Dio Killing The Dragon

Dio Killing the Dragon: Slot Overview

'Don't talk to strangers, 'cause they're only there to do you wrong.' So sang frontman Ronnie James Dio, in the song – 'Don't Talk to Strangers'. This plus a couple of other tracks are there to be savoured in Play'n GO's branded slot, Dio Killing the Dragon. As well as dragons, monsters, castles, wolves, and weapons, players get features like locking wilds in the base game and free spins with several possible modifiers, all set to some classic heavy metal tunes.

Play'n GO's rock range has included a number of big-name bands, and Dio, for those unfamiliar with their work, is a heavy metal outfit that was active on and off for nearly 30 years. The group was formed in the United States in 1982, by two ex-members of Black Sabbath Ronnie James Dio and Vinny Appice, over disagreements about the mixing of 'Live Evil'. For Dio Killing the Dragon, Play'n GO has captured much of the band's spirit through its combination of muscular, fantasy-infused visuals and, of course, three of the band's tracks – 'Don't Talk To Strangers', 'Evil Eyes', and 'We Rock.' Interestingly, none of these songs come from the 'Dio Killing the Dragon' album. Oh well, they stir up the mood and should please fans of the group looking to mix a bit of metal with gambling. It's also worth noting that it's not the band's first appearance in the iGaming world, as their music appeared in Holy Diver Megaways by Big Time Gaming back in 2019.

Dio Killing the Dragon is played on a 5-reel game grid, each reel holding three symbols, providing 243 ways to win. The first and fifth reels are slightly raised, but this doesn't really impact the game in any mechanical way. Accepting bets of 10 p/c to $/€100 per spin, the RTP comes in a variety of levels, with the highest value being 96.25%, where volatility has been rated 9 out of 10 or 'high'.

All pay symbols in Dio Killing the Dragon award a win when three to five of a kind land on consecutive reels starting from the leftmost side onwards. They begin with clubs, spades, hearts, and diamonds as the low pays, then three monsters and a heroic Dio symbol as the high pays. Landing a five-of-a-kind winning way pays 0.3-0.4x the bet for the lows or 0.5-1x the bet for the highs. With the task helping to link wins, wild wolf symbols can appear on all reels to substitute for any symbol except the scatter. They pay too, as a five wild symbol winning way awards 2 times the stake

Dio Killing the Dragon: Slot Features

Wilds are also linked to the Lock up the Wolves feature. When a wild lands in the open cage on the first reel, a Lock up the Wolves respin is triggered. The triggering wild becomes sticky, and another open cage is added to the second reel. If a new wild lands in the cage, the process repeats up to a total of four times, as long as new wilds keep landing in the open cages. This feature is only present in the base game.

Free Spins

Landing 3, 4, or 5 scatters symbols awards players with 6, 8, or 12 free spins, respectively. During free spins, a cage is placed around the three middle reels and any wild that lands there become sticky as part of the Wild One feature. Also, a special symbol may land on the fifth reel awarding +2 free spins and triggering one of three modifiers.

• Fallen Angel – adds a wild at the top of reel 1. This wild moves down one position on each following free spin until it falls off the grid.
• Symbol Upgrade – the lowest value monster symbol is upgraded to the Dio symbol. Defeat the Dragon when all monsters are upgraded to Dio symbols.
• Wild Multiplier – one sticky wild in view has its win multiplier increased by +1 up to x5.

Dio Killing the Dragon: Slot Verdict

Play'n GO has a rather large selection of music slots now, and Dio Killing the Dragon is another solid entry for the right player. Naturally, its appeal will be stronger to fans of the band, but you can say that about a lot, if not all, music-themed slots. Players who bop exclusively to the top 100 hits probably won't have a major interest in playing games like Dio Killing the Dragon, Twisted Sister, or Testament, despite being playable slots. On the other hand, if metal wrapped in castles, monsters, and a truckload of powerful sounds is appealing, then Dio Killing the Dragon is well worth a look.

On the topic of looks, Dio Killing the Dragon hearkens back to a certain golden era of heavy metal/heavy rock. Back when bands fell into an arms race of not just churning out heavier and heavier music, but heavier and heavier tape or CD covers. Anyone with fond memories of letting their eyes wander around a music store and being drawn to the most appealing or shocking album cover in the Metal section should be able to relate to the visuals (and sounds) used in Dio Killing the Dragon. The gameplay isn't bad either, which is divided between base game spins with the Lock up the Wolves feature and free spins where a number of triggerable modifiers are available. Lock up the Wolves tended to trigger fairly often in the review, though symbol values aren't enormous, so it didn't always blow up as you might expect. Better opportunities are theoretically possible in free spins, should things like symbol upgrades and sticky wild multipliers synchronise.

As a result, Dio Killing the Dragon's max win is quite high, clocking in at 15,000x the bet. Not the highest in the rock range, but a rock-solid number, regardless. So, if you're down for a spot of dragon defeating in a world of monsters, set to the tones of Ronnie James Dio, then Dio Killing the Dragon should be right up your street.