Of all of the games available in online casinos, the most popular of all are the slots. The reasons for this are simple. They’re fun, there are no rules to learn or follow and the potential payouts can be higher than most other casino games if your luck’s in.
This means that there is an insatiable appetite amongst players for new titles and themes, one that developers and the sites themselves are more than happy to satisfy.
One of these developers, Pragmatic Play , is particularly inventive in this respect as is amply demonstrated by one of its top new games Gates of Olympus.
For the uninitiated, Olympus is the mountain in Greece where, in legend, the gods lived, ruled over by the mighty Zeus. So it’s only fitting that he also rules over this very entertaining slots game.
What’s on the reels?
When you choose to enter the Gates of Olympus on a site like Jackpotjoy and you will be confronted by the mountain-top scene where Zeus stands surrounded by flaming columns.
The dramatic backdrop is further enhanced by an imposing soundtrack. And, when you are lucky enough to win, great forks of lightning streak across your screen.
The slot’s format is a fairly conventional six reels by five rows. The symbols on the reels are totally in keeping with the game’s theme and include a number of coloured gemstones along with the crown of Zeus and his ring, a ceremonial goblet and the man, or rather the god, himself.
There are 20 different winning permutations on the reels, not a huge number compared with some games, but plenty for most players.
Eyes on the prize
Do a little research into slots games and you’ll find the word “variance” cropping up quite often. Essentially, this refers to the frequency with which a game pays out and the size of the average prize.
A high variance slot pays out less often, but the prizes are generally greater. It’s the opposite for a low variance game with more frequent, smaller pay outs. Gates of Olympus is rated as being of mid to high variance so it’s worth persisting even if you don’t start to win straight away especially as the maximum possible pay out is 5000 times your stake.
One reservation some new players of online slots have is not knowing how genuinely random the spinning reels are, especially as the games are programmed to only pay out fixed amount. If this includes you, rest assured that an online slot is as random as a physical machine. This is all thanks to a clever piece of software called a random number generator. This creates a stream of numbers that relate to the symbols on the six reels, stopping on that symbol when the spin has completed. So it really is genuinely random.
The game also has a Return To Player rate of 96.50% paying back 96.50% of stake money as cash prizes. It’s not the biggest RTP out there but it’s definitely at the higher end of the scale.
Free spins and other features
Online slots are characterised by loading in plenty of features to keep players engaged, and Gates of Olympus is no exception.
Tumble Feature
First up is the Tumble Feature which kicks in after any win, whatever its size. There is a mighty thunderbolt and the winning symbols disappear from the reels, to be replaced with other ones – effectively giving you a free spin.
This can create another winning combination of symbols and, as long as it does, the tumble feature is repeated until the winning streak comes to an end and the normal game resumes.
Multipliers
On all of the six reels you’ll see different multipliers. These can land completely at random during any winning sequence. When one does, all the pay outs for that particular passage of play will be multiplied by the factor shown on the reel. At the very least it means that the prize money will be doubled. But if the gods truly are smiling on you, it can very occasionally be multiplied by 500.
Free spins
As you’d expect, the appearance of Zeus is going to be more than just a very good omen for you. When you find four of these symbols anywhere across the reels it will automatically trigger 15 free spins. Plus, if three more Zeus symbols land during your free spins part of the games another five will be automatically added on to your bonus.
The Ante Bet
Another feature not offered on very many other slots games is the ante bet. In exchange for adding a 25% premium to your stake it increases your chance of landing the Zeus symbols you’ll need to qualify for free spins.
This can be especially useful if you’re playing with lower stakes. You’ll be paying a smaller premium but you’ll have just as much chance of setting off this potentially very lucrative feature.
Play wherever you like
Another great aspect of this game is that you can play it on PC or mobile because it’s been fully optimised for both.
So, when you put it all together, you’re left with a fun and exciting slot that’s packed with features and which can even reward you with a jackpot valued at 5,000 times your stake.
And if that’s not a prospect that would impress Zeus himself, we don’t know what is!
