Silver Lion Slot
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The Silver Lion slot is the work of gaming software development house Lightning Box Games. The five-reel game first appeared in December 2016 and helped to put the Sydney-based company on the gaming map.
- 1.024 ways to win on this classic from Lightning Box.
- Simple, appealing visuals and a thunderous african-inspired soundtrack.
- Stacked wilds and free spins keep the wins coming.
- This Lion looks a bit long in the tooth compared to some other tier-1 titles.
Lightning Box Games was founded in 2004 by former Aristocrat and IGT designers David Little and Peter Causley. One thing that really stands out about company’s portfolio is its love of animal-themed games: gorillas, chickens, crocs, frogs, rhinos, pugs, cats, pandas, dolphins, flies, and panthers. They all get their own online slot.
In 2021, Scientific Games (now Light and Wonder) swallowed up Lightning Box and its menagerie of online gaming content, including the mighty metallic big cat, aka the Silver Lion. To date, there are three spin off titles. The Silver Lion now has a Silver Lioness alongside. There are also Silver Pride and Stellar Jackpots versions of the game. The Silver Lion online slot is a seven-year-old game, but it’s still a beast with plenty of bite. In the wild, the blue-eyed white lions are extraordinarily rare; a freak mutation, from the Timbavati region of South Africa. There are estimated to be about 13 left in the wild and 100 in captivity. One day, there will be more online slots based on a silver lion than there are actual lions.
Silver Lion Slot Look & Feel
There is no denying it: the Silver Lion online slot does look a little dated. The splash screen invites you to choose sound or no sound. We strongly suggest sound (more on this in a moment). We then cut to a scene, featuring five reels set against the backdrop of the Savannah. The graphics are very retro; channelling an early 1990s video game vibe, with a chrome-style, metallic, kinda-cheesy font that should really come with big hair and shoulder pads. The animations and imagery is all neon-bright but made with love. The leading lion looks a little like Aslan, in an embarrassing selfie, back in his bad hair (mane?) college days.
What it lacks in visual cool, it more than makes up for in audio. The sound design and palette are spot on. As the game opens, we get the squeaks and squawks of the African plains, with the occasional monkey howl, elephant roar, and more. They have invested some real time and effort into the audio.
The stand out audio trick is how the tuning shifts melodically, when you hit spin. As you spin the reels, the marimba plays. In the background, a held chord creates a tune. It’s all very harmonious; an effective way to keep players spinning the reels. When you hit a big win, a herd of rhino dashes across the bottom of the screen and a slightly obtuse sea shanty kicks in. Our theory: they had some leftover audio from a pirate slot that needed a home.
How To Play Silver Lion Slot
The Silver Lion slot has five reels and up to 1024 paylines. That’s a lion-sized bite’s worth of potential winning combinations. Three or more matching symbols, on adjacent reels, gets you in the money.
When you make a bet, you are making a total bet. It can range in value from £0.40 to £100 a spin. The Silver Lion demo game comes with an autoplay option, enabling up to 100 unattended spins. This may not be available everywhere, due to recent gaming regulations limiting autoplay.
The game comes with both a wild and a scatter. The wild substitutes for all symbols, excluding the diamond scatter. Hit the wild in the Free Games bonus round and the prize is multiplied by 2x or 3x. The scatter is the key to big money, when you are playing the Silver Lion online slots. Three or more activates the Free Games bonus round. More on this below.
There are no real surprises with the Silver Lion game play. The Return To Player (RTP) sits at a fairly average 95.26%. Game play is responsive and fun, with a lively soundtrack that really captures the mood. It might be a cat, not a kitten, but it is still bags of fun to play – just throw it a ball of wool.
Silver Lion Slot Symbols
The Silver Lion online slot suite of symbols comes with few surprises. The base game icons are the standard card rankings, from 10 to ace. Next up, we have the cute and cuddly crew from everyone’s favourite insurance companion website. Yes, folks, the meerkats get the high game ball rolling. Five of these furry critters is worth 140x a line bet. Next up are the zebras and hippos. You need only two of these on adjacent reels to win.
Up next is the spear-carrying tribesman. Line him up five times and you collect 200x your bet. The jackpot is the eponymous Silver Lion. Bag him five times, on adjacent reels, and you collect 250x. Happy hunting. The wild icon is an acacia tree. This classic symbol of the Savannah substitutes for everything, except the scatter. It appears only on reels 2, 3, and 4. Hit it in the bonus round and it comes with a chunky multiplier.
Finally, the scatter icon is a red diamond. Five of these not only nets you 20 free games, it also wins you 800x your bet. Get your mining hat on and dig out those gems. To win the bonus round, you need only three. More on this below…
Silver Lion Slot Summary
Every online casino software development company has ‘that game’. For Lightning Box, in the Land Down Under, you could make a strong case for the Silver Lion online slot. Its game play is fluid and fun. The design still works. The music and audio design are great. It ticks all the boxes and it still has a lot of fans. Lightning Box should take great ‘pride’ in the Silver Lion. It is the ‘mane’ attraction on their portfolio and gave many of its competitors paws for thought. It’s almost purrfect. Sorry about the last minute puns but I could only take it so-fari without giving in…
Silver Lion Slot Bonuses
The Silver Lion comes with just one bonus – but it’s a good one. We hit it several times, putting this online slot through its paces.