For many slots fans, an African safari is seen as the holiday of a lifetime. The chance to observe the majesty of wild beasts in their natural habitat is a lure for people from all over the world, who flock to the Serengeti in the hope of catching a glimpse or two. But don’t hunt for your passport just yet – thanks to the development team at Lightning Box who also brought us Red Roo, there’s now a way you can reach out to the Safari without leaving the comforts of your own home. And you never know, if the gambling gods are smiling, you might even win some decent money in the process.
Silver Lion slot is set on the African plains, with plenty of themed symbols making their way onto the reels. There’s a dusky quality to the lighting and colours in the game, which is reminiscent of the first flush of nightfall, as the reels and symbols take their shape. Across the reels, you’ll find native tribesmen, meerkats, zebras, hippos and even precious diamonds, all of which can be combined across the paylines to make winning combinations.
Like most of our UK slots, the game is set over a standard five reels, which is pretty much the norm with online video slots these days. But where this game stands out is in the number of paylines, or winning combinations, available – rather than 20 or 30, there are a whopping 1024 ways to win, by matching like-for-like symbols as they slot into place on the reels.
Best of all, these winning combinations come with a respectably low house edge, so your chances of winning long-term are enhanced by the RTP, or return to player percentage, relative to other games. At 95.27%, the game breaches the landmark 95% barrier, above which slots are considered to be good value for money. Compare that to the fruit machine down your local pub – Silver Lion wins hands down, which means more money for you over the long-run.
While the base game is engaging enough, with its animations, wildlife sounds and impressive themed graphics, there are also bonus features and spin enhancers, courtesy of the feature symbols which nestle in amongst the value symbols on the reels.
The mighty silhouetted tree is the game’s wild symbol, which behaves in the usual way. For the uninitiated, this means it switches in place of any other symbol you need to complete a winning and paying combination. On any payline, the wild will help you complete your combo to win a prize, with the exception of the scatter symbol – you need to physically land three of those symbols at a minimum to trigger the game’s bonus feature.
The scatter symbol is the Silver Lion diamond, and it carries the word ‘Bonus’ so you’re in no doubt as to its function. Three of these on your reels wins you 8 free spins, rising up to 20 free spins for five of the bonus symbols anywhere on your reels in a given spin.
The best part of our online slot reviews are mentioning the bonus rounds. The free spins bonus is the main bonus feature, but there is an added extra here that makes the bonus add up into something more substantial. When you’re spinning with your free spins, any wilds that appear on the reels contributes by 2x or 3x to the total – effectively multiplying the value of your winning combinations. Better yet, they are cumulative, which means 3 wilds in a winning combination can lead up to a multiplier of 27x – not at all bad for a free spin.
Silver Lion has a lot going for it. From the well-realised design through to the lucrative bonus features, there’s plenty in this game to get excited about. If you’ve played other African wildlife themed slots, or you’re a particular fan of all things safari, you’re going to love what this game holds in store. Or even if you just fancy checking out a new slot for something a bit different in online casino games, there’s enough winning potential in Silver Lion to appeal to any gaming fan.