Dragon Tribe

Dragon Tribe (Nolimit City): Overview

Hot on the heels of Dragonfall from Blueprint Gaming comes Dragon Tribe from Nolimit City. While the two couldn’t be further apart when it comes to gameplay and mechanics, they both share two desirable characteristics, namely volatility and big potential. The two games also differ greatly in presentation and how they have run with the theme. Dragon Tribe has filled the reels with cartoon-style dragon symbols and a grown-up Pebbles Flintstone character. The prehistoric background is filled with steaming volcanoes and flames that threaten to blow at any moment. It’s an apt metaphor for the game itself really. This is a game full of extras that threatens to blow its stack at any moment, if you are lucky.

The grid is a bit different. It starts by using 6 reels and 4 rows which provides 4,096 ways to win. Rows can be expanded to 6 which boosts the number of win ways to 20,376. Players take part in the game by choosing an appropriate bet levels from 20 p/c to $/€100 per spin. Users also have a choice over how the free spins are played, affecting the RTP, which ranges from 95.97% - 96.06%. Volatility is set on medium-high, though it can feel higher than that depending on how a session is going. During testing, we experienced a few lulls, but when the game kicked off, it provided some great moments and the rewards that come with them. Of course, all sessions are different, so be prepared for anything to happen.

Also be prepared for low symbol values. The way the game is structured means that decent wins are possible, but symbols need help from the features to give them any substance. There are 12 base game pay symbols altogether. Half of them are 9 – A card royals that have been styled out of colourful bones. The remaining 6 symbols are made up of 5 dragons of various hues, and the tough Amazonian lady who is the most valuable at 3.75 times the stake for 6. So no, nothing too exciting, but give the features a chance, and it is possible to get good returns from them.

Dragon Tribe (Nolimit City): Features

Features are what the game is all about, and the most common is the Cascading Wins system. Symbols tumble into place, winners are crushed and removed with a satisfying crumbling sound, and new symbols tumble into place. Multiple winners can cascade from one spin, and the procedure continues until no new winners are formed. We are not lacking in slots that do this at the moment, but NoLimit has bolted on a couple of extras to mix things up – the xNudge Wild and the xWays Mystery Symbols.

The xNudge Wild can land on reels 2 - 5 and substitutes for any of the base pay symbols. For each row it drops due to cascades it increases a multiplier by 1 to a maximum of x6. For example, if the xNudge lands on the top row of a standard spin, it can drop four rows in total. If the xWays has been engaged and the rows are expanded to six, it can reach x6. When the xNudge Wild reaches the bottom row, it expands to cover the whole reel for one final flourish before leaving the game. It is possible to have up to 4 xNudge Wilds in play at once for a multiplier of x24.

xWays is a combined mystery symbol and expanding reels mechanic that can reveal 2 or 3 matching symbols. In this way the rows can expand from 4 to 6 on each reel. It is active during the base game and the extreme free spins.

The final symbol is the bonus game symbol. Land 3 of these to trigger 10 Dragon Spins, with every additional bonus symbol worth an extra 3 spins. The feature begins by presenting the player with two options:

• Dragon Spins - more frequent wins, lower volatility, xNudge, and up to 11,000x potential.
• Dragon Spins Extreme - less frequent wins, higher volatility, xNudge and xWays, and up to 27,000x potential.

No points for guessing which one we stuck to. And this is when the game went mental. During the feature, every third winning cascade turns one of the dragon symbols wild and adds 2 extra spins to the remaining total. During testing, Dragon Spins were triggered early on - before we had fully absorbed the rules, so it wasn’t 100% clear what was going on at first. Every dragon quickly turned wild which caused combos to line up at an insane rate. The overall result wasn’t all time, but it made a positive impression to say the least.

Dragon Tribe (Nolimit City): Verdict

Hit Dragon Tribe on a good day and it really is a fun game. Like a lot of slots at the moment, it’s all about piling one feature on top of another to get as many working in tandem. Do this, and the result is good old fashion slots action where tension builds along with the satisfying wins. Dragon Tribe is volatile though so don’t expect that to happen all the time. When it does it is a real hoot, and the 27,000 times the stake potential, of course, makes it all the more appealing for any hardcore gamer. After getting a taste of what it can do during testing, there is no doubt it is capable of some juicy payouts.

Dragon Tribe was a pleasant surprise and a step up from Nolimit City. They have certainly raised the bar and what direction they go next is intriguing. Now the problem for gamers looking for a volatile dragon-themed slot with high potential is which one to choose - Dragon Tribe or Dragonfall? What do you think? Comment below.