Chi Slot Review
If you think you’ve seen slots with just about every style, layout, and format imaginable, then let our Chi slot review guide you to something completely new.
The slot’s three reels are crossed by 27 paylines, which is unusual but not unheard of. However, here’s the novelty: these lines are vertical, not horizontal. And instead of reels spinning downwards, they spin from left to right.
You might need a minute or so to get your head around the mechanics of the Chi online slots game, but our review team discovered that it only takes a couple of spins to work it out.
Chi is an Asian-themed slot from ELK Studios. It stars cartoon characters that trigger some of the special features. Alongside wild substitutions and free spins, the Chi slots game comes with multipliers, a unique Stairway to Fortune round, and the chance to claim wins of up to 10,000x your stake.
Meet the Spirits of Wind and Fire
The reels of the Chi online slot are richly decorated with Chinese symbols, and they are set among the blossoms of cherry trees in a Chinese garden. Classic design elements include pagodas, mountains, and a pleasant oriental-style soundtrack.
We conducted our Chi slots review on our iPhones and desktops, and we found that the bright colors and detailed imagery look great on any platform.
Red columns frame the reels, but you will notice two stone-effect sculptures in the garden. Each has three reels on it, which spin at the same time as the main set. One of these represents Chi, the Fire Spirit, and the other belongs to Mow, the Wind Spirit.
Both trigger special features when the spirit symbols line up on the three reels. Chi and Mow are shown as cute cartoon animals which leap around the screen to celebrate your success when their features are awarded.
The symbols in the main game include pink koi, a golden gourd, a red lantern, and a green flute. The top-paying symbol of the Chi online slots game is a lotus flower. This returns wins of 2x, 8x, or 10x your stake when it lands on three, four, or all five positions on a payline.
Our reviewers observed that the Chi slot machine pays out when a sequence of symbols starts at either end of a payline – that is, from the top or bottom of these sideways reels.
ELK Studios are based in Sweden. Founded in 2012, the company has chosen to launch a steady trickle of quality games rather than a flood of so-so content. The Chi slots game perfectly demonstrates this through its high-end graphics and unique gameplay.
Choose Your Betting Strategy
You can spin the reels of the Chi online slot from just 0.20, with the maximum bet set at 20.00. Like other games from ELK Studios, the Chi slots game gives you the option to use different betting strategies.
The Optimizer stakes a set percentage of your bankroll on a spin, raising or lowering the level depending on how successful your last spin was. The Leveller option raises the stakes after consecutive losses and resets after a win. The Booster raises the bet one level after each loss, to a maximum of five times the starting stake, while the Jumper raises bets after a win.
These are just options though, and our Chi slots game review experts found that throughout a session, the overall returns of 96% didn’t vary much with each strategy. This is a high-volatility game, so be prepared to wait a while before landing winning combinations. That being said, the payouts from the Chi online slot can be quite generous.
Find Special Features in the Garden
When you spin the reels of the Chi online slots game, a couple of extra symbols will appear. The wild icon simply acts as others if it’s needed to complete a continuous sequence of symbols, although it’s not worth anything on its own.
The free spins symbol awards 10, 15, or 20 bonus games when it lands in three, four, or five places. These are fairly typical features, but as our Chi slots review is about to reveal, it’s a game packed with innovation and unique bonuses.
When the stone sculpture to the left of the Chi slots game lines up the red symbol on its three reels, Chi appears and adds between one and six wilds to the main reels. If the sculpture to the right fills with the blue emblem, Mow will grant a multiplier of between 2x and 5x.
Should either occur during the free spins, the Chi wilds will be sticky for the rest of the round, while the Mow multipliers will rise with each successive win.
Our Chi slots reviewers found that three bonus symbols take you up a Stairway to Fortune. Chi and Mow stand at the bottom of a series of clouds, with a set of fortune reels waiting at the top. Rising prize multipliers are on each step, and the round starts as Chi draws a random number between one and six. Mow moves up the corresponding number of steps, collecting multipliers along the way.
This carries on until Chi draws ‘Collect’ or Mow reaches the top. At the top, the fortune reels spin and any multipliers will then be paid out. It’s possible to claim a 10,000x win multiplier here, although, in the course of our Chi slots game review, we didn’t manage to reach the top of the cloud stairway.
The Chi slot machine is just one example of the exciting titles that have come from ELK Studios. Check out the rest of their game range below.
Other Asian Slots With a Twist
The Chi slot is one of the few games where the reels spin horizontally, and the Wild Mantra slot machine from Yggdrasil is another rare exception. This Asian-inspired game is set in the high Himalayan mountains, where five prayer wheels turn to reveal winning combinations. Among the highlights of Wild Mantra are stacked wilds and locked wild symbols that appear during a free games feature.
Our Chi slots review team also recommend The Legend of Shangri-La Cluster Pays game from NetEnt. This is another Asian-style slot with an unusual way of creating winning combinations, as it sees clusters of symbols in any shape paying out prizes.
At least nine symbols will be required to earn you a reward, but this game also comes with free spins, sticky wilds, random substitutions, and reels that can nudge wins into place.
Enjoy the Unique Gameplay of Chi
Our reviewers were highly impressed by the unique format of the Chi slots machine. It might look a little complicated to start with, but think of it as a game turned 90 degrees and everything will make perfect sense.
If you are ready for an Asian adventure, play the Chi online slots game at any of our recommended casinos below.
