Eternal Shogi - Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

Introduction

Eternal Shogi has a five-reel and three-row set-up, and the aim of this slot is to land matching symbols on one of the ten paylines. This game has an innovative game mechanic. There are five left-to-right paying lines and five right-to-left paying lines. There are 11 symbols in total. Five are left paying and appear on reels 1, 2 and 3, and five are right paying and appear on reels 3, 4, and 5. These symbols are classified as either high-paying or low-paying. There is also a Dragon symbol which appears only on reel 3, and this acts as a Wild and a Scatter. It substitutes for all other symbols and can trigger the bonus feature when landed with higher-paying symbols in a winning combination.

Eternal Shogi is one of the fun Spearhead Studios demo slots available to play here for free. It’s a great idea to get to know it in demo mode, and we recommend you do this to get a feel for the game before you decide to play for real money at an online casino.

Theme, Graphics & Soundtrack

Eternal Shogi has a Japanese theme, and players are transported to a serene world where mountain tops tower up into the sky through soft floating clouds. Shogi, which means “general's board game”, is known as Japanese chess and is a two-player strategy game popular in Japan. Here we see a tortoise and another creature standing on the top of a mountain, perhaps playing shogi, while flocks of bird fly above and clouds float by. The symbols are all Japanese-themed, including a koi carp, fan, mountain, bamboo, gates, fans, bonsai tree and lantern. The screen is remarkably uncluttered, and the symbols themselves are very simplistic in style. However, the overall graphics are beautifully detailed, and the dragons winding round the reels and surrounding the spin button really make the game look appealing. The gentle Japanese-style soundtrack also really enhances the theme of the game. Fans of the popular CHI online slot will really enjoy this game.

RTP & Volatility

Eternal Shogi has anRTP (return to player) of 95.83%. This is amedium-volatility online slot, so players can expect a nice range of prizes, and these rewards should be coming fairly regularly - enough to keep the game engaging.

How to Play Eternal Shogi

Here are a few steps to help players get started with Eternal Shogi:

1. In the bottom right-hand, there is an icon showing three lines which players can click to view the game settings and information screen pop-up.

2. When the pop-up screen opens, players can click the Settings icon to set preferences such as spin speed, music settings, etc.

3. Players can click the i button to view the paytable and paylines.

4. By clicking Game Rules, players can view detailed game rules and information.
 
5. To return back to the game screen, simply press the X.
 
6. Back on the game screen, players can click the icon showing coins beneath the Spin button to set their bet amount.
 
7. The Auto Play function will keep the reels spinning automatically. By pressing the button above the Spin button, players can turn this on and set the number of spins, loss limits and stops.

8. Once all preferences are set, simply press the swirling Spin button to start the game and enjoy responsibly.

Bet Sizes & Paytable Wins

Eternal Shogi has a minimum bet of 0.1 and the maximum players can bet is 100.

Here is a list of the payouts matching three symbols on a payline:

Mountains, water - 50x
Leaves, wind - 10x
Gates, koi fish - 3x
Clouds, lanterns - 2x
Bamboo, fans - 1x
 
During Free Spins win multipliers of 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x and 16x are possible.

Max-win 800x

Volatility Medium

Top RTP 95.86%

Eternal Shogi Bonus Features

Re-Spin

If two high-paying symbols land on reels 1 and 2 or on reels 4 and 5, it is classed as a Free Spin ‘Near Miss’ and players are awarded a re-spin of reel 3 to give another chance for a win.

Free Spin

Landing a three-of-a-kind higher-paying symbol combination on the reels, which includes the Scatter/Wild on reel 3, triggers the Free Spin bonus. The Waves and the Mountain symbols award 15 Free Spins, and the Leaves and the Wind award eight Free Spins. If a left-winning combination forms and a right-winning combination forms, Free Spins are awarded for both wins, so players can win up to 32 Free Spins and Free Spins can be retriggered. During the Free Spins bonus round, wins are subject to a multiplier.

Win multipliers are 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x or 16x, and the multiplier increases if there is a win on either side. If there is a loss on either side, the multiplier returns to 1x.

Overall Review

Eternal Shogi is a great-looking slot with impressive graphics and some original features. It’s the innovative win mechanic that really keeps the game engaging, and although players will be familiar with Re-Spins and Free Spins, the fresh twists of the ‘near miss’ and the increasing Free Spin multiplier make this slot interesting and extremely entertaining.