Play Phoenix and the Dragon for Free

Phoenix and the Dragon combines elements of mystic Oriental legend and myth, pitting the phoenix and the dragon against one another in a battle to the death. The game should appeal most to gamers interested in such a titanic and mythical theme, although to be honest, many of the usual tropes of five-reel casino games are present and correct here. You can certainly derive pleasure from simply aiming to find matching combinations of the Oriental symbols – especially if you’re on a hot streak.

We particularly liked the design of the game logo. ‘Phoenix’ appears in orange and red, suggestive of flames, while ‘dragon’ is green, suggestive of, well, a dragon! The reel grid appears in front of a rocky background, and the controls along the foot of the screen will be familiar to all. There are buttons for Spin, Bet Max, Coins, Lines and Autoplay. You can use the + and - buttons to regulate your bet-per-line and also the number of pay-lines you wish to play on. The game is available to play in both free slots mode and also for real money.

The scatter icon is the Phoenix and Dragon logo. Although it provides scatter wins, it is not linked to any values in the pay-table. That doesn’t mean it’s not lucrative, though. Land five scatters in a single spin and your bet will be multiplied by 50!

Rolling some free spins into the scatter wins would have certainly been welcome, but a multiplier is nice too, so we can’t complain too vociferously.

The game’s wild, which is represented by a Yin/Yang logo, can replace all other symbols except the scatter. Not only that, but employing a wild in a winning combination grants you a 2x multiplier.

The highest-paying symbols in the game are the Chinese emblems, while the lowest are the playing card icons. There are no less than six of these, stretching from 9 through to Ace, though what they have to do with the overall theme is anyone’s guess. We think it would’ve been best to ditch these ubiquitous symbols in favour of more Oriental icons, but hey, that’s just us. Some players won’t care a jot.

The Phoenix and the Dragon bonus feature can be triggered when both the phoenix and dragon icons appear on the first and fifth reels. Thereafter, players will have to choose a fighter. Whoever you choose determines what reward you receive. Choosing the phoenix will net you at least four free spins, and all phoenixes are converted into wilds in reels three, four and five. If the phoenix wins the subsequent battle, you’ll get eight free spins. The free spins can also be re-triggered.

If you pick the dragon icon, meanwhile, you’ll trigger the Dragon Cloud bonus. During the bonus, the gamer must choose from a number of clouds to bag prizes (‘Select a cloud to find the dragon’s pearl!’). There’s also a 2x multiplier attached if the dragon wins the showdown. Keep choosing clouds until you find the one marked ‘Collect’.

Phoenix and the Dragon is not a particularly great ride, truth be told. The visuals are scratchy and forgettable, the music isn’t especially Oriental and the pay-outs are only so-so. The lack of free spins hurts this game, and the presence of playing cards gets my goat. On the plus side, the feature round is potentially lucrative – and if you win big, it could well make up for the aforementioned shortcomings. Take the game for a test drive in free mode and you’ll get a better idea of whether you want to risk real money.