A totem pole isn’t just a totem pole. Stick with me here. It’s less ridiculous than that opening line makes it seem. There are apparently seven different types of totem poles, each with its own purpose. My favorite types are ridicule poles which carve the likeness of some who screwed up upside down, and the heraldic poles, which are erected when a house changes hands to commemorate the past owner.

With its new game Totem Guardians Dream Drop slot, Relax Gaming may have just added an eighth type to the list. 

Discover a magical totem pole

Most of the Totem Guardians Dream Drop slot’s features revolve around the cascading reels mechanic. This mechanic removes all symbols involved in a winning combination, allowing new symbols to fall into the empty spots. Unlike with most cascading reels slots, however, the symbols that disappear from the reels in Totem Guardians Dream Drop slot don’t disappear and are instead added to the Totem Multiplier pole positioned to the right of the reels. 

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Each symbol has its own spot on the Totem Multiplier pole. When a symbol is involved in a winning combination, all instances of that symbol are added to their position on the totem pole, with each symbol adding a 1x multiplier. So, if a winning combination is made up of three diamond symbols, a 3x multiplier will be added to the diamond symbol position on the totem pole. If, on the same spin, the same symbol is involved in another combination, the multiplier will be applied to the winning amount first, and then the new symbols will be added to their spot on the pole. In the base game, all values are reset at the beginning of every spin.

A round of free spins is triggered with three or more bonus symbols, which will award five free spins. Each bonus symbol that appears on the reels will also unlock one of the three locked rows of the slot’s base game. If a round of free spins is not triggered, the rows will revert to their locked state at the beginning of the next spin. 

When a round of free spins is triggered, the values currently on the Totem Multiplier pole will be brought into the bonus feature. During your round, the multiplier values will not be reset at the beginning of each spin and will continue to grow throughout. One additional free spin is awarded for every bonus symbol that appears during your round.

As the name suggests, Totem Guardians Dream Drop slot also features the Dream Drop bonus game. Triggered randomly on any base game spin, the Dream Drop bonus game will give you a chance to win one of five progressively larger jackpot amounts.

Is Totem Guardians Dream Drop slot really just a nightmare?

With a 5,000x max multiplier, Totem Guardians Dream Drop slot gives you a shot at winning no more than $250,000 when you’re betting at the $50 a spin max. If that’s a little too rich for your blood, betting on the slot starts from $0.20 per spin. The slot features an RTP of 94% and medium to high volatility. 

I really think there’s something compelling about character-driven slot games. It’s as if I’m more likely to engage with a game if there is a character that I can interact with. As a result, slots that focus on animals or symbols are just generally not as appealing to me personally. However, when they’re done right, they most certainly can be. Totem Guardians Dream Drop is a stunning slot with beautiful graphics and perfectly integrated animation that draws you into the action. The bonus features are also unique. This meant that it took me a little while to figure out the Totem Multiplier pole, but that may have just been because I was a little thick. All in all, though, Totem Guardians Dream Drop slot is a solid little slot. I give it a nine out of ten.

If you’re looking for a few other interesting slots from Relax Gaming, try out Net Gains and Wild Hike.