Whispering Winds

Whispering Winds: Slot Overview

Who says casino game makers lack a soul and are only consumed with crafting cold, heartless devices which are literally designed to take peoples' money? The title of this game, Whispering Winds, from developer Play'n GO would suggest otherwise. Whispering Winds. It's quite poetic, isn't it? Maybe the name is a window into the soul of Play'n GO, where secrets, romance, and mystery abound. Or not, since Whispering Winds is an Asian themed reskin of the mediocre slot Legion Gold, putting a major kibosh on the project's creative spark.

As an Asian-themed slot, Whispering Winds is okay looking, nothing special, nothing disgustingly hideous. It's got a traditional structure holding the gaming grid, a misty courtyard scene in the background, and miscellaneous items like dragons, swords, and warriors. As mentioned, Whispering Winds makes an okay visual impression; the sonics aren't bad, either. Generic, but that's kind of how it is with these sorts of slots.

Those who wish to partake can click the plus and minus buttons to choose a stake as low as 5 c per spin or as high as $/€100, with various levels in between. For math model volatility, Whispering Winds sits right in the middle of the scale, earning a 5 out of 10 medium rating. The RTP values, as always, may differ depending on the market, with the most preferable figure being the 96.23% one. If that sounds good, then hitting the spin button sets in motion a 5-reel gaming grid, holding 3 rows on each reel and making use of 25 paylines to work out the wins.

On the symbol side, Whispering Winds has 8 regular pays, a wild, and a scatter. The regular pays are split into lower value J-A royals and higher value mirrors, gems, swords, and warriors. Getting a winning combination consisting of 5 matching royals is worth 2x the bet for all kinds of them or 8 to 20 times the bet for 5 matching premiums in a win. Wilds help complete combinations by substituting for any regular pay symbol. Wilds hit on all reels and have the same value as the warrior premium if making their own wins.

Whispering Winds: Slot Features

Like Legion Gold, Whispering Winds' features are a hold 'n win Gold Respins round and Mega Free Spins where a Mega symbol appears.

Gold Respins

Landing 6 Gold Coins triggers 3 Gold Respins, where only Gold Coins may land and are sticky. When a Gold Coin lands, the remaining number of Gold Respins is reset back to 3. When the Gold Respins round ends, all values of the Gold Coins in view are paid out. Each Gold Coin randomly has a value of 1x to 1,000x the bet. If Gold Coins fill all of the positions on the reels, a 1,000x the stake Golden Prize is awarded on top of the Gold Coin values.

Mega Free Spins

In the base game, landing 3 scatter symbols triggers 5 Mega Free Spins. A 3x3 sized Mega symbol lands in random positions on each free spin. Mega Free Spins can be retriggered by landing the Mega scatter up to a cap of 45 spins. Moreover, Gold Respins can be triggered during Mega Free Spins by landing the Mega Gold Coin. Should this happen, the Mega Gold Coin breaks down into 9 Gold Coins carrying random values. Once Gold Respins play out, the game returns to the free spin where the Gold Respin round was triggered.

Whispering Winds: Slot Verdict

Yep, that went about as well as expected. After reading through the game sheet at the start of the review and realising we had a Legion Gold clone on the agenda, excitement wasn't passionately bubbling over. The reason is that Legion Gold's mashed-together mix of old-school gameplay, weak stats, and overall low-energy entertainment didn't light many fires the first time around. Pretty much all of that stuff has returned for Whispering Winds, except its recycled innards have been adorned in an arguably even more commonplace skin than Ancient Rome.

On the plus side? Some may appreciate that Whispering Winds is a simple game, with a whiff of Wolf Gold to it, in regards to the big symbol free spins bonus, coupled with a rudimentary hold 'n win round. Free spins, okay, there's a roaming 3x3 Mega symbol, fair enough. There's not much to Gold Respins, though - land Gold Coins, get Gold Coin values, full stop. No collector, no special symbols? Oh well. Suppose the 1,000x Golden Prize would be a decent cherry on top of filling all positions with Gold Coin symbols, though Whispering Winds' 2,000x the bet maximum winning potential is hardly the stuff of legends.

And so, by extension, Whispering Winds is hardly the stuff of legends either. The opposite, really, as it sits next to its Legion Gold buddy on the less exciting shelf of the Play'n GO collection. Still, Legion Gold must have garnered enough attention to warrant a reskin, so players who were thrilled by the Roman version may achieve the same levels of thrill from Whispering Winds.