Lion Saga Odyssey

Lion Saga Odyssey Review

Lion Saga Odyssey by Play'n Go takes you on a journey to the African savanna, complete with a Lion King-esque intro and a majestic backdrop of grasslands and acacia trees. The semi-transparent grid lets you soak in the atmosphere while you spin the 5 reels, aiming to land winning combinations on the 10 paylines. Keep an eye out for the Spirit Lion Wild symbol, as it substitutes for other symbols while also potentially triggering the bonus round.

The premium symbols depict lions, zebras, and meerkats, awarding 60x to 500x your stake for 5-of-a-kind wins. We should mention that the Lion Saga Odyssey slot is a reskin of Rise of Merlin, but with a few tweaks to the math model. It has a slightly lower volatility than its predecessor, scoring 8 out of 10 compared to 10/10. The hit rate is 31.05 %, so expect wins to land roughly every third spin. The 95.58 % top-tier RTP remains unchanged, but lower RTP versions are a possibility.

Lion Saga Odyssey Slot - Reels Screen

The bonus round is the main attraction with its Book of mechanic, where the chosen special expanding symbol can lead to big wins regardless of which reels they appear on. Each retrigger adds another expanding symbol to the mix, and up to all 9 pay symbols can become special expanding symbols. This increases your odds of cracking the 5,000x max win potential, which is the most common win cap in ‘Book slots’.

Lion Saga Odyssey Features

Many players will already be familiar with the bonus round, but Play’n Go has included a base game gamble feature in the Lion Saga Odyssey slot. You can check how it all works below!

Gamble Feature (not UK)

Eligible players can choose to gamble any base game win in a classic card-color guessing game. Guess the correct color to double your winnings, while guessing the correct suit quadruples your winnings. You can gamble up to 5 times per initial win, but the gamble feature does not change the game’s RTP.

Lion Saga Odyssey Free Spins

The Spirit Lion Scatter pays 2x, 20x, or 200x your stake for 3, 4, or 5 in view, respectively, while also triggering the Bonus Round with 8 free spins. A random pay symbol is selected before the free spins play out, serving as the ‘Book of’ mechanic special expanding symbol. This symbol expands to cover full reels after regular wins, and the expanded symbols don’t need to be adjacent to pay. You win +8 free spins from 3+ scatters on the same free spin, and each retrigger awards +1 special symbol. Up to all 9 symbols can become special expanding symbols with enough retriggers.

Lion Saga Odyssey Slot - Free Spins

Pros and Cons of Lion Saga Odyssey

Our Verdict

It's sometimes easy to forget that Play'n Go's popular Legacy Of Dead actually came out after Rise of Merlin, and now we have Lion Saga Odyssey joining the ‘Book of’ family. While each game has its minor math model tweaks, they all center around that same expanding symbol bonus round. Lion Saga Odyssey Play'n Go tries to set itself apart with a slightly lower volatility and a fresh coat of paint, but the African savanna theme seems a bit uninspired. The Lion King intro is a nice touch, but I wish they'd focused on adding something truly unique to the gameplay instead.

The coin system feels a bit outdated, and seeing coin values instead of actual cash in the paytable is never a plus in my book. The base game is the usual Book slot grind, though the gamble feature can add some spice if you're feeling lucky. What really baffles me is the lack of an Ante Bet or Bonus Buy option. These features are practically made for Book slots, and their absence here makes the base game slog even more noticeable.

As with all Book of mechanic slots, the bonus round is very hit or miss. Getting a decent to solid expanding symbol is only half the battle. You still need this symbol to land often enough, and in large enough quantities, to do any serious damage. And while the extra expanding symbol per retrigger is a nice perk, I rarely saw more than 2 in action during my test session. Of course, you cannot expect extraordinary results all the time either, but these types of slots are hardly for casual gamers.

The 5,000x potential is as expected from a Play’n Go Book slot, solid but still a bit boring after so many installments. All in all, Lion Saga Odyssey is an okay choice if you're a fan of the theme, but it didn't exactly leave me roaring with excitement. It's a decent enough alternative to Legacy of Dead or Rise of Merlin, but nothing too memorable either. If you're looking for something truly unique and engaging, you might want to skip this one and check out some of the more innovative releases in the Book of genre.