Dragon Hopper

Dragon Hopper Review

At the end of 2024, the renowned game developer Push Gaming released exclusively in some casino sites Dragon Hopper. About two weeks later, the title was widely launched across the partner network and started gathering more serious attention. The slot takes us to the mystical Orient and it’s heavily packed and loaded!

Push Gaming is known for its innovative touch and thematic consistency, as well as for several industry-level masterpieces, like Razor Shark and Jammin' Jars. Here, the studio puts its wagers on a classic Asian script with premium audio-visual effects. Moreover, players will find the usual Instant Prizes, wilds with multipliers, a bonus game, and several brand-new features.

But first thing first, so let's check on the mechanics! Dragon Hopper is the first Cluster Link slot by the provider after the Temple of Tollan super-successful release last summer. The grid consists of 7 reels and 7 rows, and a cluster of 5 or more symbols of the same kind pays and activates cascades.

The cascading reels and the slot's engine, in general, are nothing new under the digital sun, but the feature set is. Before going there, Dragon Hopper also offers Quickspin, Autoplay, Bonus Buy, and the branded Push Bet features. All that comes into an HTML5 package and is compatible with any device, browser, and operating system.

Dragon Hopper Slot - Game Screen

Dragon Hopper offers 7 different types of lanterns divided into high and low-valued symbol categories. Each one pays for at least 5 connected figures, horizontally or vertically, and up to 17+ of a kind. Red Lanterns pay from 1x to 50x the bet, while Yellows and Pinks from 0.80x to 40x and 0.30x to 10x the stake.

The low-paying lanterns appear in green, purple, dark blue, and light blue nuances, awarding from 0.30x - 0.10x up to 10x - 2x the bet. Dragon and Golden Dragon are wild symbols and substitutes for all lanterns, but do not pay cash. The game packs several other special symbols as well, like Bonus Lotus, Fire Cloud, Bubble, and Instant Prize Coins.

The Dragon Hopper RTP ranges and reaches 96.33% in its most generous variant. According to Push Gaming's memo, the slot is available with a rate of 94.39% as well. Furthermore, our research discovered two other versions with RTPs of 88.26% and 85.39%. In any case, the game is characterized by medium to high levels of volatility.

Bets start from €0.10 and reach €100 per spin, although we found online casinos that have capped the max wager at €50. The Dragon Hopper max win is quite tempting - 10,000x the bet and perfectly matches the ambition of the studio. Nevertheless, you should only go for the highest-RTP variant!

Dragon Hopper Features

Dragon Hopper features some well-known modifiers and special symbols, like Instant Prize and Free Spins. However, it also comes with brand-new offerings like Dragon Feature, Bubble Feature, and Mystic Flair Feature. Combined they add depth to the gameplay, as well as unpredictability, perfectly matching Push Gaming's distinguished style.

Dragon & Fire Cloud Symbols

As I already mentioned, the Dragon symbols are wild and can replace any regular symbol to create a winning cluster. However, they also carry multipliers with initial values of x1, x2, x3, x4, x5, and x10. If a wild contributes to a cluster, the payout will be increased by its multiplier.

If 2 or more wilds contribute to the same cluster, their multiplier values will be added together and then applied to the prize. Fire Cloud is a special symbol, which, in combination with a Dragon, activates the Dragon Feature.

Dragon Feature

The Fire Cloud symbol transforms Dragons into Walking Wilds, as they will jump from one Fire Cloud to another. On every movement, the Dragon will leave a Golden Dragon wild on its previous spot with its respective multiplier. On every jump, the Dragon Multiplier will be increased by x1.

Instant Prize Symbols

Similar to other Push Gaming slots, Dragon Hopper features an Instant Prize Feature. Coins with different values, as shown below, may land anywhere on the grid. If 5 or more touch vertically or horizontally, they will form a cluster. All values of those Coins will be then summed up and paid out.

• 1x, 2x, 5x, 10x the bet;
• 25x, 50x, 100x, 250x the bet;
• 500x, 1,000x the bet.

