Based on the life and works of Leonardo Da Vinci, history’s ultimate renaissance man, Leonardo’s Code is a 5 reel, 25 payline video slot from Novomatic. This volatile game comes with a bonus round that awards up to 20 free spins complete with a special expanding bonus symbol. Stakes range from between 50p and £100 per spin.
Best known as the painter of the Mona Lisa, Leonardo was also a prolific inventor and that’s evident in the imagery on display in this game. Joining the antiquated playing card values are prototype versions of a flying machine and a paddle ship. 5 of these on a payline award 30 times your total bet.
The famous Vitruvian Man drawing comes next, paying up to 80 times your total stake. The most rewarding of the standard symbols is the Mona Lisa though – find 2, 3, 4 or 5 of these in combination and you’ll win 0.4, 4, 40 or 500 times your stake.
The cylinder-shaped Cryptex acts as both a wild and a scatter – it replaces all other symbols as well as awarding payouts of 2, 20 or 500 times your stake if you manage to land 3, 4 or 5 anywhere on the reels on the same spin. Do that and you’ll also trigger the Free Games feature.
Once activated, you can look forward to 10 free spins. Before these begin, 1 symbol is chosen at random. This will become the bonus symbol during the free spins. When it lands, it will expand if that expansions leads to the creation of a winning line. Hope to see the Cryptex symbols fall into view as 3 of them will lead to another round of 10 free spins.
Like many video slots in the Novomatic catalogue, Leonardo’s Code is a relatively simple affair. The design is hardly a work of art but it’s decent enough for a Novomatic title. The backing track is a bit of a baffler though – with a slight Arabian tinge, it’s hard to see how it fits the theme.
We never expect much in the way of complex features with Novomatic video slots which is just as well as Leonardo’s Code is fairly basic when it comes to gameplay. The only extra you’ll find is the free spins round with the added bonus symbol.
We found the variance here to be pretty high – expect lengthy spells where very little happens punctuated by the odd decent payer. Leonard Da Vinci was undoubtedly a genius. You’d be hard pressed to give that description to the slot that bears his name. It’s a solid if unspectacular performer overall.
If you enjoy simple, fast-paced action, it’s worth trying to crack Leonardo’s Code. If you like plenty of features and slick design, then this won’t be a slot for you – I recommend Mighty Trident (also by Novomatic).
