One of the most exciting developments in online slots in recent years was the launch and rise to prominence of Yggdrasil. For those that play a lot of slots, you’ve probably noticed that the vast majority of popular games come from just a small handful of developers. In particular, Microgaming, NetEnt and Playtech at times have what feels like the monopoly on slots titles, and while each produces fantastic slots titles, the industry hasn’t been known for its diversity of developers.
But with the launch of Yggdrasil came a new threat to their dominance. A boutique gaming company, Yggdrasil focuses on developing games that are excellent in their own right, creating a more enjoyable gaming experience than those offered by the more established developers. This has become their niche, and slots connoisseurs are increasingly becoming fans of their work.
Legend of the Golden Monkey is an excellent example of Yggdrasil at their finest. Based in themes of the orient, the mythical golden monkey takes centre stage in this game, which bears all the hallmarks of a future classic. There are several in-game bonuses and features, combined with stunning visuals and impressive animations that make the game stand out from the competition.
Once you dig through the storyline and the graphics, this is a slots game that doesn’t pay undue heed to standard conventions. There are 5 reels, which by itself is fairly typical, but there are no paylines as such, and Yggdrasil haven’t even put a number on the available winning combinations. Instead, this slot pays ‘all ways’, which effectively means you’re getting paid for any combination of three or more symbols on the reels. This helps keep the action flowing, and means you’ll usually win more often, even if in smaller amounts, than you would in some other slots titles.
The RTP is impressive, as with all Yggdrasil titles, and stands at 96.10%, for play against under 4% house edge. This means that 96.10% of all the game’s takings are paid out to players, and puts Legend of the Golden Monkey firmly in the Premier League of online slots by payout.
As you make your way through the game, hopefully en route to securing the 1000x jackpot, there are a number of features and feature symbols that will pop up on your reels, aside from the main game symbols.
Unlike most slots which have a single wild and, in some cases, an additional bonus symbol, Legend of the Golden Monkey has two of each, which makes this game feature-packed. The first wild is the Sticky Wild, which appears on the even number reels and sticks in place for the next spins until there are no winning combinations. The second wild is the Countdown Wild, which appears on reel number three, and stays in place for 3 spins, counting down to its disappearance.
These wilds act in the usual way, by acting as a wildcard symbol to help when you’re completing a given payline. They substitute for all value symbols, except for the bonus symbols, as is the norm in slot games of this type.
The main bonus symbol is the Treasure Chest, which appears only on the fifth reel. As such, you don’t need to land a combination of these symbols to trigger the bonus feature – just a single symbol will do.
The Free Spins symbol is the other bonus symbol, and you need three or more of these anywhere on the reels to trigger the free spins bonus, anecdotally one of the most profitable features of the game.
When you land the free spins symbols 3 or more times on your reels, you’re asked to pick from one of three free spins features. The first is Incremental Wilds, which offers you six free spins with sticky wilds on the second and/or fourth reels for the duration of the spins. The second is Stacked Wilds, where you get eight free spins, sticky wilds on 2 and 4, and a stacked wild on the fifth reel. Thirdly, you can choose Starting Wilds, which puts a wild in the centre of reel three, alongside the stickies on 2 and 4 for the duration of 10 spins. It sounds complicated, but in practice, this is a decent bonus feature that can be pretty profitable for your bankroll if you hit it with momentum.
The Treasure Chest, when it appears, offers an instant win of 1000 coins, or two additional free spins in the free spins bonus feature, which it subsequently triggers. And finally, to complete the set, there’s the Golden Monkey, which appears at random at the bottom of the reels to switch out one symbol for another – usually good news, if this creates an additional combination.
Legend of the Golden Monkey is incredibly good fun, and like all Yggdrasil slots, it’s packed with features and animations that make it all the more exciting. If you fancy giving it a spin for yourself, there’s no reason to hang about – check out Legend of the Golden Monkey right here at PartyCasino.