An idyllic temple, far from the worries of the world, is the best place for people to lean back, close their eyes and forget their troubles. Of course, such journeys are usually prohibitively expensive and not everyone has the time and patience to go on such a spiritual road trip. That’s why RTG brings the experience to you in the shape of a slot machine. Now, instead of it being a guaranteed loss of cash, you have a chance to get your money back. And if you’re feeling frustrated, you can simply close it down and try again later. The game offers gamblers a 5x3 playing field with 88 fixed paylines, high volatility and a maximum jackpot worth 50,000 coins. The title has only one special feature which are free spins with its many additions.

While the graphics won’t be competing with those in NetEnt games anytime soon, Panda’s Gold can certainly hold its own with ease. The leaves slowly falling from the treetops and down into the waters make for a mesmerizing view, though perhaps a little bit of animation could have gone a long way to help from the backdrop feeling too static. Right now, there’s no wind blowing to move the trees and justify the shedding of the leaves and the waters are mostly boring and unoccupied. We say mostly, because there technically are fish swimming about, but it’s such a small and minor detail, we doubt a lot of gamblers will even notice them on their first viewing. Symbols include playing card icons like 9, 10, J, Q, K and A, every bit as colorful and clashing with every other symbol, as always. On the other side of the coin, you have icons that have their own unique artwork – pink flowers, a small shrine, a pair of koi fish, an Indian peafowl and another, gorgeous looking bird. From a gameplay perspective, the high volatility will pressure gamblers to make smaller wagers to last longer, and in turn, have bigger chances of scoring massive jackpots that only high variance titles can provide.

The first and only special feature in Panda’s Gold is activated when three, four or five Scatters trigger free spins. If you draw three or four Scatters, a respin will occur to try and improve the situation and win you more Scatters. Depending on how many Scatters trigger the bonus, how lucrative it turns out to be ends up being changed. With only three Scatters, gamblers get Prosperity Free Games, in which prizes that include one or more Wilds triple all wins when said Wilds are part of the winning combination. Collecting four Scatters activates Wealth Free Games, which add a 8x multiplier to all wins that include a Wild. Finally, five Scatters trigger Fortune Free Games, during which all prizes are subject to a 5x multiplier increase. Further, if any winning combination includes one or more Wilds, an additional 8x multiplier is applied reaching a whopping 40x multiplier for certain wins.

As such, is there any surprise we’ve liked as much as we have? Panda’s Gold doesn’t do anything new – like before, RTG have played it by the book. But this time around, it feels that much better – and thanks to the sizeable jackpot and high volatility, it feels like the game is worth chasing after. Just make sure to budget accordingly before you start your adventure.