Eastern Emeralds Megaways: Slot Overview

Editor’s note: this review assesses Eastern Emeralds Megaways in its early access form, meaning the game is still being developed. We will return to Eastern Emeralds Megaways once we have full access to the final production version.

Quickspin struck gold when it reworked its smash hit Big Bad Wolf into Big Bad Wolf Megaways, and now the studio is back for another revamp. This time, the team revisits the 2018 title Eastern Emeralds, an Asian-themed slot best known for its enormous max multiplier wild combinations. Those signature combos are still here in the Megaways edition, along with the familiar four-choice free spins feature, plus a fresh gamble option and a bonus buy button.

Graphically, things have been refreshed, but you’re still in the same familiar setting. The backdrop remains a hazy mountain scene, with leafy trees up front adorned with hanging lanterns and traditional buildings sitting in the distance. The biggest visual change is a new pagoda-style structure at the center that frames the much larger game grid, which also behaves very differently thanks to the Megaways format. Here, play runs on a 5-reel layout, with each reel showing 2 to 7 symbols. This variable configuration creates between 32 to 16,807 ways to win on every spin.

This journey back to Asia works smoothly across devices, and players can choose stakes from 20 p/c to $/€100 per spin. In general, Eastern Emeralds Megaways is highly volatile, although volatility can be influenced somewhat by the free spins option you select. In standard play, Eastern Emeralds Megaways runs with a default return to player of 96.04%.

Symbol-wise, little has changed beyond the payout values. Low symbols are 10-A card royals, paying 0.2-0.75x the bet for five of a kind. Next come the mid symbols—coins, sycees, turtles, fish, and dragons—returning 0.9 to 3 times the stake for five of a kind. Appearing on reels 2-5 are green and gold wild symbols. Wilds replace any standard pay symbol and arrive carrying a multiplier. In the base game, that multiplier always matches the reel where the wild lands. So a wild on reel two is x2, a wild on reel four is x4, and so forth. When multiple wilds contribute to the same win, their multiplier values are multiplied together and then applied to the payout.

Eastern Emeralds Megaways: Slot Features

The other key icon in Eastern Emeralds Megaways is the phoenix-covered scatter. Scatters only show up on the reels in the base game, and hitting at least 3 of them activates free spins. Before the round begins, however, players get the option to gamble what they’ve triggered if it was started with 3 or 4 scatters. The gamble is a straight 50/50 shot to reach the next level up. If you lose, you forfeit all free spins. Taking the gamble is entirely optional.

After collecting your result or choosing to continue past the gamble stage, a selection screen appears where you pick one of these four bonus round options:

• Option 1 – multiplier wilds of x2, x3, x4, x5 (combines to x120 at the most) with 15, 30, or 60 free spins when triggered by 3, 4, or 5 scatters, respectively.
• Option 2 – multiplier wilds of x3, x4, x5, x6 (combines to x360 at the most) with 12, 24, or 48 free spins when triggered by 3, 4, or 5 scatters, respectively.
• Option 3 – multiplier wilds of x4, x5, x6, x7 (combines to x840 at the most) with 9, 18, or 36 free spins when triggered by 3, 4, or 5 scatters, respectively.
• Option 4 – multiplier wilds of x5, x6, x7, x8 (combines to x1,680 at the most) with 6, 12, or 24 free spins when triggered by 3, 4, or 5 scatters, respectively.

Fewer free spins means higher potential multipliers and increased volatility. Scatters do not appear during free spins, so retriggers are not possible. Lastly, where available, players can buy direct access to the bonus round for 90x the bet. After purchasing, you can choose to gamble the outcome or bypass the wheel and head straight into the picker stage.

Eastern Emeralds Megaways: Slot Verdict

Given how well Big Bad Wolf Megaways performed, it’s no shock that Quickspin dipped back into its catalogue to give another fan-favourite a new look. That said, Eastern Emeralds in Megaways form doesn’t deliver quite the same spark as the Wolf-and-Piggy makeover. A big part of that is the limited sense of novelty—much of what’s on offer here already existed in the original. Yes, the grid is larger and the ways count is massively expanded, but the conversion doesn’t feel as playful or inspired as Big Bad Wolf Megaways.

Still, it’s possible the development experience was more rewarding than it seemed during testing. And this isn’t to say Eastern Emeralds Megaways is a letdown. The presentation is cleaner than the original, making it easy to sink into the exotic setting. More importantly, the gameplay has plenty going for it. Multiplier wilds remain the headline act, just as they were before, and pairing them with a ways mechanic instead of paylines creates real chances for standout moments. The max win wasn’t confirmed at the time of writing, but since the original posted an impressive figure, it’s reasonable to expect something similar here.

All told, this is a solid Asian-themed Megaways slot where those juicy multiplier wilds can stack by multiplying each other. The move from a classic grid to a Megaways-powered layout has been handled smoothly, and the transition feels natural. Fans of the first game should find plenty to like—just don’t go in expecting a dramatic reinvention with the remake.