NextGen Gaming Shangri La Video Slot Review

A female adventurer on a quest to discover a mythical Himalayan paradise is the back story to Shangri La, a 5 reel, 15 payline video slot from NextGen Gaming. This quest for spiritual enlightenment also offers plenty of opportunities to win big too thanks to a selection of wild reels, a pick me feature, a cash trail and 2 free spins round. Head to the mountains, on all devices, from between 20p and £50 per spin.

The design in Shangri La is nicely done – overlooked by snow-capped mountains, flowing rivers and a large temple, the reels include lower value playing cards alongside a scimitar, a lotus flower, a temple, an elephant, a rhino and a tiger. The striped big cat is the most lucrative, paying 25 times your total bet if you land 5 on a payline.

The girl is the wild – she appears on the middle 3 reels only and doubles the payout whenever she forms part of a winning combination. There are 3 randomly triggered bonus features in the base game as added wilds, wild reels and extra scatters can be added to the reels.

There are 4 main feature rounds on offer in Shangri La – to trigger them, you’ll need to land 3, 4 or 5 scatter symbols anywhere on the reels. As well as winning a payout equal to 3, 15 or 150 times your stake, you’ll also get to spin the bonus wheel which determines which feature you’ve been awarded:

• Free Games feature – land this and you’ll receive 8 free spins. Stacked wilds are more likely to land than in the base game if you trigger this. Re-triggers are possible here too giving you up to 16 free spins.
• Super Free Games feature – 12 free spins are awarded here. Spicing up the action are special wild extras (added wilds and wild reels) that are guaranteed to hit on each free spin. Scatters mean extra free spins too with a maximum of 24 on offer.
• Chest Bonus feature – this is a pick me round. Choose from the treasure chests to reveal cash prizes that can reach up to 15 times your total bet.
• Trail Bonus feature – this is a cash trail. Spin the wheel to determine how far you travel. Increasing cash prizes are on offer the further to the end you make it. Land on an ‘X’ and its game over. You can win up to 100 times your total stake here.

Combining impressive visuals and a haunting backing track with a nice range of features, Shangri La is a very playable video slot. The pace ticks along nicely in the base game thanks to the randomly triggered extras and there’s plenty of variety from the features.

It may not be paradise on earth but Shangri La is well designed and offers plenty of entertainment if perhaps not spiritual enlightenment. The key to winning big is the Super Free Games feature due to the possibility of either wild reels or extra wilds on each free spin. Variance wise, it’s slightly north of medium. I also recommend you try NetEnt’s Divine Fortune which also has a mythical feel to it.