Phoenix Queen Hold ‘n’ Link

Phoenix Queen Hold ‘n’ Link Overview

Stakelogic is one of the rare studios that is prolific, but the games they make are usually of a high standard. This is probably because they are one of the larger producers with plenty of capacity for creating new products. Phoenix Queen Hold ‘n’ Linkis another slot from them, which impresses in its looks and the playing experience it offers. It is thematically based on the phoenix, a mythical bird that can regenerate itself after it perishes. Mechanically, this is a five-reel, three-row game with 30 pay lines and an RTP of 95.87%.

The features of this game are threefold. The first bonus is the wild bonus. The wild icon in this game is the Queen with red hair. It can substitute for all other symbols barring the bonus icon. In this way, it helps to score more wins. The second feature is the Hold and Win bonus triggered by landing six or more of the bonus icon on the reels simultaneously. This is a classic Hold and Win bonus, where players aim to land more bonus icons to trigger jackpots. Finally, this game also has a cash pot bonus which could be won at the end of the Hold and win feature. All features will be explained in more detail later in the review.

Theme and Symbols

As far as we can divine, the theme for this game is inspired by the phoenix, a mythical bird that appears in various forms across cultures. Looking at the rest of the board in this game, we can infer that the phoenix is of Asian heritage, meaning it could be based on Fenghuang, a famous bird in Chinese culture. This bird was said to be very rarely spotted, but when it was signalled a period of peace and prosperity to reign over the land. Needless to say, this bird has a lot of good fortune attached to it, hence why it has been chosen to be the guardian of this game.

The background for Phoenix Queen Hold ‘n’ Win is a delicate arrangement of flowers on thick boughs of trees. The flowers are pink in colour and could be considered cherry blossoms, meaning that this slot might also have drawn some inspiration from the national flower of Japan and its association with fresh starts and luck. Having said this, it might literally just be a pleasant floral background that the designer picked out for no other reason than that it looked nice.

The playing board for this game is a golden rectangle with the jackpot amounts labelled atop the regular reels.
The symbols for this game are split into low-value, high-value and special symbols. The low-value symbols are the 10, J, Q, K and A in playing card royals. The most valuable one is the A, worth 2.5x the stake for the top combination. On the other hand, the higher value symbols are the pink, green and blue phoenixes, the golden phoenix pendant, and the golden tree. The golden tree ( the bonsai) is the most valuable, paying out at 12.5x the stake for the top combination. The special symbols are the red-headed girl wild and the blue Hold and Win bonus coin.

Game Play

Phoenix Queen Hold ‘n’ Win is played on a 5-reel, 3-row machine with 30 fixed pay lines. To win combinations, players must land three or more matching symbols on pay lines moving from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel.

The betting range for Phoenix Queen Hold ‘n’ Win is 10p to £10 per spin. To adjust their bet levels, players can toggle their stake up and down using the tool located at the bottom left-hand side of the screen.
Further information, including a short tutorial and a display of the paytable, can be found via the menu button in the right-hand corner of the screen. The spin and auto spin buttons are located in the centre of the screen.
Volatility for this slot is rated in the average range. The return to player percentage for Phoenix Queen Hold ‘n’ Win is 96.08%, which is just above average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 5,000x your stake.

Features

The first feature in this game is the wild bonus. The wild in this game is the red-headed girl or Queen. She can substitute for any other symbol apart from the bonus scatter icon to help score more wins.
The next feature is the Hold and Win feature triggered by landing six or more of the special bonus icons on the reels at once. This will take you through to a new reel set where the triggering bonus symbols stay stuck to the reels. You are then given three re-spins. The goal of the bonus game is to try and land as many bonus symbols as possible. Every time you land a new bonus symbol, your re-spins are refreshed to three. The Hold and win bonus finishes when you run out of re-spins or when you fill the entire board with symbols.
The number of symbols you land at the end of the feature could also mean you win one of the available jackpots. The maximum jackpot is won when you fill the entire screen with symbols. However, there are also two other jackpots that can be won with fewer symbols on the board. The more symbols, the bigger the jackpot. Bonus symbols may also fall with an attached multiplier considered at the end to boost payouts.

Conclusion

Hold and win slots, it has to be said, are slowly taking over the online slot world, yet it depends on your outlook if you view this as a good thing or a bad thing. Either way, this is an excellent example of one that keeps things simple but is also finished to a high standard. Win potential wise; things are ok, but nothing you’d to be too excited about.