Wishing Tree Slots
Chinese culture is a fascinating source of inspiration for slot game developers. If you have even just a little experience as a gambler, you know just how many games have been designed to channel these many millennia of culture and art. Wishing Tree by Merkur is yet another video slot game that tries to do the same, in style.
Wishing Tree caught our eye right away thanks to its vibrant universe and beautiful graphics. At first sight, the game looks like a complex challenge, but in the end you will see that Wishing Tree is much simpler than it looks. Whether the game has enough to offer in terms of winning possibilities is up to you, so let’s see what Wishing Tree is all about here.
Pure Chinese Style
Wishing Tree focuses on the most traditional elements of Chinese culture, at least in terms of looks. As a result, the reels are framed in gold and placed over a bright red painting, showing the silhouette of a Chinese city. The temples and pagoda fill up almost the entire background, with a simple command bar right under the reels.
Without being revolutionary, Wishing Tree does leave a good first impression. The Merkur developers stuck to a predictable theme but managed to give Wishing Tree a very beautiful look, and smooth reel animations to match. So far, so good, but let’s have a look at the gameplay before we draw any conclusion.
Getting Started on the Reels
Wishing Tree contains 5 reels and 20 paylines, with a small betting range going from 0.20 to 40 credits per spin. Nothing exceptional so far, but don’t forget to check out the optional mini game. Each win gives you access to it, with a chance to double your reward at stake. All you have to do is guess the colour of the next hidden card on the screen. Otherwise, Wishing Tree features the classic bet max and autoplay shortcuts as well.
With a low variance and a 96.08% RTP, Wishing Tree can be quite dynamic. Chances are that you will be able to score plenty of small cash prizes at first, with the highest rewards being somewhat out of reach. Talking about cash prizes, the game’s paytable contains beautiful Chinese characters, which are actually the classic card icons. Lucky charms and drums make up the rest of the menu, with a top reward of x1000 for the luckiest of you.
To help out, the Merkur developers have added a single special symbol: the Wishing Tree. This symbol is wild, and turns the ones immediately adjacent to it into wilds as well. These joker cards can take the place of any basic symbol, thus boosting your chances of scoring new winning combinations considerably.
Extra Challenges for High Rollers
Wishing Tree can be challenging because of its simple rules, but if you are looking for an even bigger challenge then check out Diamonds Of Fortune by Novomatic. In a very retro universe with only jewels on the reels, this game only has 10 paylines to offer and a very high volatility. Without any bonus to help, Diamonds Of Fortune is going to test your patience.
Random Runner, which is another Novomatic creation, is somehow in between the 2 other titles mentioned here as far as difficulty is concerned. With 15 paylines and an average-to-high variance, this game could be a decent compromise. Besides, who doesn’t love a good old fruit slot machine?
A Great Start for a Game That Still Falls Short
Wishing Tree is not exactly the kind of slot we thought it would be. This Merkur creation started off as a hit, thanks to its beautiful graphics. The giant expanding wild symbol is also a nice touch, but Wishing Tree still falls short in virtually all other aspects of the gameplay, especially due to its lack of other bonus features.
In a nutshell, Wishing Tree is a beautiful yet challenging slot game that could have been a lot more exciting, at least in our opinion. Hard-core fans of Chinese slot games will still want to give it a try. If you are one of them, remember that patience and perseverance are the keys to success in Wishing Tree.
