Release the Kraken 2

Release the Kraken 2 Slot Review — Pragmatic play

Release the Kraken 2 is a high-volatility underwater slot from Pragmatic play, released on 3 November 2022 with a 5-reel, 20-payline base structure and a maximum win capped at 5,000x the stake. The sequel keeps the shark-and-octopus theme of the original but rebuilds the payout engine around walking wilds, a shifting reel set in free spins, and a bonus-buy option for players who want to skip straight to the feature round.

Core Gameplay Experience

The grid runs on 5 reels with 20 fixed paylines in the base game, a compact layout that keeps each spin fast and the maths easy to track. Betting ranges from 0.20 to 100.00 per spin, which covers both cautious testing sessions and larger stakes for players chasing the top multiplier.

Visually the game stays inside a deep-blue ocean setting, with sharks, octopus imagery, fish and scattered treasure filling the reels — a fit for the site’s Adventure and Treasure themed slots category rather than a generic fruit or gem cabinet. The pace between spins is standard for a Pragmatic release: quick base spins, longer feature rounds once wilds start stacking and walking across the grid.

Features and Mechanics

The payline count is the one detail worth clarifying up front. Pragmatic Play advertises the free-spin round as running on “up to 40 paylines”, against the base game’s 20. The Reelset Changing feature is the mechanism behind that jump: the reel layout itself changes once free spins begin, so the higher line count comes from a different grid rather than extra lines bolted onto the same 20-line structure. Walking wilds and expanding wilds move and grow across spins inside that free-spin reel set, and sticky wilds stay locked in place once landed, feeding the respin and stacked-symbol mechanics that drive most of the bigger hits.

A pick-and-click bonus game sits alongside the main free-spin round, letting players choose items for smaller guaranteed prizes, while a risky/gambling double-up option lets a win be pushed for a bigger payout at the cost of losing it. Multipliers apply both on the reels and inside free spins, compounding wins from stacked and walking wild combinations. Players who don’t want to wait for the scatter trigger can use the Bonus Buy option to pay a set price and enter the free-spins round directly, though the game does not publish an exact cost figure for that purchase.

RTP, Volatility and Payout Model

Release the Kraken 2 pays out at a 95.5% RTP with a high volatility profile, meaning wins land less often but can scale up sharply when the walking wilds and multipliers line up. That 95.5% figure sits in the 31st percentile of the 4,461 slots with a published RTP in the catalog used for this review, where the median stands at 96% and anything at 95.22% or below counts as low for the group, and 96.32% and above on the high side. The provider’s own game page separately lists a 96.50% RTP for the same title, which points to an alternate configuration some operators run instead of the 95.5% version covered here — worth checking before assuming which setup a given casino offers.

High volatility is shared by 62% of the slots tracked in that same catalog (2,958 of 4,748 slots), so this profile is common rather than unusual, but it still means the bankroll has to absorb longer losing runs than a low-volatility grid would produce. The 5,000x ceiling is higher than 59% of the 3,455 slots in that catalog with a published max win, against a typical ceiling around 2,500x there, which explains why the swings feel wide even by high-volatility standards.

Similar Pragmatic play Slots — Comparison

Among high-volatility Pragmatic play titles with 11 to 50 paylines, Release the Kraken 2 ranks 96th of the 141 slots in that group when sorted by RTP, placing it below titles like Thunder vs Underworld and The Dog House – No Dog Left Behind but well ahead of the group’s low end represented by Wolf Gold Power Jackpot. Players prioritising RTP alone have stronger options within the same studio; those drawn specifically to the shark theme and reel-changing free spins are the ones this title actually serves.

Similar Bonus Buy Slots from Other Studios

All four titles here share a paid entry into their bonus round, but the RTP spread runs from 96.03% to 97.1%, all above Release the Kraken 2’s 95.5%. Readers who want the shortcut-to-feature mechanic with a marginally friendlier long-run return could look at Lucky Bro Hold & Win, while the low-volatility pair suits a steadier session than Release the Kraken 2’s high-volatility swings.

How to Play Release the Kraken 2 Online

Demo mode is the practical way to learn how the walking wilds and reel-changing free spins behave before risking a deposit, since it reproduces the same mechanics without real stakes. The title sits in the site’s slots category alongside the wider demo game directory, and Pragmatic play titles as a whole run at 101 casinos tracked here, including Asino, Playfina and Mirax Casino. Checking a specific operator’s licence and payout terms before switching to real money remains worthwhile regardless of which casino carries the game.

Conclusion

“A shark-themed high-volatility grid where the reel set itself changes for free spins, built for patience over frequency.” — Search-Casino Editorial Team

Release the Kraken 2 delivers a focused high-volatility experience with a 5,000x ceiling, a compact 20-payline base and a free-spin round that genuinely restructures the reels rather than just adding lines. It rewards players who size stakes for long droughts and enjoy walking-wild mechanics, and it is less suited to anyone looking for frequent, steady returns from a low-volatility grid.