Dark Warrior

Mystic Guardian Review

Mystic Guardian is an Asian-themed jackpot slot from studio HITSqwad, based on Chinese mythological beasts known as the Four Guardians. This slot is devoted to the Black Tortoise of the North, and includes free spins, streak-style respins, and six jackpot prizes.

Like many similar games, Mystic Guardian uses a familiar formula. The reel matrix features Chinese symbols, set against Pagoda buildings and sakura trees. The music adds to the Chinese theme.

Mystic Guardian plays on a standard 5x3 reel set, where 3+ matching symbols create wins across 243 ways. There are 11 regular symbols, divided into highs and lows. The lows are A-9 royals, and the premiums are lanterns, koi fish, coins, sycees, and dragons. Five-symbol wins of card ranks pay from 0.5x to 1.5x the bet, and five-of-a-kind premium wins pay from 2x to 5x the bet. Chinese warriors are Wilds, substituting for regulars, but only appear on the middle three reels.

The game suits lower-stake players with bet levels from £0.5 to £15 per spin, and its medium variance hints the same. The default RTP is slightly below average at 95.98%, with 2.84% as a jackpot contribution, lowering the base game return. Another version offers a 93.99% value, so check the rules.

Mystic Guardian Slot Features

The slot’s main bonuses trigger by landing 3 or more tortoise Scatter symbols. Once a required combination appears, a Pick-n-Play feature lets players choose Free Spins or the Sky Gods bonus games:

Selecting the Free Spins bonus awards 5 initial spins. The free games are like the base game, but with additional Wild symbols on the reels. Landing 3+ Scatters during the feature gives a retrigger.

Choosing the Sky Gods bonus takes players to special reels with only bonus symbols. Initially, only the first three reels are unlocked, and players select 3 of 9 symbol positions, which become locked bonus symbols with random cash values.

3 Respins start, and each new cash symbol resets the counter to 3. When all 9 positions fill with cash symbols, reel 4 unlocks, and Stage 2 of the bonus begins.

Cash symbols on this reel have higher values and can land with fixed Mini or Minor jackpot prizes. If one or more cash symbol appears, Stage 3 triggers immediately.

On the final stage, reel 5 unlocks, where multipliers of 2x, 3x, 5x, or 10x can appear. All cash values on preceding reels are multiplied. Bonus symbols on reel 5 can display Maxi, Major, or Grand jackpot prizes, which are progressive. Only 1 prize can be won on the final stage. Any win ends the feature, after which all values are collected and paid.

Review Summary

Overall, HITSqwad has created an impressive slot game. While it may seem like a typical Chinese game at first glance, you’ll quickly realize that it’s much bigger than that once you take a peek under the hood. The game's numerous features provide an exceptional gaming experience, and you definitely won’t have a dull moment hunting for the massive jackpots.