The Great Archer - Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

Introduction

DTech Gaming is a Hong Kong developer operating in partnership with Microgaming, so it’s no surprise that they create exciting slots based on Asian themes.

The Great Archer tells the tale of Houyi and how he saved the world with his incredible marksmanship, shooting rogue suns out of the sky. The remaining sun is the substituting wild in this game, replacing every symbol except the scatter.

The power symbol here is undoubtedly the raven scatter - it’s the highest-paying symbol in the game and triggers up to 20 free spins with multiplying multipliers for a potential 27x your win. If you’ve played Raging Rhino, you’ll know exactly what to expect.

This is another well-put-together game from Dreamtech slots that’s been optimised for mobile and tablet. You can also experience the game risk-free by playing at Slots Temple.

Theme, Graphics & Soundtrack

Houyi is a fascinating character from Chinese mythology - an inhumanly strong young man with a tiger bone bow and arrows crafted from dragon’s tendons who renounced immortality to help humankind.

The husband of the Moon Goddess and the greatest archer ever to wield a bow, this prototype superhero shot down nine of the ten suns that were threatening to make the Earth a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

DTech recreates the myth with some nicely drawn premium symbols that include Houyi himself, a black pearl compass, his lethal bow and arrow and an archery target.

There’s also a snake, a reference to another of Houyi’s exploits where he killed a giant snake that had been killing the residents of Dongting Lake. The reels are framed by Houyi’s magnificent bow and set against a pretty pastoral backdrop.

The soundtrack is fairly standard for an Asian themed slot but creates the right atmosphere. It’s just a shame not as much care was taken over crafting the six royals in this 13-symbol slot.

RTP & Volatility

The combination of medium volatility and 96.81% RTP will be catnip for most players. Coupled with that huge top win, there’s massive potential in this 5x4, 1024 ways to winslot.

How to Play The Great Archer

Getting started with this slot is a breeze. We played the mobile-optimised version with a player interface consisting of a group of icons to the right of the reels.

1. Start by clicking the three-line Menu icon at the bottom right of the screen to access the paytable and game rules plus game functions like sound and fast spins.

2. The Coin icon opens up the Bet menu - make your selection in line with your session budget.

3. To play The Great Archer you can either open the Autospins menu by clicking the Arrow icon or hit the Green spin button to launch your game.

Bet Sizes & Paytable Wins

Despite the huge prizes on offer, the range of bets is quite tight in this slot, although all styles of player should find something to their taste.

Minimum Bet: 0.40 credits
Max Bet: 40.00 credits

Paytable prizes are consistent with the 1024 game mechanic, which pays out when three or more matching symbols land anywhere on adjacent reels. These are the 5-oak payouts:

- Crow scatter pays 10x your stake
- Hou Yi pays 3.75x
- Pearl compass pays 3.75x
- Bow & arrows pays 3.75x
- Archery target pays 2.5x
- Snake pays 2.5x
- J-A pay 1.25x
- 9 & 10 pay 1x

Bonus Features

Despite the huge potential on offer, the gameplay really depends on two classic features - the wild and free spins - and how they sit on that maths model.

The wild symbol is the last of the 10 suns - the one that ran away and hid in a cave until the cock crowed ‘brother!’ and it was tempted out to warm the Earth once again.

The sun wild appears on reels 2, 3 and 4 and substitutes for every other symbol except the crow scatter. That’s the symbol that you want to land on at least three reels - here’s why:

Houyi Free Spins

The powerful crow symbol does it all, launching the free spins feature and paying a scatter prize of 2x, 5x or 10x your stake before the free games launch.

- 3 scatters = 8 free spins
- 4 scatters = 15 free spins
- 5 scatters = 20 free spins

Free spins come with multiplying multiplier wilds that drop on reels 2, 3 and 4 and award a 2x or 3x multiplier. The biggest multiplier payout is 27x your win when you land three 3x multipliers in a winning combination.

Better yet, free spins come with limitless retriggers, and you can earn 5, 8, 15 or 20 additional spins when you land two, three, four or five scatters during your free games.

Max-win 400x

Volatility Medium

Top RTP 96.81%

Overall Review: Our Verdict

If you’re into Asian themed slots, the 3048x top prize, medium volatility and high RTP of The Great Archer will make this a must-play, though the biggest prizes are incredibly volatile.

We also recommend the Third Prince's Journey slot from Eurasian Gaming.

Disclaimer: The Great Archer trademark / license is owned by Dreamtech. This site is not endorsed by Dreamtech.