Journey to the West Slot Review

Journey to the West is an exciting Asian-themed video slot game by Genesis Gaming which takes you on an imagined journey through the culture and legends of Asia, and China in particular. From the Monkey King to Emperor figures, this slot is built to tell ancient stories in new ways. 

Journey to the West is a high-volatility and 96% return-to-player game where you will test your luck by betting anything between $0.25 and $50. The game has a nice and light overall design and theme, that makes it easy to distinguish between different elements and enjoy the crips background and grid graphics as they unfold. Plus, there is a super cool arcade-style bonus game that you may access and play as The Monkey King against a Skeleton Queen!

An animated waterfall will add to the fun, but there is plenty more here with a paytable that is a little more challenging to grasp than most other slots at first glance. Still, this is one of Genesis Gaming’s signature design elements, and we are happy to offer a little more detail into what to expect in our Journey to the West slot review. 

Journey to the West Theme, Storyline, and Graphics: Visually Compelling 

Journey to the West is one of the most visually compelling slot games you will find and play anywhere online. Genesis Gaming has built a subtle yet distinct theme using soft colors and making sure that it brings the best possible experience to its players. 

The theme features a bunch of culturally-inspired Chinese and Asian symbols cast against the waterfall backdrop which is animated with water cascading downwards all the time. Two trees frame the grid which offers a standard five-by-three play. 

There is the ringing of bells every time you press the buttons to spin as if the reels themselves are ladened with various chines, gongs, and other percussive frills. Although there is not a direct story discernible here, there is a lot of mythical story-telling through the characters of the Pig and Monkey King, and we find this to be a nice and engaging element of the design overall. 

Journey to the West Slot Game Symbols and Payouts 

The paytable at Journey to the West isn’t all that complicated, with players enjoying a variety of features and symbols. Speaking of symbols, 5 Wild Symbols in the form of a scroll will pay 100 on the maximum bet. Then, there are the other high-paying ones, including The Monkey King, The Pig, the Emperor, and other mythological characters. There are also the horned demons, princesses, and cacodemon. 

You usually get paid between 4 and 25 per win for 5 of each of those symbols, which may seem a little low, but this is a high-volatility game, which is why this happens. The symbols gain on completely other meaning if you unlock one of the two outstanding games, which could lead to some very serious gains in terms of how much you can win as you play along, too. Let’s touch on this in the gameplay.

Sounds and Animations: Beautifully Animated 

We hold the game to be an absolute delight when it comes to the way it has been designed visually. The animations are discreet yet purposeful. The jump into the bonus level is fun, and it completely changes player expectations presenting them with outstanding options and a lot of worthwhile animations that only serve to improve the experience. The music is also spot-on with Genesis Gaming consistently showing love for picking thematic tunes that just match the entire story the slot is telling. 

Journey to the West Gameplay: Throw Lightning and Thunderbolts for Extra Wins 

The gameplay is quite straightforward with players invited to adjust the size of their bets, benefit from an autoplay feature, and set some safeguards in place to make sure they are not spending too much at any one time. We love Genesis Gaming and its products, as they make it easy to benefit from automation while never breaking the bank.

The bet levels range from $0.25 to $50, but what makes this game stand out is the chance to access the Prophet Enlightenment Bonus where the high-paying symbols will lead to their effects and boost your payouts. The Monk, for example, triggers a respin as part of the Enlightenment Bonus. 

The Skeleton Queen Battle is another gorgeous and out-of-the-box feature that we just love about the game. 

Journey to the West Features: Prophets, Enlightenment & More

Prophet Enlightenment Bonus: The Prophet Enlightenment Bonus will come with a whole lot of interesting features and plot twists. The game will feature different aspects and characters, including Sandy, Pig, Monk, and the Monkey King, which will introduce subtle and exciting calibrations to the gameplay. You may win respins, extra payouts from defeating enemies, or a splashing pig that jumps onto the screen!

Skeleton Queen Battle: What if we told you that this slot game has an arcade-style game in which the Monkey King will fight off the Skeleton Queen? Well, it’s true, as you will egg on the Monkey King who will swing his staff and attack the foe for a chance to take a bit out of her life bar. The game ends as soon as the Monkey King is out of hits, or the queen is out of life. 

But hold on, because this is a multi-tiered bonus level, where you will fight the Skeleton Queen across three distinct levels, with each adding the opportunity to win even bigger sums if you walk away a winner. 

Final Thoughts: A Thematic Dive into Asian Mythology

Stories and legends mix nicely in this game as Journey to the West builds on a strong cultural and mythological premise, but it similarly enhances this by introducing fun gameplay mechanics that are innovative and out-of-the-box in every sense of the word. The Monkey King’s brawl with the Skeleton Queen is a way to experience this slot game in a way that few other games rival, making for a fun, thematic, and engrossing experience.