Quickspin’s Hidden Valley pokie machine took on the Legend of Shangri-La theme long before NetEnt and other developers had a crack at it.
This pokie is still popular today, even several years after its first release and it is still more than capable of giving some its similarly-themed counterparts a run for their money. Of course, this game isn’t officially licensed, so the links between the pokie and novel are somewhat disguised, but it’s practically all there.
Developer
Quickspin usually puts quite a bit of pride and love into their graphics, so it is no surprise to see that the imagery in the Hidden Valley pokie is still top drawer. The game features a slightly different gaming structure than players may ordinarily be used to seeing, too. With a 3-4-4-4-3 structure to its reels and Wild Multiplier bet features, there’s a fair bit to get through in this pokie.
How to play it
Although the reel structure is somewhat all over the shop, there are still 40 paylines sitting upon the pokie’s 5 reels. The wagers you can place don’t really add up mathematically alongside the paylines, though. For instance, at its cheapest, this pokie machine is going to cost you at least $0.60 per spin. At its costliest, you’re looking at capped maximum stakes of $60 a game.
Special features
Wild symbols: Wild symbols appear as golden-framed text icons. They often appear stacked on the reels of the pokie, and depending on whether or not you are wagering with a side-bet active; they can also dish out multipliers.
Multiplier Wilds: As alluded to above, players can choose how much they wish their wilds to multiply winning combinations by. The options range from 1x up to 10x. However, by selecting higher value multiplier wilds, you are putting yourself into a higher bracket when it comes to your bets.
Bonus symbols: The only other special symbols in this game are the bonus wheel symbols. These tend to pop up on the three central reels. Land them on all reels at once, and you will trigger a bonus round.
Free spin bonus: Before you get to any free spins, you must first spin a bonus wheel. Players will be able to potentially land an extra wild and/or larger sets of spins by working their way through the series of bonus wheels. Once this is done, the free spin bonus commences. Players can land additional spins or extra wilds by landing just 2 more bonus icons on the reels while the free spin feature is being played.
Maximum payouts
With an RTP (return to player) rate of 96.50%, the Hidden Valley pokie is a decent paying game. Non-progressive jackpot prizes can often reach 50x your total bet, which is certainly not to be sniffed at. The man symbol is the best-paying icon in the game, ahead of the lady and mystic icons.
Summary
Long before other developers tried their hand at this theme, Quickspin were delivering the Shangri-La experience with this pokie. It may not have quite the same level of excitement or features as its more recent counterparts, but there is still a lot to play for in this release.
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