Four Beauties

D-Tech, the game provider that has entertained players in both land-based and online casinos for a long time, is now positioning itself in European online casinos. They will start releasing game titles to several New Zealand casinos that are on the GiG platform in March, but we already got a look at some of their upcoming casino games. One of those is Four Beauties, which will soon enchant players in New Zealand as well as in China and the rest of Asia—one of the developer's more successful regions. Four Beauties was a bit of a dark horse at the recent ICE gaming conference where it offered itself as an alternative to the still very popular Fire Link series of slot games. Its classic Chinese theme gives it massive stage presence and the kind of game interior you can quickly associate with D-Tech, even if the game doesn't exactly reside in any given corner of the game industry's big house of renown.

About D-tech as a game developer

D-tech began its journey in mid-2017. In other words, they are quite new in game development for online casinos. But we have understood that you should be reasonably skeptical; they have already charmed such a large audience as Asia's casino players. By now, D-Tech has launched over 100 different game titles, so being new to Europe is more a part of their continued development and expansion rather than some seismic shift in the online casino gaming landscape. And for the first time, this also means that we New Zealand players will be able to partake in the spectacular game offerings of D-Tech—most recently through their partnership with Norway's own Gaming Innovation Group.

About the slot machine

The upcoming slot features 5 spinning reels and 4 rows, with up to 1,024 ways to win. It comes with a theoretical payout of 3/5, making it perfect for players who enjoy betting small or going big. In other words, you can wager bonus money and still have the potential to win bigger than in many other slot machines, depending on your bet size and coin value. The game's graphics and sound follow classic Chinese motifs, and in addition to the 4 Beauties who represent the game's core, there are several bonus features, including a true Mystery Win, that make this one of the most unique video slots we've ever played.

Symbols

Certainly, the game's symbols are consistent with the Asian theme of the other graphics. They are helmed primarily by cherry blossoms, which are good symbols to have in place of a game's low-paying symbols, as they are the most beautiful and least violent symbols one could ask for in a game. I spent some time watching these scenes play out when playing the game.

Functions

As with all video slots that are launched today by Moderna, Four Beauties has a number of bonus features that afford players even more opportunities to win not just once but multiple times and in amounts that can be significant. Winning combinations can be made more frequently thanks to the special features. Also, the title has a rather unique element to it. Each character in the game has a bonus feature that is activated in a distinct way from the other characters. This means over the pay lines opportunities that can be activated in all sorts of ways are tripping off the winnings!

Free spins

The current almost must-have feature in new slot machines is a way to trigger a feature that allows for several game rounds to be played without any deductions from the player's account. There are different ways to trigger such features in various slot machine providers, and in most online slot games, it is the Scatter symbol that offers free spins. In Four Beauties, one eligible way to trigger the free spins is to land 3 or more Scatter symbols on 1 of the 5 reels. Beyond that, the same feature is available in the base game and in the game's others ways to allow for free spinning across the 5 reels.

Multipliers

Therefore, the entire game spotlight is shared by four beauties, who are the main characters and the bonus symbols. If reel number 2 is completely covered by beauty number 1, the possible win is multiplied by x2, x3, or x4. This is determined completely randomly.

Sticky Re-spins

Beauty number 2 presents a different bonus feature. Wilds or jokers are often appreciated in slot games, as they can take on the characteristics of other symbols and thus produce winning combinations even if the "right symbol" does not land in the right place. To utilize stacked re-spins, it is important that the beauty covers the entire 3rd reel in the game. Then, the entire wheel stays as a Wild for the entire spin.

Mystery Win

What we have here is a kind of pick and click function that gives the player at least some modicum of control over their own destiny. If you are fortunate enough to cover the entire 4E wheel with beauty number 3, you trigger the Mystery function. Also, this treat to finesse offers multiplied winnings up to 25 times. A separate window pops up with 8 different options for the player to choose from. Click on any of these hair clips to multiply your win by either x2, x3, x4, x6, x8, x10, x12, or x25.

The wheel of Fortune

In the game's fourth and final bonus feature, we are dealing with gamification at its very best. Yes, it is a word, and that's what it is: gamification. It's when you take normal interaction with online slot games and you make it something else entirely. Four Beauties includes an actual wheel. Not even a wheel of fortune. Just a wheel. And like I mentioned, you activate this poor imitation of a bonus feature—wrongly called a wheel of fortune in things like win multipliers, as in, you could multiply your winnings on this by up to fifty times! This is also a common limit set in normal slot games. Alternatively, you could spin 2 PCs. Re-spins. Why two? 1. Because you might need to spin a lot to activate this feature. And 2. Because, will this really activate your neurons any better than clicking a button to get an extra spin will?

Summary

Only now has the game developer D-Tech started creating online casino games and video slots for European casinos. Even before any of their games have been launched, they showcase their experience and expertise through demo versions of their upcoming game releases. They always seem to choose casino player-appealing themes and features, so we wouldn't be too shocked if Four Beauties soon becomes an as much loved game by Kiwis as slots and other games that homegrown providers like NetEnt or Play'n Go churn out.