The Age of the Gods series by Playtech has been a staple in the online casino world for years, with each game offering unique features and themes that appeal to fans of ancient mythology. The latest installment in this series is "Age of the Gods: Wheels of Olympus", which brings the thrill of Greek Age of the Gods: Wheels of Olympus at your fingertips on ageofthe-gods mythology to life on the reels. In this comprehensive review, we’ll delve into every aspect of this slot machine, covering its theme, design, symbols, payouts, and features.
Theme and Design
"Wheels of Olympus" transports players to ancient Greece, where they’ll encounter a range of mythological characters from Mount Olympus. The game’s backdrop is a serene Greek landscape with towering mountains and crystal-clear waters, complete with temples and ruins in the distance. This idyllic scene sets the tone for what promises to be an exciting adventure.
As expected from a Playtech title, "Wheels of Olympus" boasts impressive graphics and animations that bring this mythical world to life. Characters like Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Artemis, Ares, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Dionysus, and Hercules make appearances on the reels, each with their own distinct style and animations.
Symbols and Payouts
The symbols in "Wheels of Olympus" are divided into two categories: low-paying and high-paying. The former includes playing card values (9-Ace), while the latter features a mix of Greek gods and goddesses. Here’s how they rank:
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High-Paying Symbols:
- Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Artemis, Ares: Each offers 20x to 50x for five matching symbols on an active payline.
- Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Hercules: These symbols provide smaller payouts of 10-30 times your stake for a win line.
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Low-Paying Symbols:
- Aces (10-15%): This symbol is the highest-paying low-value icon and offers up to 100x return.
- Kings, Queens, Jacks, Tens (5-8%): These playing card values offer lower returns of up to 50 times your stake.
Wilds
The Wild symbol in "Wheels of Olympus" is represented by Zeus’s lightning bolt, which replaces all other symbols except Scatters. As the highest-paying symbol, landing multiple lightning bolts on a payline increases potential winnings significantly.
However, when a Free Spins round triggers and you land additional Lightning Bolts during that round, these become an extra Wild, with their own multipliers applied to any wins formed using them.
Scatters
The Scatter is represented by the Owl of Athena (Horus owl). When 2-5 scatters appear on reels, this activates Free Spins. The number of scatters directly determines how many spins you receive:
- 3 Scatters = 10 free games
- 4 Scatters = 15 free games
- 5 Scatters = 20 free games
During these Free Spins, the additional Wilds mentioned earlier can be landed for extra gains.
Bonus Features and Free Spins
As we’ve seen, landing scatters triggers a free spins round. This is an exciting feature that allows players to accumulate more winnings with no need for betting actions between rounds.
Each spin features up to 4 random symbols – in addition to the Wilds during these games – making your experience feel fresh every time while giving you even higher opportunities at successful combinations.
RTP, Volatility, and Betting Range
To provide a better understanding of this slot’s overall performance:
- RTP (Return-To-Player): This title offers an average return-to-player value (RTP) around 94.29%. Although not exceptional compared to other games in its niche, it is quite generous.
- Volatility: Players with lower bankrolls may face difficulties due to this slot machine’s high volatility level – meaning infrequent but big wins can be balanced by small winnings during normal gameplay sessions.
Play "Age of the Gods: Wheels of Olympus" on different stakes levels. As such a volatile game has more generous payoffs towards bigger wagers, consider starting with lower betting amounts before moving to higher stakes for potentially larger rewards when attempting any significant playthrough.
- Betting Range: Betting starts at 20p ($0.02) per spin and goes up as high as £100 ( $137), accommodating both low-stakes gamblers looking for entertainment or those who can afford bigger wagers in search of more substantial gains.
Max Win
While "Wheels of Olympus" boasts a higher RTP than some other popular slots, maximum payouts are quite generous indeed – if not particularly unique when it comes to high-volatility games that typically carry larger potential multipliers.
There’s no defined max win limit here. This means you can potentially walk away with incredible sums based solely on which symbols and their quantities appear at specific points during a session.
Gameplay Experience
With such intricate features embedded throughout its gameplay mechanics – from randomly generated scatters to the Owl of Athena as Scatter, Free Spins bonus rounds – players will not experience boredom while spinning these reels. Even when your bankroll shrinks following string(s) of poor results, they can be lifted thanks to those unexpected large wins available whenever a slot machine feels generous.
You may also want to observe how various gameplay elements impact each other: sometimes landing the right combination might require both an understanding of specific game mechanics combined with strategic risk-taking.