Serenity Slot Machine
Another slot game that is full of Eastern promise is Serenity, one of the latest titles from Microgaming. Now there are quite a few games out there that utilise an oriental theme served up from the Far East, so this had better be good…
Luckily, Microgaming have come up trumps yet again with a game that is packed with lucrative prizes, wild and scatter wins and a superb bonus feature that pays up to 500x the total line bet.
Serenity taps into the peaceful lifestyle of the Far East, represented by that lilting oriental soundtrack and the Chinese lantern heavy gameplay. It looks like your standard Microgaming title, with five reels and three rows played over the top of a rather serene and green landscape.
And with 15 selectable paylines on offer from between 0.15 and 75.00 per spin, everyone is able to enjoy serene slot gaming of the highest order.
Eastern Promise
There is a lot to enjoy in Serenity, but the best place to start is always the beginning so let’s take a look at those playing card symbols first. Based on a 0.15 stake, these pay from 0.02 for spinning three Tens right up to 1.25 for five Aces; with the rest of the playing card symbols paying on an ascending scale.
The three other main game symbols are a trio of intricately designed and colourful Chinese lanterns, and these pay from 0.15 to 5.00 for a 0.15 stake. For more information about the prizes on offer consult the slot paytable.
As we’ve become accustomed to in much of our slot gaming, there are two other symbols to consider: the wild and the scatter (Serenity also features a special bonus icon; more on that later). The wild symbol, which simply says Wild, pays 0.05, 2.00, 20.00 and 75.00 for matching two, three, four or five on your adjacent reels, and the good news doesn’t end there: the wild will also substitute for all other symbols apart from the scatter and bonus to create additional winning opportunities.
And the scatter symbol offers a two-fold reward too. It pays 0.30 for matching two, 0.60 for three, 7.50 for four and 60.00 for the full five on an active payline, and remember that all scatter wins are multiplied by your total bet.
But there’s more: three, four or five of the scatter ears players ten free spins; each of which is subject to a 3x multiplier! And don’t forget, the free spins round can be re-triggered by spinning three or more of the scatter.
Lantern Bonus
So let’s take a look at that Lantern Bonus that we mentioned earlier in the piece. It will periodically appear on your reels, and if you can land three or more of the bonus symbol on a payline then you will a) win a fantastic prize and b) trigger the Lantern Bonus round. Three lanterns earns 36x-300x your line bet, four pays 48x-400x and five rewards players with 60x-500x their line bet.
The Lantern Bonus is played out on a second screen, with a variety of vibrant and colourful lanterns on offer to be chosen from. Here, you get to choose three or more of the lanterns on display to reveal a prize, and these are totaled up and added to your bank at the end of the bonus round.
Serene Slots
The oriental theme is a well-trodden path in the world of online slots, so it is good to see Microgaming taking the classic template and taking it to the next level.
The base game is fairly standard as far as contemporary slot games go, with vibrant animations and authentic sounds adding to the serene experience.
But the action picks up when those scatters and wilds come into play. These pay fairly generously in their own right, and the free spins bonus – of which ten freebies is a fairly stingy amount – comes into its own thanks to its 3x multiplier, which is a rarity in new slot releases.
But the jewel in Serenity’s crown is the Lantern Bonus feature. With rewards of up to 500x the total line bet on offer, this has the potential to create some huge wins for lucky players. And that will truly make you feel serene.