In Norse mythology, Valkyries were fierce warrior maidens who decided who lived and who died on the battlefield, then chauffeured the chosen few to Valhalla. Sounds epic until you realise their job description was basically “divine bouncers for Odin’s afterparty.” Imagine fighting all day just to have a glowing shield-maiden swoop down like, “Nope, you’re not on the list, try Helheim next door.”

While there is a rich and interesting history surrounding the Valkyries, Booming has decided to go more straightforward with its interpretation with the release of its new Shields of Gold Valkyrie Hold & Win slot.

Wins on the battlefield

The Shields of Gold Valkyrie Hold & Win slot features 20 paylines spread across five reels. Betting starts from $0.20 and tops out at $100. At the maximum bet, you’ll have a shot at winning up to $220,000 thanks to a maximum multiplier of 2,200x. The slot offers medium to high volatility and has an RTP of 95.5%.

Play Now

During base game play, if instant-win shield symbols appear on reel one or reels one and two, along with Valkyrie wild symbols on the remaining reels, the Wild Transform feature is triggered. When this happens, either the Coin Collection or Hold & Win feature will be awarded.

If the Coin Collection feature is activated, all positions covered by wild symbols are transformed into instant-win shield symbols. The values of all shield symbols are then added together, and the combined amount is paid out.

The Hold & Win feature works much like others you’ve seen. You’ll receive three spins to add additional instant-win shield symbols to the reels after all wild-covered positions are transformed. Every time a new shield symbol lands, the spin counter resets to three. If no new shield symbols appear over three consecutive spins, the round ends and your winnings are paid.

Play Now

Finally, the Free Spins feature is triggered by landing three Bonus symbols, which only appear on reels one, three, and five. You’ll then choose between two options: eight spins with a higher chance of wilds appearing, or six spins where instant-win symbols land on reels one and two on every spin.

Is the Shields of Gold Valkyrie Hold & Win slot worth a few spins?

Booming is a bit of an enigma. The company is able to produce fun, innovative, and modern titles like Space Cows to the Moo’n, while at the same time releasing titles like the Shields of Gold Valkyrie Hold and Win slot, which feel so dated. And that might be the point. Maybe they’re going for that early 2000s Microgaming look with the addition of modern features like Hold & Win and Buy Bonus, which was only introduced in 2017 by Big Time Gaming. The problem is that the game doesn’t give nostalgic vibes; instead, it just looks dated. With the Shields of Gold Valkyrie Hold and Win slot, this is even more frustrating because the illustrators did an incredible job with the Valkyrie character. Including her as a more prominent feature, perhaps as a character who interacts with the reels from the side, would have taken full advantage of her appeal.