The Victorian era was one of the most interesting passages of modern human history, mainly because it seemed to straddle the perilous gap between a world that was quickly becoming relegated to history, and a new one that was rising from the ashes. You may not know this, but the Victorians are actually responsible for many of the things that feel inherently innate to our culture. For example, the obsession with categorisation, intense worldwide trade, certain distinct fashions and, of course, the class system, all stem from aspects of Victorian culture that continue today. Moreover, we have the Victorians to thank almost exclusively for the huge shift in the UK economy going from agriculture to manufacture, as they really did spearhead real change with the burgeoning industrial revolution. One thing is certain here: without the Victorian influence the modern 21st Century world would be very different indeed.

Most of the influences from this time have been so normalised that we don’t even think of them as being necessarily Victorian, but there is one aspect of popular culture that is still quite obviously stemming from the period. And that is the steam-punk counterculture that has become so popular in recent years, inspired by the predictions of the future that came from Victorian writers and artists. It is characterised by the type of things we see in texts such as H.G. Wells’ “The Time Machine” or “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea” by Jules Verne; essentially a kind of aesthetic where retro meets the future. We’re talking big top hats and highly mechanical analogue gadgets with hugely impressive feats of mechanical engineering to boot. Now, we know what you’re thinking here – this Victorian steam-punk style sounds like perfect cannon fodder for the world of online slots. And you’d be right actually; because the slot Fortunium by developers Microgaming uses this aesthetic, ticking all the right boxes. Read on for a breakdown.

About Fortunium and its overall aesthetic

So, as you can probably gather by now, Fortunium is an online slot at Wizard Slots that completely takes the steam-punk Victorian aesthetic as its main theme, an interesting touch from Microgaming, as this isn’t an inspiration we are used to seeing in the online slot world. It is quite the world we are invited to when we first sit down to spin the reels of Fortunium, with an epic futuristic metropolis much in the same vein as Coruscant from Star Wars greeting us. There are also two characters on display that we are sure we will be seeing more of as the game progresses: Maximillian and Victoria. In front of this scene Microgaming have placed the fairly standard 3x5 reel grid configuration, with 40 pay lines also available on which to make your winning combinations on.

As for the symbols the gambler can expect to encounter on the reels whilst playing Fortunium, well these more or less all tie directly into the theme as well, making this online slot incredibly immersive. At the lower end of the pay spectrum are the classic playing card symbols running from 10 to Ace, however moving up the pay scale we get a variety of steam-punk influenced icons that only serve to accentuate the powerful theme. You can expect to see things such as complex mechanical weapons, massive airships and treasure chests on Fortunium’s reels, and these can pay out some huge prizes.

About Fortunium and its bonus features

Aside from the incredibly unique and beautifully rendered theme, Fortunium at this point still probably sounds like a fairly average online slot title, however this all changes when you start to learn about its fantastic bonus features. First up is the slot’s wild symbol, nicely designated by the letter “W”. Now, this may sound like Microgaming have been a bit lazy, but when you actually see the wild symbol you will notice that it is beautifully carved out of golden machinery, so we will let them off! This icon pays out the maximum regular prize during Fortunium, and can also swap with any other symbol to make winning combinations much like in other online slots. Of course, no online slot game is complete without a scatter symbol, and this is made up of a green orb in this Microgaming slot. The prize for finding three of these is nothing short of epic! With 10 free spins awarded, that are also filled with extra bonus features.

What bonus features? You ask. Well, get a load of this: during the free spins round Fortunium also includes some mystery reels that are full of stacked symbols. This means the chances of a win are multiplied several times. There’s more too, because any new scatter symbols that appear on the reels during the free spins round will give you at least one more free spin! And as if this wasn’t enough, Microgaming have also included a pretty neat mystery symbol feature that can trigger randomly at any point whilst you are playing. Blue or gold question marks will appear every now and then on the reels, making all symbols stacked. Nice!

About Microgaming and other slots by them

Microgaming are de facto one of the biggest and most successful online slot developers the world has ever seen, with an array of games to their name. They are famed for consistently excellent pieces of online casino equipment, with titles that regularly explore the frontiers of things like HD graphics and bonus features. Gamblers also love them because of the Microgaming Progressive Jackpot Network, something that has paid out a million pounds to several people in the last couple of years alone. You just cannot argue with the strength of their back-catalogue either. Take a look at some of these:

· Agent Jane Blonde
· Reel Thunder
· Racing For Pinks
· Shanghai Beauty

Fortunium: The verdict

We knew we were going to enjoy this online slot from Microgaming even before we began playing due to the unique and interesting theme, but we didn’t expect it to be quite this good! Top marks.