Legends of Slots

Legends of Slots sounds like one thing and turns out to be another. At its core it's a symbol-matching puzzle where you tap to line up little themed icons — knights, dragons, lanterns — and each completed set unlocks a short animated vignette about a character from the game's storybook. The whole thing runs offline, which is the main reason it landed on our radar.

The loop is simple but oddly satisfying. You pick a board, arrange your reels, and watch the icons settle into place, with light strategy in choosing which symbol sets to prioritize. There's a collection screen where the 'legends' pile up, and completing a chapter plays a hand-drawn cutscene. The controls are just taps and swipes, nothing fiddly, and it handles one-handed play well.

It won't eat your evenings the way an RPG might, but as a pick-up-for-five-minutes game it does the job. We liked the art direction most — the characters have real charm — and the fact that progress is saved locally so nothing gets lost when you're underground or on a plane.

What we liked

• Fully playable with no connection
• Charming hand-drawn character art
• Easy one-handed tap controls