Royal Dragon Infinity Reels: Slot Overview

Asian themed slot Royal Dragon Infinity Reels is brought to you by GamesLab, a small independent studio from Australia that has been producing slots since 2002. They’ve generally flown under the radar, but could that be about to shift? This time they’ve partnered with fellow Aussies ReelPlay, licensing the Infinity Reels mechanic which has recently been adopted by a number of developers. GamesLab plays it safe with a familiar theme and leans on many of the usual features commonly tied to the mechanic. It’s not the kind of approach that’s likely to catapult the studio into the spotlight, though it should still suit players who already enjoy this format.

The setting is dressed up with an attractive mountain landscape, and the background scrolls as Infinity Reels extend the grid. The more reels that appear, the more of the scenery is revealed while wins continue to build. Gameplay begins in a 3-reel, 4-row default setup, where five matching symbols from left to right pay out. And if the sunset mountains and familiar icon set weren’t enough of a hint, the guzheng-led soundtrack makes it unmistakably Asian in tone. It’s visually pleasing, even if it also feels somewhat standard.

Royal Dragon Infinity Reels arrives through Yggdrasil’s Masters Program, a partnership initiative that lets smaller studios publish via Yggdrasil’s platform for wider distribution. As you’d expect with Yggdrasil releases, the game info is detailed. Starting with RTP, the default is 95.85%, increasing to 96.2% when the feature buy is used. Volatility is set to high, paired with fairly modest non-gamble upside. Even though there’s a jackpot in the base game, the strongest results come from free spins, which are theoretically triggered once every 150 spins. Standard wins land roughly once every three spins, or 33.48% of the time.

The symbol set is mostly made up of familiar staples, even if they’re given a slightly shinier finish. The first four are card suits – spades, clubs, hearts, and diamonds. The higher-value icons draw on Asian motifs: lotus, lantern, frog, koi, lion, and phoenix. Wins are worked out by taking the number of matching symbols involved and multiplying by their value. For reference, five of the premium symbols pay 0.33 to 1.33x the stake. Rounding things out is a glowing golden dragon wild, which substitutes for every symbol except the gong.

Royal Dragon Infinity Reels: Slot Features

As noted earlier, any five or more identical symbols starting from the leftmost reel form a win. If the third reel is part of that win, a new reel is added on the right. If the newly added symbols improve the existing win, another reel is appended – continuing until extra symbols no longer enhance the win. After that, the reels return to the starting layout for the next spin. This is the central behaviour of the Infinity Reels mechanic.

Alongside this, a symbol multiplier is active. It begins at x1 and rises whenever a new reel is added, with no maximum cap. In the base game the symbol multiplier increases by 1 each time, while in free spins it can increase by more.

To add some extra punch, any base game spin can randomly trigger a frenzy spin. When it hits, an additional x2, x3, x4, or x5 multiplier is added to the symbol multiplier and applied for that spin.

Extending the reels isn’t only for show, as there’s a bonus attached. If 12 or more reels are added in a single sequence, you receive a jackpot prize of 200x the total bet on top of any normal symbol payout. Symbol multipliers don’t affect jackpot awards, though frenzy spin multipliers do.

To enter free spins, you’ll need the gong symbol. Gongs pay from anywhere, and landing five or more gongs triggers 7 free spins – plus 1 extra free spin for each triggering gong beyond 5. In the free spins round, any gong win grants an additional 2 free spins. During this feature, the same multiplier increment approach seen in Giza Infinity Reels is used here too. On a winning spin, the symbol multiplier increment increases by 1, up to a maximum of 5. As a result, non-winning spins drop the increment by 1, down to a minimum of 1. Symbol multipliers carry over between free spins and do not reset.

Once free spins end, the action doesn’t have to stop there. If you want to push your luck, you can gamble your winnings for up to 5x the starting amount. If the gamble doesn’t go in your favour, the lowest possible return is half of the free spins total.

Finally, Royal Dragon Infinity Reels may include a feature buy option. The price is 66.67x the total stake, awarding 9 free spins and a starting symbol multiplier ranging from 1x to 5x.

Royal Dragon Infinity Reels: Slot Verdict

Even though it looks polished, Royal Dragon Infinity Reels feels very much like a by-the-book release. ReelPlay provides the engine and much of the feature set, while GamesLab delivers the visuals – a straightforward division of labour. Players who are especially into Asian-themed slots will likely be the main audience. Everyone else may find it a little underwhelming due to the familiar structure, recycled feature mix, and some less-than-enticing stats.

There’s room for the game to feel more distinctive, but unless you’re prepared to take big risks, the returns can be limited. In standard play, the top win is 2,652x the stake. This can, in theory, be pushed to 10,000x through the gamble option, though that demands a lot from players. Many won’t want to put a solid win on the line just to chase the maximum, so the restrained potential is a drawback.

Royal Dragon Infinity Reels could still be a decent pick for dedicated fans of Asian-style slots, as long as they can accept the average win ceiling. Beyond that, it neither evolves the mechanic nor introduces anything particularly fresh, so it’s unlikely to leave a strong mark.