Lunar Link: Sky King

Lunar Link: Sky King is an Oriental-themed slot game developed by Playtech, set to release in November 2023. The game features a 5×3 grid layout with 30 paylines, immersing players in a traditional Chinese setting with vibrant graphics and thematic symbols.

The game's design showcases a street in a traditional Chinese town, complete with houses featuring “resting hill roofs,” a characteristic architectural style. The reels are centrally positioned, with jackpot levels displayed on the left and game controls on the right. This layout ensures an immersive experience across various devices, including mobile, desktop, and tablets.

Symbols in Lunar Link: Sky King are divided into lower and higher-paying categories. The lower-paying symbols consist of standard card ranks 10, J, Q, K, and A, with five of a kind paying 1.50x the bet. Higher-paying symbols include a purple ornament, a red money bag, a light blue drum, and a Dragon, offering payouts between 2.50x and 6x for five matching symbols.

The game incorporates several special symbols:

• Wild Symbol: Represented by a female figure with the text “WILD,” it substitutes for all regular symbols to create winning combinations.
• Scatter Symbol: Depicted as a traditional Chinese house with a golden frame, it triggers the Free Games feature and offers direct payouts of 1x, 10x, or 50x for 3, 4, or 5 symbols respectively.
• Blue Moon Symbol: Landing 6 or more triggers the Lunar Link Hold & Respin feature and can carry a cash value up to 50x.
• Gold Moon Symbol: Activates the Gold Moon Wheel Spin feature and carries a cash value up to 500x the bet.

Lunar Link: Sky King offers several engaging bonus features:

• Free Games: Triggered by 3 or more Scatter symbols, awarding 6 free spins. The feature can be retriggered, and during free spins, Blue Moon symbols on reel 3 transform into Gold Moon symbols.
• Gold Moon Wheel Spin Feature: Activated when a Gold Moon symbol lands on the reels, this feature spins the Lunar Link Wheel to award cash prizes (5x, 10x, 15x, 50x) or one of three jackpots (Mini, Minor, or Major).
• Lunar Link Hold & Respin Feature: Triggered by 6 or more Moon symbols, this feature offers 3 respins on a modified 3-3-3-4-6 grid. Moon symbols lock in place and reset the respin count. Filling the first 4 reels activates a Special Wheel Spin for additional prizes or multipliers.
• Lunar Link Grand Jackpot: A progressive jackpot starting at €20,000, awarded by landing the Grand Moon Symbol on the Grand reel during the Hold & Respin feature.
• Feature Bet: An optional bet increase that enhances the chances of triggering the Hold & Respin feature, allowing it to activate with only 5 Moon symbols.

The game boasts medium to high volatility and an RTP of 95.75%, with alternative RTP settings available for operators. The base game hit frequency is 27.80%, while the combined feature activation frequency averages 1 in 82 spins.

An interesting aspect of Lunar Link: Sky King is its timely release, coinciding with the approaching Year of the Dragon (2024). This strategic timing, coupled with the game's rich Chinese-inspired theme and progressive jackpot, positions it as an attractive option for players seeking an immersive and potentially lucrative gaming experience.