Cygnus 4: Slot Overview

If two’s company and three’s a crowd, what does that make four? Perhaps ELK Studios has the answer, having crafted the fourth entry in its starry Cygnus series. Cygnus 4 serves up another round of gravity-driven avalanche gameplay, where the aim is to get specific symbols to the grid’s leftmost pillar or down to the bottom. A fresh twist in Cygnus 4 is that the multiplier pillar can now level up, and once you reach the very top of the third and final multiplier pillar, the game immediately awards its hefty maximum payout.

Launched in 2019, the first Cygnus was set in Egypt; the sequel, Cygnus 2 (2022), moved to an elegant observatory; Cygnus 3 (2023) shifted to a Colosseum-like setting; and Cygnus 4 appears to take place in a stylised old-time London. The biggest hint is the four-towered structure behind the grid, which strongly resembles the White Tower at the Tower of London, among the city’s oldest landmarks. Overhead, the Cygnus constellation hangs in the night sky, acting as the visual thread that connects all four games.

Another shared hallmark of the Cygnus slots is how each base spin begins by dropping 4-rows of symbols into a 6-reel grid. The reels are staggered, allowing symbols to slide sideways when avalanche wins trigger. At the starting setup, there are 4,096 ways to win, rising to 262,144 once the grid expands to its maximum 8 rows high. The series has consistently leaned medium/high to high in volatility, and Cygnus 4 follows suit. Recall Cygnus’s 96.1% RTP? Those days have passed, as Cygnus 4 runs at 94% whether you’re wagering 20 c to $/€100 per spin or using any of the X-iter options.

Wins are formed when matching symbols land on neighbouring reels starting from the far-left reel, and the avalanche mechanic removes winning symbols. The remaining symbols then tumble down and/or shift sideways until they settle, after which an extra row is added – up to 8 rows high. This cycle continues until no further win appears, then the grid returns to its default state for the next spin. Paying symbols include round icons with blue, green, and red gems, plus a serpent, a unicorn, a gryphon, and an all-seeing pyramid. Very Illuminati. Landing 6 OAK pays 0.2 to 0.5 times the bet for the gems and creature symbols, while 6 pyramids award 10x the bet. When wilds show up, they can replace any standard pay symbol.

Cygnus 4: Slot Features

The feature set isn’t a dramatic departure from the first two Cygnus titles, bringing back the win multiplier, levelling up, free drops, and X-iter feature buys.

Multiplier

Multiplier symbols appear randomly on the grid, while a multiplier pillar sits along the left edge of the reels. If a multiplier symbol reaches the leftmost column or the bottom of the reels, it increases the current multiplier value and then turns into a wild symbol. The multiplier boost and the symbol change happen before the win is paid.

Level Up

If a level-up symbol makes it to the leftmost column or the bottom of the reels, it levels up the entire multiplier pillar, then turns into a wild. The multiplier pillar rotates, and the current multiplier takes the same relative position on the new pillar. There are 3 levels to the multiplier pillar, and upon reaching the top of the third pillar, the slot pays out the remaining amount needed to reach the win cap. If a level-up symbol and a multiplier symbol trigger together, the pillar levels up first, and only then does the multiplier value increase. Both levelling progress and multiplier progress reset when a new base game round begins.

Free Drops

When a scatter symbol reaches the leftmost column, it awards 7 free drops. It also gets some assistance: if a scatter lands at the bottom of reels 2-6, it is added to the top of the next reel to the left – this can happen once per cycle. The currently active multiplier and the pillar level are carried over into the bonus round when it begins. Each free drop starts with 4 rows of symbols, and the active multiplier and pillar level persist till the round ends. Bonus symbols that reach the leftmost column award additional free drops.

X-iter

Through the X-iter menu, players can purchase selected features, including a few that can’t be accessed in regular play.

• Bonus Hunt – one drop for 3x the bet with more than double the chance of triggering free spins.
• Multiplier Pillar on Level 3 – one drop where the multiplier pillar starts at level 3 for 10x the bet.
• Multiplier Wilds – one drop where multiplier symbols are also wild for 25x the bet. Multiplier wilds remain until they transform into regular wilds by reaching the leftmost side or bottom of the grid.
• Bonus – 100x the bet to trigger free spins.
• Super Bonus – 500x the bet for free spins where multiplier symbols are also wild. Multiplier wilds remain until they transform into regular wilds by reaching the leftmost side or bottom of the grid.

Cygnus 4: Slot Verdict

Think back to how Cygnus 3 veered away from the earlier entries by introducing the Cygnus Wheel, where you could land instant wins, free drops, or jackpot rewards. With Cygnus 4, the series swings back toward its roots, sharing far more DNA with the first two Cygnus slots than with its third sibling. It’s easy to imagine some players missing the Cygnus Wheel, particularly given how it could turn a 500x the bet spend into a 5x the bet return in seconds. Instead, Cygnus 4 returns to the familiar formula of rolling multiplier symbols and free spins symbols into the left pillar (or down to the bottom) to trigger their effects, paired with gravity-assisted avalanches and expanding rows, all while looking superb.

Even so, Cygnus 4 does include a faint jackpot-hunt vibe. In a way. Specifically, pushing to reach the highest point on the level 3 pillar is how you land Cygnus 4’s 50,000x the bet top prize. It’s somewhat reminiscent of finding the Max Win coin in Pirots 2, where that slot would also top you up to the max win if and when it happens. Possibly more “if” than “when,” considering ELK Studios slots’ reputation. Still, this approach adds another reason (if one was required) to chase level-ups and climb the multiplier pillars. Beginning on Level 3 via X-iter can be useful for that, and using this feature buy was among the most engaging ways to play Cygnus 4. In terms of thrills, Cygnus 4 felt more rewarding than Cygnus 3, though it wasn’t a huge step up from 1 or 2. Call it roughly on par.

In that sense, Cygnus 4 can feel just a touch underwhelming. Even with certain stats holding it back, as is often the case, the visuals are impeccable and the overall build quality is up to ELK Studios’ usual high standard. The multiplier pillar levelling and the possibility of hitting something massive by progressing all the way deliver a strong dose of tension, but much of the rest plays it a little too safe to label Cygnus as must-see.