Laughing Buddha Free Play in Demo Mode by Habanero

Laughing Buddha review

Theme and Style

Asian-themed slot titles have been all the rage for some years, and Habanero has joined the conversation with Laughing Buddha.

The Buddha, which is a symbol of good fortune in Chinese-themed slots, aims to spread joy and laughter around.

Indeed, the pot-bellied Buddha is an iconic character, and he is brought to life when players load the reels for the first time.

Graphics, Sounds, and Animations

When starting in the base game, players might notice that the graphics share some similarities with popular fighter video games in the 1990s, such as Street Fighter.

Nevertheless, Habanero tries to portray a serene environment where the Buddha takes center stage, and this is set against the backdrop of temples.

Flowering cherry blossom trees add to the ambiance, and the soundtrack has a nice soothing jingle to it. Players won’t be distracted if they keep the audio switched on throughout.

Overall, the visuals and soundtrack seem like they are in sync, and this will keep players engrossed.

Gameplay

Laughing Buddha covers a 5x3 gaming matrix, and everything revolves around luck and happiness.

Split across 28 paylines, wins can be triggered when landing 3 or more matching symbols that are connected from the first reel. Apart from the low-ranking cards, this slot is filled with traditional objects, such as a Jade Mirror, Sycee, and Dragon.

While they pay fairly well, they are put in the shade by the Buddha, who will reward players with a win worth 35.7x their stake for generating a 5-of-a-kind win.

The reels are turbo-charged, and the maximum win potential is huge, sitting at 56,043x your stake, so it’s worth persevering with.

Wilds, Bonuses and Free Spins

The Wild is turbo-charged, and it is represented by a Pearl. This can substitute for other standard symbols on the board and create wins. The Pearl may come with a 2x or 3x multiplier, and if more than 1 Multiplier Wild appears, the highest value will be applied.

Meanwhile, the Free Spins feature will be activated should players land at least 3 Golden Urn Scatters. Here, 8 free spins will be awarded, and each triggered Urn will reveal a standard symbol.

During the round, the chosen symbol may expand to cover the entire reel, bolstering your chances of an even bigger payout. If you gain 3 more Scatters during the round, an extra 8 free spins will be handed out.

You can also participate in the Jackpot Race, which is a trademark feature of Habanero slots. A display above the reels will contain details of the current jackpot, and each race will last for a specified period.

Prizes will be distributed to players who spin closest to the Jackpot trigger point. For example, those closest to the trigger point will receive 50% of the prize money, while those third closest will get 10% of the jackpot.

Bet Sizes, RTP and Variance

Laughing Buddha comes with a player-friendly RTP of 96.64%, which exceeds the industry average of 96%.

We tested the game and discovered minimum bets start from $/£/€0.28 per spin, going up to a maximum of $/£/€1400 per spin.

The high volatility of this game makes it a good match for our preferred slot machines. Our desired slot strategies target games with a mix of high volatility and RTP, and this game ticks those boxes.

Conclusion

Laughing Buddha may not have the most cutting-edge graphics, but it more than makes up for it in other ways.

The video-game-style graphics hark back to a different age, but there are plenty of exciting bonus features, with the jackpot game worth taking a closer look at.

All the ingredients of this slot combine to make it a classic, and with a mix of high volatility and high RTP, it’s worth trying out.