Golden Macaque Slot by Rarestone Gaming – Review & Free Play Demo

Macaques are the most widespread of the primates, apart from us, and not just slot players, the whole human race!

So they’re not rare, though the Golden Macaque, which is fictional, so Rarestone, a very new player on the online video slots scene, are an appropriate developer for this title.

Macaques are found all over the place, but this Golden Macaque game is given an East Asian, and more specifically a Chinese New Year theme, with the macaque becoming a ceremonial creature in the Chinese pantheon of astrological creatures. And of course, it’s a big prize symbol in the game.

This Golden Macaque slot game is quite complex and sophisticated, and it looks fantastic. It has not one but two sets of big jackpot prizes, and a load of other bonuses and special symbols.

There are lots of Chinese culture games though? Why should this one be the one you load up today?

Let’s have a look.

Rarestone Gaming – The Developers of Golden Macaque Slot

Rarestone Gaming are not one of the giants of the online video slots world. Not yet! And it’s early days yet: the UK-based company was founded in 2016, and they’re very modern in their concept, which is perfectly suited to the 2020s.

They are based on an open-source platform that allows designers to develop their own criteria and produce great games. The company is – it says – dedicated to providing entertaining games that provide what experienced slot players want, so there is a lot of attention put on the mathematics behind the scenes.

We have said that the company is small, and their current UK catalogue is just 14 titles, but they are part of a much bigger family, having recently Joined Playtech, the gaming giant that is eating up smaller design studios in order to provide original new content.

Any financial implications aside, teaming up with Playtech, the world’s largest online gaming company is only going to increase the visibility of Rarestone Games.

These are uncertain times, but as things stand on this game’s release in September 2019 and this writing in March 2020, things look pretty good for more games from Rarestone Gaming in the future.

The Facts and Figures about Golden Macaque Slot

If the focus on the maths at Rarestone Gaming has produced one thing that players – of all experience levels – will like it is a very obvious thing. The theoretical return to player on Golden Macaque is high. At 96.5%, it’s over the industry average of about 96%. One shouldn’t get too hung up on RTP figures, which are based on idealised player behaviour and on very long term measures, but it’s a hint that the game might be generous.

This is particularly unusual in a title with higher volatility. This means that the game is likely to pay out bigger prizes but to pay out less often. Commonly these games have lower RTPs.

The top prize is a very nice looking 50-times stake, and though this might seem low, one should compare it to the staking which can go as high as £500 (from a 20p start).

Yes, we can see that Rarestone Gaming are aiming at seasoned slots players!

The classic five by three layout comes with 243 ways to win, which you can try to hit on any device that supports HTML% or JavaScript.

The Game

This is quite a complex game and one that you should really read the instructions on before you start playing.

That is done by clicking on the “I” button at the bottom left of a standard control panel.

Next to that button is the balance window, to the right of that is a central control panel with a spin button flanked by an Autospin and turbo spin controls.

To the right of this, you set the bet, which is done with a simple single-meter control.

Payouts

Let’s take a look at that pay table.

It starts with card symbols running from jacks to aces and all paying out from sets of three to full-houses of five.

Then we get the astrological signs: a rabbit, a cockerel, a pig, a coat, and a tiger.

The Golden Macaque is a special symbol in the Fire Blaze respins.

The drum is a bonus symbol.

The gong is a scatter.

The macaque, without being golden is the wild, and subs in for everything other than the scatter and the drum.

Golden Macaque Slot Bonuses

There are a lot of bonus features in this Golden Macaque slot game.

The headline is the Jackpot.

It’s a three-stage jackpot (major, minor, and mini) available when Fire Blaze Respin triggers. These prizes are worth: Mini – 10-times stake, minor – 25-times stake, major – 100-times stake.

And there’s a grand jackpot worth 2,000-times stake.

Jackpots are triggered with the drum symbol, which triggers multiples of three respins with drums held. New drum symbols become a cash prize or reveal a jackpot star. The jackpot stars convert into the three lower jackpots.

If the golden macaque appears during the round it pays out the sum of all the drum figures.

If new drums, golden macaques, or jackpot stars appear then there will always be three subsequent respins.

The grand jackpot is won if all of the reels are filled with special symbols – drums, stars, golden macaques.

The gongs are triggered by three scatters. Four gongs are shown as a prize pick, and players will win six free spins of the Fire Blaze Respin feature. Free spins don’t use the drum symbol, but they also get rid of all card symbols.

The Verdict

What a great and involving game this is. You don’t have to be a slots guru to see why Playtech wanted to snap up Rarestone Gaming, because the Fireblaze respins features are a winner in every way and have already featured on a number of Rarestone titles.

That’s the cherry on the cream on the cake because this Golden Macaque slot game is good quality entertainment all the way down the line and one that we think will reward your time – and perhaps give you a really big financial reward!