Mystery of the Orient - Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

Mystery of the Orient Slot Review

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the Orient can’t have any mysteries left - not with the frequency with which it appears in slots. Nevertheless, here is another five-reel game from Pragmatic Play and Wild Streak Gaming, this time with 25 paylines, mystery symbols (very appropriate for the title), wilds with random multipliers and a free spins bonus which, as our Mystery of the Orient slot review will explain, also includes reels that grow in size.

Orientalism

Edward Said coined the term Orientalism in his book of the same name to describe how Western societies in Europe and North America depict “the East”. From Arabia to China, mysticism often trumps fact, and clichés sometimes outshine reality. We see that in slots sometimes, when they cobble together odd bits of various eastern cultures to create an intriguing but not necessarily authentic setting. The images of the Mystery of the Orient slot may be inspired by East Asia, but that doesn’t make them coherent.

A Mysterious Story

There seems to be a story behind Mystery of the Orient. You don’t put a warrior woman in a video slot unless you want her to have a character and personality of her own. She’s impossible to miss in her position next to the reels, her cape constantly billowing in the wind as your eye is drawn towards the sword she brandishes. 

The things that surround her, from the cherry blossom background to the paper screens, coins with holes in the middle, tigers and yin yang symbols, are all generally associated with Japan and/or China, but it’s not entirely clear how they all fit together or whether this is just another attempt to take advantage of some of the most iconic images of East Asia.

Mystery of the Orient RTP and Variance

We played the Mystery of the Orient slot with an RTP of 96%, but some casinos may set it lower. The variance is high.

How to Play Mystery of the Orient

Spin reels, find matching symbols. It always sounds easy, but will luck be in your favour?

1. Winning symbols can never be guaranteed in slots, so you have to think about responsible gaming. Budgets, limits, self-exclusion, taking a timeout - their importance can’t be dismissed.
2. Also important? Knowing how your game works, as explained on the info page.
3. When it comes to settings, sound and bet options are available on the main screen, or you can find them in the menu with battery saver. Bet in particular, with its 0.25 minimum total, is vital for budgeting.
4. You can spin the reels now: just press the button, but review your settings as you go to make sure you stop at your limits.
5. Have fun and play responsibly.

How to Win at Mystery of the Orient

As base game formats go, Mystery of the Orient isn’t too different from many other Pragmatic Play slots. The 5x3 layout is a common one, and there are 25 paylines where you can try and find matching symbols. Not like the Bill & Coin slot with its thousands of ways. The 11 regular symbols are joined by wilds, scatters and mysteries, all part of the Mystery of the Orient bonus features that you’ll be hoping to trigger.

Top Wins

• Of the regular symbols, six are cards, and if you know anything about slots, you’ll probably guess that they’re lower value. 
• Payout potential increases with themed symbols, with the warrior woman herself at the top.
• Remember, your total win is bigger with five matching symbols than just three or four.
• There’s a grand award of 8000x your bet if you find the scatter symbol five times.
• Overall, the max win available is x8035.

Mystery of the Orient Bonuses 

Sometimes you’ll spot what seems like one bonus in the Mystery of the Orient slot, but then it leads to more. For instance, when mystery symbols transform they could turn into wild multipliers or free spins.

Mystery Symbols

Mystery symbols don’t transform into regular symbols but can turn into scatters, wilds or free spins symbols. Scatters pay from anywhere and may lead to the grand award.

Wild Multipliers

Most modern slots have wild symbols, but these don’t just act as substitutes. They can also bring their own win multiplier to boost your payouts when they’re revealed by a mystery symbol first. Wild multipliers are random but can range from x2 to x25.

Free Spins

Yin yang is the free spins symbol:

• 3 symbols = 15 free spins.
• 4 symbols = 20 free spins.
• 5 symbols = 25 free spins.

Free spins also come with an additional reel size increase symbol, which can make its reel grow so it has six positions rather than five. There are also additional free spins symbols that can award between one and five extra spins.

Max-win 8,035x

Volatility Medium

Top RTP 95%

Mystery of the Orient Review - Summary 

There’s quite a lot going on in Mystery of the Orient, with images like tigers and warrior women to suggest drama and deeper narratives, but that doesn’t change the fact that the setting and theme don’t really stray from the many other Asian-themed slots out there, even with vivid graphics and lively animations. Special symbols and bonus features do mean the gameplay has some depth of its own.