Free Spins Feature

Scatters activate the Free Spins minigame, and all wilds, Fire Cloud, and Instant Prize symbols from the base game lock in place. You will get 6, 9, or 12 free rounds for 3, 4, or 5 scatter symbols in view, respectively. If the bonus was triggered with no Dragon wild in view, one will be added with an x2 initial multiplier.

If at the start of Free Spins, there was a Dragon wild with an x1 multiplier, it'll be doubled, but if it was higher, it'll be kept. On each free round, all empathy positions on the grid will spin and show either blank, Fire Cloud, Instant Prize, or Extra Spin. Fire Clouds act as usual, Extra Spin adds 1, 2, or 3 additional free spins to the balance, while Instant Prize Coins lock-in. They pay in clusters at the end of the bonus.

Bubble Feature

Bubble Feature is active during Free Spins, and before the first round, a random number of Bubble symbols will appear. They will stay in place until the next round and then will move. There is a chance for new Bubble symbols to appear on any of the following free spins.

Bubbles have values of 1x, 2x, 5x, 10x, 25x, 50x, 100x, or 500x the bet and may appear individually or as Bubble stacks of up to 5. On every free spin, the Bubble symbols will move one position diagonally or vertically. If any of them lands on a wild, Coin, or Fire Cloud, it'll activate.

Bubbles add their value to the Dragon Wild multiplier when they land on them. Fire Clouds receive Bubble's values when they land beneath them and then give the values to the Dragon Wild, which will fly on it within the Dragon feature. If Instant Prize symbols land beneath a Bubble, or the Bubble nudges up and lands on Instant Prize, the Bubble's value will be added to the respective Coins.

Mystic Flare Feature

Mystic Flare is a random feature that may activate on any non-winning cascade. It will add Mystery Symbols on the grid, which will reveal either Instant Prize Coins or the same regular-paying symbol. Mystic Flares are Mega Symbols and can have sizes of 2x2, 3x3, or 4x4. In addition to the regular symbols and Coins, they can add a Dragon Wild or scatters.

Push Bet & Buy Feature

The Bonus Buy panel allows players to experience different bonus features without waiting for the necessary conditions to occur. There are 4 options with rather fair prices, in my opinion, but the panel may be restricted in certain regions. If it's not, here is what you can purchase:

• Mystic Flair Feature - 20.40x the bet
• Mystic Flair Feature + Instant Prize - 76.50x the bet
• Random Bonus Symbols - 102x the bet
• Random Bonus Symbols + Fire Cloud - 357x the bet

Push Bet is a patented bonus bet feature by Push Gaming, and in Dragon Hopper, it offers the following options:

• Wild Dragon + 100% on Base Bet - guarantees a wild with a random multiplier;
• Scatter + 40% on Base Bet - an increased chance of landing scatters;
• Wild Dragon + Scatter + 150% on Base Bet - guarantees a wild with a random multiplier and increases the chance of landing scatters.

Theme & Graphics

Dragon Hopper definitely brings us to the most magnificent and mystical part of the Orient! It exploits an Asian theme inspired by older games in other categories, but visually, Push Gaming is close to its highest achievements. The audio is relaxing and smooth, based on classic Asian tunes and melodies.

The night sky in the background matches the overall vibe, as well as the clouds with houses and Dragon statues on both sides of the grid. There is nothing too lavish here, but just enough to complement a technically rich slot game crafted with significant attention to detail.

Pros And Cons Of Dragon Hopper Slot

Our Verdict

Dragon Hopper is a wonderful slot game that ideally fits the sophisticated portfolio of Push Gaming. It's undoubtedly inspired by Fire Hopper, which was released in 2021 and offers a massive max payout of 50,000x. It comes with similar features, like cascading reels, clusters, wilds with increasing multipliers, and free spins.

Crystal Catcher is another similar release by the provider, which hit the market in 2023. Although the ultimate win shrunk 10 times down to 5,000x, the game scored big, thanks to the features described above, but remastered, of course. Dragon Hopper comes with the same package but enhanced with a couple of new offerings. In short, no slot enthusiast will make a mistake to load the game that has been subject to my review today!