Orient Express

Once synonymous with luxury travel, the Orient Express was an elegant railway line from Paris to Istanbul, with service beginning in 1883. Yggdrasil pays homage to this history in their newest slot of the same name. This glorious five-line, 20 payline game is awash in bonus features and beautiful animation. This is the rare slot with narrative-driven gameplay, as the train begins its journey in Paris, with stops in Venice, Belgrade, and Istanbul, each with its own visuals, sounds, and unique bonus features.

Theme

From the red velvet train compartments to the sunset views of Europe’s great cities, every element of this game is primed to transport players to a level of luxury not often found in modern life. Gaming symbols include several well-to-do travelers: an elegant woman, a rakish blonde man with a strong jaw, a less rakish young man with a weaker chin, and an older gentleman with a notable mustache. A golden globe acts as scatter, and while each of the four cities has its own unique reel symbol, a golden wild bearing the game’s name is present in all locations. Four playing card suit symbols act as lower-value symbols. The reels are set against the window of the moving train, with the views changing as the train moves along its track. The music also changes from city to city, always evocative and atmospheric.

Betting Options and Functions

While there’s abundant gameplay variety in this Orient Express, the betting structure is kept simple. This coin-based slot offers 20 paylines, with one coin per line. The value of that coin can be adjusted, however, from 0.01–5.00 for an overall betting range of 0.20–100.00 times the betting currency. Autoplay can be engaged for up to 1000 spins, or without limit if players prefer, with optional stop settings for wins or losses of a determined size or features triggered. A discreet “+” icon is the gateway to paytable information, game rules, options, and the like. An unremarkable-but-respectable theoretical overall RTP of 96.2% is this slot’s only liability.

Features

Players are on a journey, and the pace of that journey is set by the triggering of the free spin bonus feature. Three or more free spin symbols on the reels (in any position) will set this in motion. Seven, 15, or 30 free spins will be awarded, during which the train will be in motion. At the end of the round, the game will advance: first from Paris to Venice, then from Venice to Belgrade, and finally from Belgrade to Istanbul. Once the Istanbul bonus has been completed, players will have their choice of city in which to continue play. Free spins can be re-triggered to extend the feature.

Each city has its own unique bonus, available both in base and bonus play. One begins in Paris, with its walking wild. Here, an older, chuckling porter wild symbol appears at random on the reels. After the spin is complete and wins have been awarded, the wild symbol moves one reel to the left; the reels spin again (a free spin), and wins are again assessed. This is repeated until the porter saunters off the leftmost reel, and may result in five de facto free spins should the icon first appear on the rightmost reel. In Venice, a random multiplier from 2x to 5x can be applied to any win – during free spins, it will be applied to all wins. In Belgrade, small trains drive from right to left on the game screen, turning entire reels wild; in base play, one to three reels can become wild, but in bonus play, one to three reels will be turned wild on every spin. Finally, in Istanbul, postcards fly at random onto the reels turning 2-12 gaming symbols wild on some spins. In bonus play, this occurs on every spin.

Our Take

Yggdrasil clearly had big things in mind while designing this title, and the result is an extraordinary game. Though players might wish for a slightly higher RTP, there’s really not much else not to like in this title: with its narrative arc and unique features, it almost transcends the genre itself. Orient Express is an instant classic, and will likely find devotees in Paris, Venice, Belrade, Istanbul, and the other places the world over.