Legend of the Dragon Wins DoubleMax

Legend of the Dragon Wins DoubleMax: Slot Overview

Yggdrasil Gaming's DoubleMax slot mechanic has done the rounds with several of its partner studios, such as Peter & Sons and Reflex Gaming; now it's the time for buds Boomerang to have a turn. What's surprising is that instead of taking the easy option and making another Raptor DoubleMax, Boomerang has created a slot which refuses to conform to convention. The final product, Legend of the Dragon Wins DoubleMax, does have a win multiplier that can double, but only in the base game, where it can also halve. When free spins come around, the game's maker has decided to flip the script by keeping the multiplier static while tossing in roaming wild stacks as a backup.

Being a dragon game, Legend of the Dragon Wins DoubleMax takes place in a fantasy world populated by the majestic beasts. Its background image, which is nicely done by the way, features a dragon flapping its wings over a scene of mountains, a valley, a castle, and so on. The quality of the artwork is quite high and should please fans of fantasy, especially fantasy containing flying serpents. For your listening pleasure, the music is suitably dramatic, and the character associated with the wild symbol gives Legend of the Dragon Wins DoubleMax a slight air of anime, too. So far, so alright.

Clicking the Total Bet section of the info bar brings up Legend of the Dragon Wins DoubleMax's modest range of bets, where options go from 20 c to $/€12 per spin. A bonus buy is available as well, so when gambling regularly, the return to player comes in at 96.2%, rising to 96.5% for bought free spins. Volatility has been rated high, and the activity in both phases of play occurs on a 5-reel, 3-row matrix with 20 win lines.

Winning combinations pay left to right from reel number one onwards, and there are 9 regular paying symbols. These are jagged J to A card ranks as the low pays, then a scythe, a pendant, flaming claws, a necklace, and a dragon as the high pays. Landing 5 OAK low pay combination awards 0.75 times the bet, whereas a line of 5 matching high pays is worth 1 to 2.5 times the bet. Wilds substitute for all symbols except the scatter.

Legend of the Dragon Wins DoubleMax: Slot Features

If you're familiar with DoubleMax, then the singular way Legend of the Dragon Wins DoubleMax uses the feature might shock you in a good or a not-so-good way. For one thing, Legend of the Dragon Wins DoubleMax does not have a cascading wins system. However, it does have free spins with roaming wild stacks, plus a bonus buy.

DoubleMax

When a win occurs in the base game, the win multiplier doubles in value for the next spin. When a spin occurs without creating a win, the win multiplier halves in value for the next spin. The multiplier can never go below x1, and there is no limit on how high the multiplier can go.

Free Spins

Free spins are triggered by landing at least 3 scatter symbols. Players also get a payout of 1x, 2x, or 5x when 3, 4, or 5 scatters, respectively, land. When free spins begin, the multiplier achieved on the triggering base game spin carries over to the round. However, while free spins are active, the multiplier cannot be doubled or halved. It stays at the same value the whole time. At the start of the round, a stacked wild appears on the rightmost reel. Any wild appearing in free spins expands to cover the entire reel, and wild stacks move left one position on following spins. Wilds that reach the leftmost reel are removed on the next spin. Free spins are complete when all expanded wilds reach the leftmost reel.

Buy Bonus

Buying the free spins round can be done by paying 86x the bet. When bought, a wheel awards a win multiplier of x2, x4, x8, or a random Mystery option of x16, x32, or x64, which persists throughout the round.

Legend of the Dragon Wins DoubleMax: Slot Verdict

After reviewing a bunch of DoubleMax games by now, Legend of the Dragon Wins DoubleMax did not turn out the way it was expected to. So far, one thing these games tend to have in common is a doubling of the multiplier following wins and cascades before resetting back to x1 for the next base game spin. Then, in free spins, the multiplier does not reset till the feature ends, maybe helping it achieve potentially stratospheric values. Legend of the Dragon Wins DoubleMax dumps all of that to forge out on its path. A hat tip to Boomerang for daring to do so, but one wonders if the changes will attract more players than they repel or vice versa.

One thing for fence sitters to keep in mind is that Legend of the Dragon Wins DoubleMax has a 20,000x the bet win cap, which is in line with the higher tier DoubleMax games. So, final destinations with the altered mechanics can still end up in thrilling territory. The doubling/halving slower burn effect in the base game feels like a double-edged sword. It lacks the cascading pace of a regular DoubleMax game, but slow and steady could be just what others are after. Keep in mind, though, that the multiplier is saved per bet level, so you cannot build a multiplier while minimum betting then flip to max stake when a sizable multiplier is on the board. Possibly more contentious is the way the multiplier is locked in during free spins, especially if buying the bonus round, since you could well end up with an x2 through the whole thing. Not exactly in keeping with the DoubleMax spirit, though patient, lucky, base game grinding might be handsomely rewarded. As sweeteners, free spins are not set, and roaming full reel wilds are proven performers.

It all adds up to a surprisingly fresh DoubleMax slot, which goes places others dare not tread. For that reason alone, it's worth DoubleMax mavens having a look, but whether Legend of the Dragon Wins DoubleMax wins out over the more typical way these sorts of slots operate remains to be seen.