Aurum Codex Slot Review

Aurum Codex review: introduction

I have spent plenty of time with Aurum Codex, and it quickly stood out as one of Red Tiger Gaming’s more atmospheric high variance slots. The game runs on a classic 5x3 grid with 20 fixed paylines and an RTP of 95.77 per cent, so you know from the start that you are dealing with a fairly unforgiving alchemy experiment instead of a laid back low risk spinner.

From the outset Aurum Codex makes it clear what it wants to be: a moody medieval laboratory where sticky wilds, golden wild lines and a tough to trigger free spins round carry almost all of the win potential. The headline payout of just over 4,000x your stake is attractive enough, but the way the slot delivers those hits will only suit players comfortable with long dry spells between stronger bonuses.

Overall theme in Aurum Codex

Aurum Codex leans heavily on its alchemy theme, and that side of the experience really works for me. The reels sit in front of a shadowy chamber packed with dusty books, potions and strange devices, while ornate golden frames tie the whole layout together. The soundtrack has a slow, suspenseful build that rises whenever features appear, which fits the brooding Middle Ages atmosphere and keeps the base game from feeling completely flat.

The symbol set in Aurum Codex shows the same care. Even the 10 to A royals carry twisted shapes and alchemical flourishes, so they do not feel like cheap filler, while the premium keys, scrolls, skulls and scales all look like props from a wizard’s workbench. The codex wild book with its locked red gem is the star though, acting as both a regular wild and the most valuable icon when you land five of a kind.

Aurum Codex RTP and variance

On the numbers side Aurum Codex is not a gentle proposition. The advertised RTP sits at 95.77 per cent, a shade under what many modern slots offer, and it rides a clearly high variance maths model. In practice that means long runs of dead spins are common, with most base game hits coming from modest line wins or the odd alchemy wild line, and the real money is locked away in those rarer feature bursts.

Bet sizes & paytable wins in Aurum Codex

In Aurum Codex you choose stakes from 10 pence up to £20 per spin, so this one clearly targets small and medium bankrolls rather than serious high rollers. The 20 paylines are fixed, which keeps things straightforward, and all wins pay from the leftmost reel across. For me that narrow stake range fits the sharp swings fairly well, as overbetting on a game with this kind of hit pattern is asking for trouble.

The paytable in Aurum Codex keeps the focus on a handful of key symbols. At the top end you have the codex wild and the golden scales, both paying 15x your bet for five of a kind, followed by the skull, scroll and key as mid range premiums. The card royals from 10 through to A sit at the bottom, throwing in frequent small hits that rarely change your balance but stop every spin feeling completely empty.

On paper the maximum win of around 4,131x stake is not life changing by modern standards, yet in the context of the high volatility it still feels meaningful. Hitting that kind of payout means chaining several wild driven wins, usually inside the free spins feature, so I treat anything north of 200x in the base game as a very strong result and do not hang around waiting for that very top payout.

Symbols and Paytable

Symbol	Quantity	Payout
	5	x15
	4	x7.5
	3	x3
	5	x8
	4	x4
	3	x2
	5	x6
	4	x3
	3	x1.5
	5	x5
	4	x2.5
	3	x1.2
	5	x4
	4	x2
	3	x1
	5	x3
	4	x1.5
	3	x0.8
	5	x2
	4	x1
	3	x0.5
	5	x1.5
	4	x0.8
	3	x0.3
	5	x1
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.2
	Wild
	Wild

Aurum Codex bonus features

The core mechanic in Aurum Codex revolves around its alchemy wilds. These special books only land on reels one and five, and whenever they appear they stay locked for the following spin. If you are lucky enough to land them on the same row, every symbol sandwiched between turns into a golden wild. Those lines can explode into big payouts, as golden wilds substitute and share the same 15x for five prize as the main codex symbol.

Free spins in Aurum Codex trigger when three scatter symbols land on reels two, three and four, awarding ten spins to start with. Before the round begins an hourglass can flip to add five extra spins, and it has a chance to do that again up to a cap of twenty. During this bonus any alchemy wild that lands locks in place for the rest of the round, which is where long chains of golden wild wins become possible.

Aurum Codex review: our verdict

After grinding through sessions on Aurum Codex I see it as a gorgeous yet flawed high risk option. The visuals, sound design and wild mechanics are right up my street, but the below average RTP, narrow stake range and painful bonus hit rate drag it back. When the alchemy wilds behave, the slot can throw out exciting bursts of profit, yet I only recommend it to patient players who enjoy quite punishing volatility.

Screenshots