Treasures of Lion City slot can pay up to 27x your bet in the Rolling Reels

It's generally rare that you will load up a new slot game and not have any clue what the slot is going to be about. So when I heard that Microgaming had released Treasures of Lion City slot, while the name of the game sounded great, I didn't have any real idea of what to expect.

Many people may assume that this slot is about Singapore, which is famously named the Lion City, but in fact, this is about the sunken city of Shi Cheng, which was named Lion City after the Lion Mountains that surrounded it. Purposely sunk by Chinese authorities who created a hydroelectric dam, it now lies 130 feet down in Qiandao Lake.

There are even plans to try and open the lake as a tourist attraction for divers to come and explore the remains of the city, which out of the weather and sunlight, has remained remarkably intact below water for over 58 years.

The good news is you won't need a divers mask and helmet to explore the treasure of this lost Atlantean-themed city yourself, just load up the slot and hit spin to see what it has to offer!

Overview

• Game: Treasures of Lion City
• Developer: Pulse 8 Studios (for Microgaming)
• Reels: 5x3
• Pay Lines: 25 (non-selectable)
• Minimum Bet: 0.25
• Maximum Bet: 50.00
• Jackpot: 130,000
• Free Spins Bonus: No
• Other Bonuses: Yes
• Progressive: No
• Volatility: Medium

Presentation

The presentation of the Treasures of Lion City slot is very nicely done. The slot seems to be set inside a rather strange green-hued canyon, which is emphasised somewhat by the water dripping down from the canyon roof and onto the reels. The music is rather low-key and the overall look is slightly east Asian, although not overtly so.

I would say the slot is atmospheric and it is very well presented and easy to follow. The Multiplier Trail bonuses are displayed at the top of the screen and they are also easy to follow as you rack up the Rolling Reels wins in the game. The animations on the reels too when you win and the symbols drop are also crisp and very nicely done.

Overall, Pulse 8 Studios have done an excellent job with this 5x3 reel, medium variance game in terms of how it looks and plays.

What is on the reels?

There are a total of nine standard symbols on the reels and these start with the four lowest paying symbols, which are the Jack, Queen, King and Ace playing card symbols. Wins on these range from 0.2x your total bet up to 5x your total bet.

There are five higher value symbols, and these are, in order of value, the blue crystal, the green crystal, the blue potion, the helmet and lastly, the treasure chest filled with coins. Wins on these symbols range from 0.4x your bet up to 18x your bet for five of the highest value of these symbols across one of the pay lines.

Wild features

The rather strange lions head symbol is the in game Wild and to me it resembles either a gargoyle or an elaborate door knocker. Wilds essentially serve two purposes in this game. Firstly and most commonly, they substitute for any of the other symbols on the reels (there's no Scatter symbol in this game) to help create additional wins.

Wilds can also be landed across all five reels and if you land two or more on a pay line from left to right, then you can trigger some decent value wins ranging from 0.4x your total bet up to 20x your total bet. The Wild is the highest paying of all symbols in this respect.

Free Spins features

This slot does not have a Free Spins bonus game of any kind, but what it does have instead is the Rolling Reels feature in operation throughout the game, and in Treasures of Lion City, the bonus could potentially be a huge one.

Rolling Reels is when winning symbols in a line flash and disappear after awarding their prize, to be replaced with symbols dropping down from above, which can then trigger further wins from a single spin. These sequential wins often come with a multiplier bonus, called a multiplier trail, but in this slot, the trail is very different to what you find in other games.

For the first three instances of triggering the Rolling Reels bonus (on the 1^st, 3^rd and 5^th Rolling Reels win), you will turn one of the three top paying symbols Wild on the reels. Get to the fourth (7^th win) and you trigger a bonus of 3x your win and trigger the fifth (9^th win) Rolling Reels win to receive a 9x multiplier.

However, if you can land 11 consecutive Rolling Reels wins and you trigger the largest multiplier award of 27x the standard win for that spin and every other Rolling Reels spin you land in succession. It is when you hit these latter symbols, that the bigger payouts approaching the 130,000 coin maximum win, can be landed.

Best feature of the Treasures of Lion City slot

Other than the Wild the Rolling Reels bonus feature is the only real aspect of the Treasures of Lion City slot but the good news is that Pulse 8 Studios have made it a very good one. This is a very imaginative way to use a bonus that is becoming more and more common in slot games. A 27x multiplier is a huge amount and although I do think having to hit 11 wins in a row is going to prove very difficult, I do like the way that the adding of the Wilds on the first few Rolling Reels wins helps you land more of these key symbols on the reels. This is a great bonus that has a nice balance to it and the game plays very well as a result.

Conclusion

It is always a risk I feel when a new slot is released without any Free Spins bonus round as they are so important to so many slot players, but even with a lack of this bonus, I feel the Treasures of Lion City is a hugely enjoyable slot. It may lack the added dimension Free Spins gives a game, but the clever way that Pulse 8 Studios have tinkered with the Rolling Reels feature to offer some fantastic bonuses, really does give the slot an added dimension that is far easier to realise than a standard Free Spins bonus. As such, this is a game that feels more exciting, even though you should respect it's medium variance. Overall, this is a fine slot and one well worth diving into.

You can play the Treasures of Lion City slot at any of the Mega Moolah casinos.