Sleeping Dragon Ultra Dark: Slot Overview
They say you should 'let sleeping dogs lie' and that goes doubly so for dragons, maybe even triply so, on account of their ability to incinerate intruders with a mere puff of breath. This hasn't deterred software provider Pragmatic Play, though, which has revisited its dozing serpent slot Sleeping Dragon and come back with an update. Titled Sleeping Dragon Ultra Dark, it follows much of the same playbook - classic looks, hold 'n' win feature, jackpot prizes, and added a new Money Egg mini game and extra feature buys. The original didn't exactly ignite the scoreboard when it first hit, so claws crossed the updated version can fare a bit better.
Like last time, Sleeping Dragon Ultra Dark has an old-school look to it, where a dragon lies draped over the gaming area, sleeping on a bed of gold coins and jewels. There are fewer gold coins and jewels on screen than before, though, so fantasy-minded players get to lay their eyes on ivy-wrapped columns and stained glass windows, in some sort of abandoned throne room. D&D lore scholars may have already noted that red dragons are more powerful than black dragons, but rest assured, Sleeping Dragon Ultra Dark possesses sharper claws and hotter flames than its predecessor did in terms of extra features and greater potential.
Housed in a spiky stone frame is Sleeping Dragon Ultra Dark's gaming grid, made up of 5 reels and 10 paylines. It's possible to stake $/€0.20 to $/€240 per spin, and Pragmatic Play has built on the bonus buy opportunities this time; this is possibly one of the key reasons why the studio decided to make the game. Like last time, the math model volatility is rated as high, and it produces a default RTP of 96.5%.
Pay table symbols include 10-A royals, swords, shields, crowns, and queens. Landing 5 matching royal symbols pays 0.7x-1.5x the bet, or hitting 5 matching high pays awards 4x-10x the bet. Knight in shining armour wild symbols are present on all reels. Wilds substitute for any symbols on the pay table and have the same value as the queen symbol.
Sleeping Dragon Ultra Dark: Slot Features
Buried amongst the guarded treasure is a respin bonus feature, free spins, and feature buys.
Respin Bonus Feature
Money symbols display values of 1x to 80x, the 20x Mini, 100x Minor, or 200x Major. Hitting 6 or more Money symbols triggers the respin bonus feature. In the base game, it is possible for random Money symbols to appear on top of the grid. When this happens, they may randomly move down onto the reels so that enough of them trigger the respin feature.
Players are awarded 3 respins in what is your typical hold and spin bonus. The round ends when positions are filled or respins run out, then the total prize amount in view is paid. If the grid is completely filled, an extra 7,000x is awarded.
If a Money Egg landed, its value is determined at the end of the respins feature. The Money Egg appears on a 3x3 grid that lands blanks or Money symbols. Players get 3 respins that reset when new symbols land. When this mini feature ends, the values of the landed Money symbols are added to the Money Egg. If all 8 positions are filled in the mini game, 400x is added to the final value. In the base game, if 15 Money symbols land at the same time, the total of their values plus the Mega 7,000x is awarded.
Free Spins
When 3, 4, or 5 scatters land, players win 8, 12, or 50 free spins, respectively. During free spins, the middle three reels spin together to land giant symbols. If a giant scatter hits, players get +3 free spins. If a giant Money symbol hits (these are worth 5x to the 200x Major), the bonus respin round is triggered. At random, on non-winning free spins, there is a chance the giant symbol will be replaced by a wild or a Money symbol, thereby triggering the respin bonus.
Feature Buys
Sleeping Dragon Ultra Dark has four options in its feature buy section. They are 50x to trigger a standard respin bonus, or 50x to trigger standard free spins. Paying 100x buys super respins, where Money symbols have values up to 1,000x, or 1,000x buys the ultra respin bonus, where Money symbols have values up to 10,000x.
Sleeping Dragon Ultra Dark: Slot Verdict
Online slot follow-ups tend to fall into two very broad categories. On the one hand, you've got sequels that blast the original concept into mind-bending new territory, or you've got others, like Sleeping Dragon Ultra Dark, which tinker rather than reinvent. Both approaches have their place in the wider scheme of things. Sleeping Dragon Ultra Dark was made for those who enjoyed the original, or for those who haven't tried it, gamblers who appreciate dated-looking, jackpot games, with little in the way of madly original gameplay. A couple of ways this one differs from the past is through the Money Egg feature expanding the respin round, and a host of extra feature buys.
There was a time, believe it or not, when a 1,000x bonus buy in a Pragmatic Play game would have been a massive shock. The studio just didn't do extreme buys till around Strawberry Cocktail. These days, Pragmatic Play is as wild and crazy as just about any other studio when it comes to feature buys. And Sleeping Dragon Ultra Dark gave off the impression that it had gamblers who prefer to bet big firmly in mind. Of course, you don't need to. Sleeping Dragon Ultra Dark can be just as enjoyable when betting a regular 1x on each spin, and hoping the dragon will breathe fire over everything. Furthermore, when buying the 1,000x ultra respin bonus, it is totally possible to only land the lower Money symbols and shun the bigger ones altogether. It might have been nice if lesser Money symbol values were removed for ultra respins to avoid being massively stung. Not that gambling is overly concerned with being nice.
The Money Egg is new, too, and adds an extra layer of suspense when they land during respins, and the max win has been pushed out to 20,000x the stake, so Sleeping Dragon Ultra Dark is a more expansive game than before. That might be music to the ears of those who enjoyed the original, but again, it's a slot which mostly relies on unoriginal gameplay to get the job done.
Sleeping Dragon Ultra Dark's expansions give it more bite than its predecessor, but it's still familiar stuff with little in the way of major innovation.
