Isn’t it curious how creatures which some people find scary and intimidating, others believe to be bearers of good fortune? In Chinese mythology, the Dragon symbolises power, strength and good luck, and as such has been abundantly used in the online gaming world.
Having partnered up with Relax Gaming, Quickspin has made an attempt to modernise this frequently used oriental theme and came up with Dragon Shrine slot – a video slot with an interesting mix of icons appearing on the sound of a soothing Chinese tune.
It may be interesting to know the game was initially named Dragon Diamond, which would actually be a more accurate indication of what you’re about to see. However, it’s the shrine one needs to find in order to get access to true fortunes offered via free games and an additional special ingredient.
Winning combos can be formed over 40 pay lines by matching identical game icons – brightly coloured gems and the seemingly inevitable 10 to Ace playing card symbols. Wild will help by substituting for all, with the usual exception of Scatters, and pay up to 10x your total stake.
Visually, the game is simplicity itself. The only uncommon element is the irregular reel area with only 3 symbol positions on reels 1 and 5 and a full set of 4 on the remaining three.
Paylines are fixed, so you can’t mess with them, but you can decrease or increase your investment by setting the total bet in the range of €0.20 to €80.
Autoplay function has been supplied for the lazier among us; one can choose up to 1,000 spins to be executed automatically and even set loss or win limits which, when reached, interrupt the function ahead of time.
When a full stack of high-value Dragon symbols lands on reel 1, Dragon Stack Respin feature is triggered. What happens next is that all Dragon and Wild icons (two highest-paying ones) get locked while other positions re-spin 3 times. Should you land additional Dragons or Wilds during these re-spins, they’ll also freeze in place.
Scattered Bonus icons can appear on the three middle reels only, and getting 3 simultaneously visible on the reel area, launches 10 Free Spins which pay both ways. As you’re spinning free-of-charge, a full stack of Dragon icons landing on either the first or the last reel will launch Dragon Stack Respin feature.
What’s more, the second stack will be mirrored to the opposite reel, so you’re basically guaranteed to have two workings in your favour every single time.
Dragon Shrine slot machine is a medium variance video slot with a decent RTP of 96.55%. You’ll be experiencing smaller wins relatively frequently during the base game, but it’s abundantly clear where the big ones come from. The Free Spins feature not only pays both ways but also benefits from the mirroring Dragon stacks and resulting re-spins, though it’s not at all easy to trigger.