scene is overlaid on a beautifully detailed painting of the French countryside, the likes of which has never graced an online slot game before. It’s a stunning image, matched in quality by the illustrated figures in the paytable, and the tapestry-like low pay symbols that appear there too.
Despite its classical design style, this is not in fact a serious slot. There are lots of humorous animations, and a jaunty soundtrack plays throughout. Overall, top marks to Print for pushing in new directions once again.
RTP and Variance
Tarasque runs on a fixed RTP of 96.3% which can cause no complaints. It has a medium-high variance so expect quite a volatile experience with the potential to pop every now and then.
Maximum Win
The top payout is 20,000x which is average for a Print Studios game. They have been known to produce slots with higher potential like Royal Potato (30,000x) and Royal Potato 2 (40,000x) but most games come in at the 20,000x mark. If that doesn’t do it for you then I recommend you check out our list of the highest max win slots instead where you can find much higher potential.
Symbols and Paytable
Tarasque is a Cluster Pays slot which plays out on an 8x8 grid with wins triggered for landing 5 or more identical symbols in vertically or horizontally adjacent positions. The exciting part about Cluster Pays slots of course is that you can build huge clusters with mega payouts. In this instance, maxing out at 1,000x for 64 of the top paying premium.
There are 8 pay symbols in all. The low payers are the 4 leaf clover, snail, lemon and lucky horseshoe. Their values are from 0.2x for 5 4 leaf clovers up to 100x for 64 lucky horseshoes. The premium symbols are the jester, soldier, lord and lady. These are valued at from 0.4x for 5 jesters up to the max 1,000x for 64 of the ladies.
There is also a standard Wild symbol which will substitute for any pay symbol to help complete a cluster. It is represented by an Eye in a triangle.
Features and Gameplay
Tarasque is chock-full of features so it takes some time to get a feel for what is happening on the grid. Here is what you need to look out for.
Cascading Wins
The first thing to say is that Tarasque is a Cascading Wins game. After every winning spin, winning symbols are removed from the grid and new ones drop in to replace them. If more clusters are created, then the process repeats, and so on until no more clusters form.
Morphing Clusters Grow In Size
During the game you’ll see a little guy peeking out of the tower in the top right of the grid. This is Mage – presumably a magician - and it’s his Tower. He will be holding a circular plate on which one symbol from the pay table is displayed. All corresponding symbols on the grid are surrounded by a blue halo so you can see easily which they are.
IF a cluster forms which is made up of the relevant symbol, then all symbols in that cluster will transform into one from an adjacent space on the grid. In doing so, the cluster grows in size.
Celestial Blessings Bring Multipliers
Celestial Blessings are awarded when a classical image of a baby with wings on a cloud, or a giant hand pointing down from the clouds, passes over the grid. This will randomly drop a 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 10x or 20x multiplier onto a Cluster to increase its value.
Progress Bar And Random Features
To the left of the grid is a Progress Bar, represented by a series of fanfare trumpets that increase in size from top to bottom. Each one displays a random feature. After a winning spin, the progress bar is filled a little. If the subsequent cascade creates another win, then the progress bar is filled further. When it reaches the next level, a fanfare is sounded and the respective feature for that section of the bar is activated.
The features are ….
Wild Spikes – a random number of wilds is added to the grid. The higher up the progress bar the feature is, the more wilds are added.
Blazing Gaze – a searing laser beam from the eyes of the Tarasque causes all low payers to be removed from the grid, triggering another cascade. When the feature is higher up the progress bar, then low payers will also be removed from subsequent cascades too.
Mage’s Morph – a random number of morphing symbols are added to the grid. The higher up the progress bar the feature is, the more morphing symbols are added.
Bulking Beast – the Tarasque beast increases in size with each win.
The Tarasque Wild – Devour & Unleash Feast
At the start of each round, Tarasque appears in a tower at the the top left of the grid. But at the same time as your first feature is activated from the progress bar, then he vacates his position and sticks his head out from one random position on the grid. He is now a wild symbol substituting for all pay symbols to complete clusters. But unlike a standard wild, when he forms part of a cluster, then he eats all other symbols in that cluster.
Once a cascade sequence has ended because no more wins have been created OR when all features have been activated, then the Tarasque throws up ALL the symbols he devoured, back onto the grid. This happens in stages. He starts by throwing up the lowest value symbols. When no more wins are created from this stage, then the symbols of the next value up are thrown up. And so on until there are no more symbols to throw up and no more wins.
Useful Tip: Check the top of the grid where a special meter shows how many of each symbol have been collected in the current cascade. It will also show how many more have to be thrown up from each symbol type during the Unleash phase of this feature.
Final Verdict
I enjoyed Tarasque though I should add that it might not be to everyone’s tastes. The visual side of the game is superbly executed. But I suspect some will find the gameplay a little complicated. It takes time to get to grips with what is happening and to recognise the big triggers. That’s why I suggest you should try the game in demo mode for at least 50 spins before taking the plunge. And if you can get past any early misgivings you’ll find it’s one of the most unique and fun games of recent times and one that has the potential to deliver very exciting sequences, in ways you’ve never seen before. Superb stuff!
Testing Notes
I played 500 spins on Tarasque on Print Studio’s test server prior to release to test the game. This is what happened.
- Stake Size: £1
- Start balance: £5,000
- End balance: £4,895.60
- Hit Rate: 22.8% (114 winning spins in 500)
- Biggest Win: 69x
- Free Spins Round: 0
It took at least 50 spins to work out what the hell was going on in Tarasque. It’s a very unusual slot and won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but it is fun when you get used to the rhythm of the gameplay and understand what to look out for.
Like all Cluster Pays slots its about triggering extended sequences where one feature builds on top of another to accumulate snowballing wins. The best win I got was a 69x which included unlocking 3 levels on the progress bar. But the main driver was big clusters that included the Wild Tarasque. Because when Tarasque is part of a cluster then he consumes all symbols in that cluster – in this case, that included 31 of one type. And when he spewed them back onto the grid, that triggered another sequence of wins. Add in a Celestial Blessing of 3x and the payout got better still.
Of course, that was a one off over 500 spins, most of which only returned small payouts. I did note a 27.6x, a 22x and 23.6x at other times in the session, but there were no 100x + moments.
Although the balance wasn’t positive at the end of 500 spins, I got a lot of time with the game. This is because whilst the hit rate (22.8%) was pretty average, the session time was long because of the time it takes for each cascade sequence to play out, particularly once you start unlocking the features on the progress bar. You'll see the Tarasque growing in size, moving around the grid, Mage throwing morphing symbols onto the reels, wilds flying around all over the place, and if you're really lucky, a celestial hand will appear out of nowhere and give you a 10x multiplier! There were no dull moments that's for sure.
