Play Red Emperor for Free

Although Red Emperor returns to the traditional payline format, given that all 40 paylines are fixed at all times, players only need to worry about choosing their total bet amount each game. The slot can be played from as little as £0.40 a spin and as much as £1,000, with a wide range of options in between these two ends of the spectrum making it an accommodating game no matter your budget.

At the smallest bet amount, wins in Red Emperor start at £0.10 for matching three of the lowest value icons and range up to £4,000 for finding a wild tiger symbol in a valid payline on all five reels, with even the lowest-value four-of-a-kind combination ensuring you break even on your spin. All in all, this means the base game is fairly lucrative all round, though wins don’t come about that often.

To counter-act this fact, Cayetano Gaming have included an incredibly generous free spins feature that offers 14 free spins with an extra row of symbols coming into play. This results in the total number of paylines increasing to 100 and there’s also an instant win bonus of up to 100x your stake.

In terms of visuals, Red Emperor upholds Cayetano Gaming’s reputation for outstanding graphics despite not featuring the 3D animations that are present in some of the studio’s other titles. The game features a Far East theme and the reels are set to a background of a mountainous landscape featuring traditional pagodas and all manner of exotic trees and flora nestled in its various valleys.

The symbols used in Red Emperor run the full gamut from traditional playing card icons to unique symbols, with lucky coins, porcelain vases, the emperor and his empress and a wild tiger all adding to the game’s aesthetic. Additionally, there are two special symbols – a yin yang and a free spins gong – that further pad out the line-up and keep the slot’s overall theme consistent throughout.

Audio-wise, Red Emperor features a tranquil piece of Oriental background music to provide a soothing soundtrack to play in the base game, with a number of unique sound effects helping to add a touch of drama to proceedings whenever a big win or a bonus feature is triggered in regular play.

There are two main bonus features in Red Emperor, and although they don’t come around that often, they can be especially rewarding to players. The first is a free spins feature that is activated whenever three gong scatter symbols appear on the reels, with the odds of landing this combination improved by the fact that two gong symbols results in an additional re-spin to boost your chances.

Once activated, players will benefit from 14 free spins with an extra row of symbols being added to the reels. This results in the total number of active paylines increasing from 40 to 100, while any subsequent “extra spins” symbol that appears will award six more games to prolong the feature.

The second bonus feature is an instant win that is triggered whenever three yin yang scatter symbols appear anywhere on the game board. When this happens, the yin yang will blur and reveal a random prize amount, with players able to win up to 100x their bet for an instant boost to their bankroll.

Despite its 40 active paylines, the number of regular symbols in Red Emperor means that the slot can actually be quite harsh on your bankroll when luck isn’t on your side. That being said, should you manage to trigger one of the two incredibly generous bonus features, you’ll certainly stand a good chance of walking away with a prize that will easily compensate for any barren base game runs.