Legion Hot 1

Legion Hot 1 Review

SLOT FEATURES	Collection Trigger, Increased Reel Height, Multipliers
RELEASE DATE	7th June 2021
GAME PROVIDER	Hot Rise Games via YGGDRASIL
SLOT TYPE	Video Slot
THEME	Civilisations
REELS, ROWS, PAYLINES	5 Reels, 3 Rows, 243 Ways Up To 5 Reels, 3-5-5-5-3 Rows, 1,125 Ways
BET LEVELS	0.30 – 90
MAXIMUM WIN	2,525x Your Stake
SCATTER SYMBOL	Yes – SHIELDS
WILD SYMBOL	Yes – WILD
BONUS GAME	No
FREE SPINS	Yes
RESPINS	No
MULTIPLIERS	Yes
JACKPOT	No
RETURN TO PLAYER	96.37% 96.47% via Buy Bonus*
VOLATILITY	MEDIUM as designed LOW compared to other Yggdrasil games

Features

BONUS COLLECTION

• The Bonus Shield symbol appears on reels 2, 3, and 4 only. Each Bonus Shield that lands in the base game is collected to that reel, improving the gameplay.
  • The 1st and 2nd shields open up new positions on the bottom and top of that reel respectively
  • The 3rd Bonus Shield collected to a reel adds a 2x multiplier to any symbol that lands in the top and bottom positions on that reel.
  • The 4th Bonus Shield collected on any reel triggers the Free Spins Feature.
• The Bonus Shield collection state is used within the Free Spins Feature and then is reset at the conclusion of the feature.

FREE SPINS FEATURE

• The 4th Bonus Shield on any reel triggers the Free Spins Feature. 10 Free Spins are awarded in this feature.
• Reels 2, 3, and 4 retain the collection state that was in place for the base game for the entire feature.
• During the Free Spins Feature Bonus Shields instead act as 2x Wilds. The reel (or reels) that collected 4 Bonus Shields to trigger the feature are further improved by the addition of extra Bonus Shields (i.e. 2x Wilds).

THE HOT 1

The final Free Spin is the ‘Hot 1’.

• One of the three middle reels is selected at random for further improvement. This reel gains the improvements of the 3rd Bonus Shield if it does not already have them – opening to 5 positions and the 2x multiplier at top and bottom.
• Additionally, Sticky Wilds are placed in the top and bottom 2x positions.

BUY BONUS (IF AVAILABLE IN YOUR JURISDICTION)

• The cost to buy is 50x bet per spin.
• A random collection of shields is awarded to the player and the Free Spins Feature is immediately started.
• The Free Spins Feature will play out as per the game rules, including the Hot 1.
• Any Shields collected before the Buy Bonus are not used during the Buy Bonus and are restored after the Buy Bonus has completed.

Playability

Upon first glance, Legion Hot 1 looks like another ancient civilisation game: Gladiators, swords and shields amidst warring nations. But this one certainly captured my interest immediately – what are these blocked areas in the middle 3 reels and how do I open them. This slot has something different. I guess, that’s exactly what the developer intended in design. And only after a few spins did it begin to come together. Land a shield and a section opens increasing the reel height on that reel and awarding a 4x bet win. Great! But why did the Roman numeral I appear above that reel? Interest quickly becomes intrigue. Fast forward a few minutes and another SHIELD opens the other section on that reel and the numeral II now appears. Cutting a long story short, each SHIELD that lands on each reel 2, 3, and 4 is part of the Free Games trigger while reel modifiers are gifted along the way. Collect 4 SHIELD symbol on any reel to open the top and bottom parts of the reel, change them into multiplier zones then finally trigger 10 Free Games with ALL your reel modifiers in place!

There are many variables to how the Free Games play out, primarily, what stage the other reels reached before one of the reels hit stage 4 to trigger Free Games. This is the catch in Legion; although the Feature Hit rate of 1 in 100 is low and achievable, the most favourable Free Game situation to be in before triggering is having reels 2, 3, and 4 each on stage III then hitting a SHIELD on reel 2 or 3. This scenario, however, is likely to take many more spins than the average of 100 to reach. Please note SHIELDS become Wilds in Free Games meaning they no longer contribute to collections. What you enter Free Games with is how Free Games are played.

There are more surprises! During Free Games, if a x2 WILD lands in the multiplier zones they become x4.

The surprises continue up until the final Free Game. The final Free Game, aptly named ‘Hot 1’ awards a super spin. One reel from reels 2, 3, 4 is chosen and boosted to its max stage and, a x2 WILD is added to both multiplier zones on that reel!

As this game has a collection trigger, that is any game where the feature can’t be triggered on a single spin, the optimum strategy is to complete any collections or to return to partially completed collection and continue. There is an odd rule mentioning this in the game, but I’m confident this rule was written in to appease a tester for a certain jurisdiction rather than encourage players to play more.

Please note, though, that as with other collection trigger games, progression is locked to each bet level. You can, of course, return to the progress of each individual bet level and continue. You can even have multiple bets in progress if you like.

Having lower volatility means gameplay becomes more predictable, which is not a bad thing. The feature hit rate is fairly consistent as is the win hit rate of 1 in 1.58 spins. I am told by Hot Rise Games that Legion Hot 1 has a medium volatility rating as designed but fell slightly below the medium threshold in comparison to Yggdrasil’s games, for example.

Paytable Review

Two high tier and four mid-tier symbols all with distinctly different colouration to assist with win recognition, plus four Royals of equal pay. WILDs and SHIELDs stand out well amongst the paying symbols. Legion has 73% of paytable prizes at-or-below bet. The prizes alone are neither high nor low and seem focused on the middle of the prize distribution curve.

Player Profile

The intended player in Legion Hot 1 is most players while the theme is skewed towards males. The mid volatility doesn’t discriminate against casual players while it offers decent wins for avid players.

The Glory Spin

The maximum win is 2,525x. Although this figure is not the largest on the market, players need to understand the Glory Spin is a pedestal figure most people won’t see. In any game, it’s the mid-range prizes that make up the bulk of feature wins where a medium volatility game provides the best chance.

Delights and Surprises

• The entire game is a delight
• The Hot 1 spin is unexpected and builds up well
• The uplift in music intensity and change in background imagery through stages builds emotion and pace through the game

Shortcomings

• Progression of the other reels is reset after Free Games.
• SHIELDS discontinue progression through Free Games. It would have been nice to find a way to potentially award retriggers based on the same collection mechanism.

Conclusion

It’s refreshing to see new and innovative content of excellent quality emerging from new studios; especially a less volatile and easy to hit game in a sea of brutally high volatility. Excellent work! Welcome to the front, Hot Rise Games and I expect to see a lot more from you in the coming years!

Legion Hot 1 gets 81 Spins out of 100 based on the following ratings:

PLAYABILITY	85
ORIGINALITY	90
BUILD QUALITY	85
MARRIAGE	80
IMMERSION	80
RUN FOR MONEY	75
INTEGRITY	75
TOTAL	81