Shanghai Lights - Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

Introduction

Shanghai has long been considered by some to be the beating heart of culture and entertainment. Realtime Gaming has brought us this Asian inspired slot to celebrate the highlife of Shanghai many years ago, when nightlife and gambling were booming. This is a 5 reel slot that takes a 3x5 format, with 50 adjustable paylines. 

There are 5 themed base game symbols, including the Shanghai Lights logo, a man in a white suit, man in a black tux, woman in a pink top and a woman in an orange top, all decked out to dazzle. There are also lower value card suits: hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs. There’s a wild, which appeals on the third reel during the base game and substitutes all symbols bar scatters. When it appears it’ll replicate and cover all position on that reel before payouts are awarded. A gold dragon coin is the scatter.

The user interface is neatly laid out in purple sections below the reels, with information, bet/line adjustment, win amount, max bet, spina and autospin running left to right.

Theme, Graphics & Soundtrack

Shanghai Lights is an Asian inspired slot. While the market here is already quite saturated in terms of Chinese tradition, celebrations, legends and history, this particular slot instead bases itself around modern Chinese times at the start of the 20th century, circa the 1930s. It was a time where Shanghai was blooming and industry booming. The rich were drawn the lights of Shanghai, dubbed 'Paris of the East', and the mixture of nightlife, vibrant culture and gambling were central to its allure.

A casino, showing the wallpapered wall, serves as the backdrop. It’s very basic, with strobes of light adding glitz. The reels themselves are very simply outlined in gold, while symbols are given an uplift thanks to more intricate golden detailing and lights. The graphics are good quality, vibrant and contemporary, though animations are far more basic and limited. There’s a digital dance soundtrack to accompany gameplay, giving the slot the energy of an evening out at a busy casino. 

Shanghai Lights RTP and Variance

Shanghai Lights has a decent 96% RTP, which what we like to see for such a video slot. It’s thought to be of medium to high volatility, so it’s likely players will see less regular but higher payouts on offer.

How to Play Shanghai Lights 

1. Familiarise yourself with the rules and payable, found via the ‘i’ to the bottom left. 
2. Use the +/- buttons to select the line bet and paylines.
3. Your total bet will be displayed below. If you’re happy with it, hit spin.
4. To save you time, the coins button to the left of the main spin button will set the stake to max and autospin is also available. 

Bet Sizes & Paytable Wins 

The minimum is a 0.01 line bet on 1 payline, for a minimum total bet of 0.01. The maximum in the demo is a 0.25 line bet on 50 paylines, for a top 12.50 coin stake. The max bet in the paid-for version appears to be 250.

The maximum win per spin is 50,000x the bet per payline. 

The most valuable base game symbol is the game’s logo, paying 888x for 5-of-a-kind, down to 8x for 2. Next are the white and black suited men, worth up to 800x for 5-of-a-kind. 

All symbols pay from left to right with the exception of scatters, which pay any.

Symbols either pay for 2 or 3 and above.

The scatter pays 2x for 3-of-a-kind, up to 50x for 5-of-a-kind. Scatter wins are multiplied by the total stake. 

Shanghai Lights Bonus Features

Free Games 

Three or more scatters trigger 5 free spins. The wild can appear on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th reels during the round. Two scatters here will also award a prize, and all wins including a wild will be doubled. What’s more, at the end of the free spins you could trigger the Super Spin Free Games feature with 3 Super Spins and various upgrades depending on the number of scatters you’ve had land on the reels during the free spins round. You can get more free spins, wild reels and scatter pays subject to a top 5x multiplier. 

Shanghai Lights Review Overall

Shanghai Lights keeps things simple in terms of aesthetics and features to give it a more classic slot vibe. Some may be underwhelmed by appearances, but graphics are still good quality and the soundtrack provides energy, cultivating that expensive night at the Shanghai casino atmosphere. 

The minimum stake is very appealing for casual play. The top wager in the demo is rather restrictive at 12.50 coins, but the anticipated 250 max in the paid-for version should tempt the higher rollers. Unfortunately it’s a bit of a hassle adjusting the lines and stake when having to slowly click through all of the options, unless you want to jump to the top stake. The slot also has a decent 96% RTP with higher volatility, suggesting there are some decent prizes on offer. The top 50,000x the line bet payout is certainly very tempting.

Spend time with the alluring ladies of the Orient with Shanghai Beauty, a 2016 release from Microgaming. Bets start from just 0.01 and the slot has a 96% RTP, medium variance, wilds, free spins and up to a 500x multiplier. 

Disclaimer: Shanghai Lights trademark / license is owned by Real Time Gaming. This site is not endorsed by Real Time Gaming.