Zeus Lightning Megaways: Slot Overview
Software provider Red Tiger has revisited its 2020 slot Zeus Lightning Power Reels, deeming the time right for a makeover. Back then, the studio was pushing along its Power Reels series, which has to date run to over a dozen titles but which has appeared to have cooled since the release of Reel Keeper Power Reel. Perhaps the studio had enough and decided to try new things. Zeus Lightning Megaways isn’t what you’d call very new since it keeps a lot of Zeus Lightning Power Reels‘ gameplay while bolting it to a Megaways framework on licence from Big Time Gaming.
The graphical layout of Zeus Lightning Megaways is comparable to the past. Surrounding the gaming grid are columns, floating buildings, clouds, and the like. A quite nicely done celestial setting, though there’s nothing exceptional visually that you can’t find elsewhere within the large collection of Ancient Greek-themed slots. Still, quite weighty and grand stuff is on show here as befits a slot about the famous Greek deity.
Usually, when a Megaways upgrade occurs, the gaming grid is expanded on what came before. In some ways, the gaming area is bigger; in some ways, it is smaller than the one found in Zeus Lightning Power Reels. For one thing, the number of reels has been reduced from 7 down to 6, and 2 to 7 symbols may land on each reel. This creates a varying number of winning ways, maxing out at 117,649. The stake range is 20 c to $/€4, while RTP comes in at a noticeably lower 95.75% along with medium-high volatility.
Symbols in winning combinations are cleared, allowing new symbols to drop in for another opportunity to win. Repeat wins occur till no new combinations are created after a drop. As for the paytable, 10 to Ace card royals make up Zeus Lightning Megaways’ low-pay symbols, paying players 0.2 to 0.25 times the bet for a 6-of-a-kind winning way. Next are depictions of various heads, awarding 0.4 to 10 times the bet for 6 OAK. What’s notable about the pay symbols is that they payout when at least 2 matching symbols form a win, rather than the customary 3+, including the royals. There are no regular wilds in Zeus Lightning Megaways, but there is a special Zeus Wild.
Zeus Lightning Megaways: Slot Features
Zeus brings the lightning in this game when expanding and/or upgrading symbols on the reels. The other features bringing lightning of their own are chain reaction wins and free spins.
Zeus Wild
Zeus is a wild that lands on reels 3 and 4, substituting for all paying symbols. In the main game, only one Zeus Wild may land per spin. The Zeus Wild is not removed when used in a win unless the win is formed by the expanded symbols from the Zeus Lightning. If a reel has 2 or 3 symbols, the Zeus Wilds is 1×1 in size. If the reel has 4, 5, or 6 symbols, the Zeus Wild is 1×2 in size, and if there are 7 symbols on the reel, the Zeus Wild is 1×3 in size.
Expanding Lightning
If a Zeus Wild appears fully in view on the reels, at the end of chain reaction wins, he summons a lightning strike, hitting one of the same random symbol on all reels they appear. This clones the symbols to cover all positions on their reels. If the selected symbol is on the same reel as the Zeus Wild, it does not cover the Zeus Wild. Expanded symbols form win ways even when the symbols are not adjacent.
Free Spins
Scatters appear on reels 2, 3, 4, and 5. Landing 3 or 4 scatters awards 8 or 12 free spins, respectively. Each free spin scatter that lands in the feature awards +1 extra free spin. An extra Zeus Wild is added to the reels, making it possible to land up to 2 Zeus Wilds. One on reel 3, one on reel 4. When 2 Zeus Wilds land fully in view, after chain reactions have ended, the first one clones symbols as in the main game, then the second Zeus Wild upgrades the cloned symbols to a higher paying symbol from the paytable. Royals are upgraded to the first non-royal symbol. Non-royal symbols are upgraded to the next up on the hierarchy. After the upgrade, if other symbols of the upgraded type are present elsewhere on the reels, they expand as well.
Zeus Lightning Megaways: Slot Verdict
Some things change, some things stay as they were, as the saying goes, and this applies to Zeus Lightning Megaways. Players who enjoyed the previous slot will be able to slide effortlessly into this one since many of the key rules have stayed more or less the same. Zeus returns to expand chosen symbols, which go on to pay from any position regardless of adjacency. A second Zues may show up in free spins to upgrade expanded symbols to a better paying type, much like before. It helps that Zeus Lightning Megaways pays out for 2 OAKs as well, ensuring two expanded symbol reels are worth something. Maybe not huge wads of cash, but something.
Zeus Lightning Megaways also avoids one of Power Reels’ main bugbears, which was masses of grid space to relatively few paylines (30 of them). In its place, is Megaways, with its many, many ways to win. Has this affected winning potential, you may ask? Dramatically so, as 20,000x the bet is listed as the max win, literally blowing Zeus Lightning Power Reels aside in the possible payout stakes. Get a good number of expanded symbol reels, a decent value symbol, who knows, it could be a wee thrill.
Does this mean more Power Reels to Megaways conversions to come? Perhaps that will rest on how Zeus Lightning Megaways is received, but slot creators have to make up the numbers, so watch this space. Zeus Lightning Megaways was a decent conversion, keeping the original’s better elements while pepping up the potential payouts and also giving the game Megaways pulling power.
Fair
Zeus Lightning Megaways retains much of the original’s core gameplay while adding Megaways and higher payout potential, but may not offer enough new excitement for everyone.
