40 Shining Crown Bell Link

40 Shining Crown Bell Link Review

The original Shining Crown slot first lit up the reels back in 2014, and over the years, it's remained among the top-performing games in EGT Digital’s lineup. We’ve seen several iterations since then – the expanded 40-payline variation, the Clover Chance edition, the Cash Heat version, and of course, the Bell Link upgrade, which we have here under review.

For those not in the know, the Bell Link slot series is EGT Digital’s way of modernizing their classic fruit-themed slots with a modern twist. These games retain the look and feel of old-school slots but add the Bell Link bonus feature, a streak-style respins bonus with massive progressive jackpots up for grabs. Among the most notable representatives of the formula are titles like 40 Burning Hot and 40 Super Hot, which are pretty similar to the one we are looking at here.

40 Shining Crown Bell Link Slot - Base Game

The 40 Shining Crown Bell Link slot machine sticks to a classic 5x4 reel setup with 40 fixed paylines, offering straightforward gameplay. Bets start at a minimum of €0.50 and scale up to €50, making it suitable for both casual players and high rollers. Payouts are awarded from left to right on adjacent reels, from 3-of-a-kind and more, except the highest-paying lucky sevens, which need only two.

A five-of-a-kind combination of sevens awards 30x the bet, and these are followed by grapes, watermelons, gold bars, plums, oranges, lemons, and cherries, which are worth between 1.5x to 15x the bet. All regular symbols can land in stacks, allowing for full-screen winning combinations.

Such a combination of top-tier sevens pays 1,200x the stake, which is the maximum win achievable in the 40 Shining Crown Bell Link online slot, outside of the progressive jackpots, of course. The RTP stands at 96.5%, while the volatility is in the medium-to-high range, rated by EGT as 4 out of 5. Finally, the hit rate of 13% implies wins occur roughly every 10 spins.

40 Shining Crown Bell Features

The headline attraction in 40 Shining Crown Bell is undoubtedly the Bell Link jackpot bonus, but there are a few other gameplay elements that contribute to the overall experience as well.

Gamble

Any win equal to or below 35x your stake gives you the option to activate the Gamble feature. It’s a simple card-based double-or-nothing game – predict the color of the next drawn card correctly to double your prize. You can play up to five times consecutively, but one wrong guess will forfeit the gamble amount and any associated winnings.

40 Shining Crown Bell Link Slot - Gamble

Wild Symbols

The Crown Wild symbol doesn’t offer payouts of its own but acts as a substitute for all regular symbols to help complete winning combinations. These only land on reels 2, 3, and 4, and whenever they contribute to a win, they expand to fill the entire reel, potentially boosting your chances at multiple line wins.

Scatter Symbols

This game features two types of Scatter symbols, each paying regardless of paylines as long as the required number is present on the reels.

• Dollar Scatter – can appear on any reel. Pays 3x, 20x, and 100x the bet for 3, 4, or 5 in view, respectively.
• Star Scatter – lands only on reels 1, 3, and 5. Pays a fixed 20x the bet for hitting three at once.

Bell Link Bonus

Bell symbols are the ones to look out for, as they trigger the jackpot bonus feature. These special symbols come with instant cash values ranging from 1x to 100x your bet, or they may display the name of one of the jackpot tiers. Some bells also carry the Reel Boost enhancement, which can significantly boost potential payouts.

The bonus triggers when 5 or more bell symbols land in a single spin. This launches the Hold and Win-style bonus round, where you get 3 respins and only bell symbols can land. Each new bell resets the respin counter back to 3, and all bells stay locked in place for the duration of the feature.

If you manage to fill all 20 positions on the grid, all prizes (excluding the Major and Grand jackpots) are subject to a 3x multiplier. If a Reel Boost bell triggered the feature, collecting 15+ bells results in a 2x multiplier on all wins, and filling the screen applies a higher 4x multiplier instead.

At the end of the feature, any Reel Boost bells transform into standard bell prizes worth 10x the bet. If you collected fewer than 3 Grand bells, those symbols convert into regular bells with values between 50x and 100x the bet. All cash amounts on the screen are then tallied up and paid.

40 Shining Crown Bell Link Slot - Bonus Game

Mini and Minor jackpot bells grant fixed prizes of 10x and 50x the bet respectively, and they can appear multiple times in a single bonus. The Major bell is limited to one per feature and awards the progressive Major jackpot. Landing 3 Grand bells during the round unlocks the progressive Grand jackpot, which is the top-tier prize available.

Theme & Graphics

40 Shining Crown Bell sticks firmly to the old-school fruit slot formula, with a familiar classic icons and fruit symbols. The visuals are simple – no flashy animations or modern twists, just solid retro styling. Not a ton else to say here. Been there, done that hundreds of times.

Pros And Cons Of 40 Shining Crown Bell Link Slot

Our Verdict

Well, 40 Shining Crown Bell didn’t blow me away, but that’s not really the point. It’s a solid, no-nonsense fruit slot with a retro feel paired with a modern bonus system. The Bell Link feature if fun, especially with those progressive jackpots always within reach, and the expanding Wilds help spice up the base game just enough.

From my perspective, this is an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ kind of release. There is around a dozen Bell Link games from EGT Digital at this point, and 40 Shining Crown Bell doesn’t do much to differentiate itself from the others. Still, it’s polished, it works, and the potential for big wins is there – so why not really?

In the end,if you’re into fruit machines and enjoy Hold and Win-style jackpot features, that’s it. Just don’t expect anything groundbreaking – you’ve probably played this before, just under a slightly different name.