Microgaming revisits a legendary tale of China in Huangdi The Yellow Emperor. Based on the ancient cosmic ruler, it’s a 5 reel, 25 payline video slot that’s available to play on desktop, tablet and mobile devices. The chief attractions in this ancient tale are the expanding symbols that can fill multiple reels and the bonus feature that awards up to 30 free spins. Stakes range from 25p to £125 per spin.
The visuals in this Asian epic have a historic feel – set against a mountain backdrop, the reels include calligraphy-style A to 10 playing card symbols. They’re joined by an ornately designed chest, a musical instrument and a sword. These three symbols can all land fully stacked on reel 1.
The warrior Huangdi himself offers payouts of up to 8 times your total stake. The Yellow Emperor can land fully stacked on all 5 reels, not just on reel 1. The Huangdi logo is the wild – it replaces all other symbols apart from the scatter and offers payouts of 2, 3 or 10 times your total stake.
There are 2 main extras on offer in Huangdi – expanding symbols and the free spins round. The expanding symbols can hit in the base game. When a symbol lands fully stacked on reel 1, any matching symbols on other reels will also expand to fill their respective reel. A new payout consideration is then made with the stacked symbols in position. All of the higher value symbols (but not the playing cards or wild) can be the expanding symbol in the base game.
To trigger the Free Spins feature, you’ll need to land 3 or more of the golden dragon scatter anywhere on the reels. As well as a cash bonus of 2, 10 or 100 times your total stake, you’ll also be granted 15 free spins.
The Huangdi wild can hit fully stacked on reel 1 during the free spins – any other wilds on show on other reels will also expand. This means it’s possible to fill multiple reels with wilds on the same free spin which can deliver some spectacular results. 3 or more scatters will re-trigger another round of 15 free spins giving you 30 in total.
This trip to ancient China is an enjoyable one – the visuals are well put together and the backing track has a suitably sweeping feel. The expanding symbols keep the pace high during the base game. Throw the stacked wilds into the mix in the bonus feature and this becomes a very interesting proposition. We’d put the variance in the medium range.
The demand for Chinese-themed video slots never seems to drop. This historic adventure is a good addition to the field. Get lucky with those stacked symbols and The Yellow Emperor can deliver some quality action. I also recommend you try Life of Riches by Microgaming which was released at the same time.
