Jade Shuriken

Intro

Jade Shuriken is the latest slot game from Slingshot Studios, a young developer that produces titles exclusively for Microgaming. Though they don’t have many games to their name at the moment, each of their releases so far have been extremely impressive, and we think Jade Shurken might be their finest title to date.

Inspired by the stylish graphic novels and Kung Fu cartoons of the 90s, Jade Shuriken features some colourful and action-packed graphics, an appropriate soundtrack and plenty of fun bonus features. It comes with a rather neutral RTP rate of 96.24%, but more importantly has low volatility, which means that you shouldn’t have to wait too long between payouts. Though these payouts are generally quite small, low volatility is an element we always like at online slots as it allows players to get more enjoyment out of their games.

All in all, Jade Shuriken is a great gaming experience that we think every slot fan needs to try out.

Screenshots

Jade Shuriken is extremely fun to play. The game plays smoothly, with a classic 5 x 4 reel layout and a generous 40 paylines. The RTP rate, though not as high as some other top slots, stands at 96.24%, which means that, on average, players get most of their money returned to them when playing this slot. Of course, this varies game to game, and you will always end up losing in the end, but it isn’t a bad figure.

What’s more, Jade Shuriken is a game of low volatility, which means that payouts come frequently. Though these payouts are generally small, there is a real sense of satisfaction when the reels continue to slide into place, triggering all sorts of exciting graphics and sound effects. If you’re just looking to have fun, there really are few better slots than Jade Shuriken.

Remember, though, that with a low volatility slot like this, the majority of payouts will be partial payouts, which means that you’re getting back less than your original stake. In these cases, what feels like a win is actually a partial loss, so make sure not to be fooled into thinking you’re on a winning streak with a series of partial wins. As always, keep an eye on your balance and remember to call it quits if the reels aren’t sliding in your favour.

There are three main bonus features in Jade Shuriken, alongside your typical wild and scatter symbols, which in this case are represented by the Jade Shuriken logo and the temple symbol, respectively.

The first main Jade Shuriken bonus feature is called Epic Strike, which is triggered whenever you land three or more green shurikens. However many you land results in a different cash prize from the jackpot ladder. If you land just three, for example, you instantly qualify for the lowest cash prize from the jackpot ladder, which is £2. Finding all 12 shurikens, however, will earn you the top payout of 2,500x your bet.

If you land three golden shurikens, things get even more interesting. The golden shurikens trigger the Epic Strike Respins bonus, which works in just the same way, except after you’ve landed three, the reels spin again to see if you land another. This process continues until you fail to find another golden shuriken, at which point you earn the corresponding payout in the jackpot ladder based on how many you landed.

The last of the three primary bonus features in Jade Shuriken is a free spins bonus round, triggered by landing three scatter symbols. When this happens, you’re given three choices: 6 highly volatile spins with a multiplier of 5x; 10 medium volatility spins with a 3x multiplier; or 15 low volatility spins with a 2x multiplier. Finding more temple scatter symbols during your free spins round retriggers them.

Like Slingshot Studios’ other games, Jade Shuriken has been built using HTML5 technology, which means it has been optimised for mobile usage. The game functions perfectly well across desktop, mobile and tablet and on both iOS and Android devices. Although, as you might expect from a game with such explosive graphics, the frame rate will drop slightly and the graphics will appear a little slower on the earlier mobile phone models. While this doesn’t impact the overall functionality of the game, it does slightly hinder the user experience.

Jade Shuriken is a beautifully designed game. The developers, Slingshot Studios, describe it as a ‘celebration of noir style graphic novels and Saturday morning Kung Fu cartoons’, and if you’ve ever been exposed to either of these nostalgic artforms you’ll immediately recognise the sound and style of this game. But that’s not to say that you need to be a fan of graphic novels and Kung Fu to enjoy Jade Shuriken, because its presentation both in terms of graphics and sound design is of such a high quality that it’s likely to be enjoyed by all. Who knows, it may even encourage the unacquainted to go back and watch some old kung fu cartoons!

Slingshot has clearly put a lot of thought and effort into the conception and design of this title, which is great to see, as it has a significant effect on user experience.