Dio – Killing the Dragon Slot Review 2024

Even if you’re not a rocker you’ve probably heard of the infamous Ronnie James Dio.

Dio is regarded as one of the greatest heavy-metal artists of all time, and he’s known for popularising the ‘Metal Horns’ Hand Gesture that is now so synonymous with Rock ‘n’ Roll. Unfortunately, Dio passed away in 2010, but his legacy is alive and well today.

He was inducted in to the Hall of Heavy Metal History in 2017, and the stage of Bloodstock open air is named after him in trubute to Heaven & Hell.

His legacy even stretches to popular culture unrelated to his famous music. There’s a character in the Japanese Anime JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure named after him, and even Stranger Things dropped in Dio reference with a character that wears clothing adorned with the musicians album artwork.

Dio has truly achieved immortality through his music, and now his influence has reached the world of slots with Dio – Killing the Dragon. An album of the same name released in 2002 and now Play’n GO are bringing it to life with a tale about his conflicts with Murray the Dragon.

Play’n GO are no strangers to branded slots with NSYNC, Twisted Sister and Alice Cooper as noteable branded games.

Will Dio – Killing the Dragon stand out from the crowd? Let’s rock ‘n’ roll with the latest from Play’n GO and some of the great music from the late Dio!

Dio Killing the Dragon Base

Game Provider Play N Go
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Minimum Bet 0.1
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Maximum Bet 100
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Maximum Win 15,000x
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Paylines 243
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Release Date 06/10/2022
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RTP 96.25% | 94.25% | 91.25% | 87.25% | 84.25%
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Mechanics Video Slot
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Volatility Low
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Reels 5
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Dio – Killing the Dragon: The Base Game and Features

Dio Killing the Dragon is a 5 reel slot with 243 ways to win.

To form a win, you’ll need at least 3 of any symbol to connect from left to right on adjacent reels.

Dio Killing the Dragon also boats of a multitude of different features, with the first of them being the Lock Up the Wolves Feature

Lock up the Wolves

On reel 1 you’ll see an open cage encompassing the reel.

If a Wild lands anywhere on the first reel, it’ll trigger the Lock up the Wolves Respin.

When the cage closes, the Wild becomes sticky before another cage is added to the next reel.

The Lock up the Wolves Feature will continue to move to the next reel if Wilds continue to land. Lock up the Wovles can be triggered up to 4  times.

This feature is not active during Free Spins, but worry not, because many more features are.

Dio Killing the Dragon Free Spins

3 or more Scatters will trigger Free Spins.

  • 3 Scatters – 6 Free Spins
  • 4 Scatters – 8 Free Spins
  • 5 Scatters – 12 Free Spins

Dio Killing the Dragon really opens up in Free Spins with lots of different features to experience

Dio Killing the Dragon Free Spins

Wild One Feature

During Free Spins, Wilds landing on reels 2, 3 or 4 become sticky.

Special Symbol

With this feature, a special symbol may land on reel 5 which triggers 1 of 3 features as well as awarded +2 Free Spins

  • Fallen Angel – The Fallen Angel feature will add a falling Wild at the top of reel 1. This Wild becomes sticky before moving down 1 position with each free spin.
  • Symbol Upgrade – The Symbol upgrade will upgrade the lowest value Monster Symbol to a Dio symbol. This continues until all monsters are upgraded to Dio Symbols. Deafeat the Dragon by upgrading all Monster Symbosl to Dio Symbols.
  • Wild Multiplier – The Wild Multiplier increases the multiplier of a randomly selected sticky Wild on reels 2, 3 or 4 by x1-x5

Dio Killing The Dragon: Our Verdict

We’ve been fairly critical of branded slots in the past, and we stand by some of what we’ve said.

The problem with them is the niche audience that they’re aimed at, and despite Dio’s talents, not everybody is rock ‘n’ roll.

Some might disregard Dio Killing the Dragon on this aspect alone, but should you? We don’t think so. Dio is a capable game with lots of different features, exciting moments and big potential.

The Lock up the Wovles Feature is a nice addition to the Base Game, and we fear that it would have been a rather woeful game without it. It definitely adds an element of excitement that is sorely needed to tide you over until you get to the exciting Free Spins round, and when you do there’s a lot to experience.

Sticky Wilds are just one aspect of Free Spins, because the Special Symbol and the features it can trigger can make for an explosive experience.

Of course, you’ll want a fair few sticky wilds and a touch of luck with the features to see Dio Killing the Dragon at its best. Speaking of best, the maximum win potential here looks to be 15,000x, which is considerable by Play’n GO standards.

Overall, Dio Killing the Dragon is a shining example of how branded slots should be done. Even if you’re not the biggest rocker, you should still give it a go.