Medusa Megaways: Review

Thanks to the Megaways craze, plenty of older favourites have been revived and presented in a more modern way. Sure, a few traditionalists may not be thrilled, but the popularity of the format is hard to argue with. The newest classic to receive the Megaways makeover is Medusa, a NextGen Gaming title that originally arrived in two parts, with the second release becoming one of NextGen’s biggest successes so far.

At its core, this is Bonanza-style gameplay: you get the familiar 6 reels plus the extra reel, a random reel height of 3 to 7 symbols per spin (the key element of the Megaways engine), up to 117,649 Megaways, and naturally cascading symbols with increasing multipliers during free spins. That said, the resemblance largely stops there, because Medusa Megaways introduces its own set of distinctive mechanics, as outlined below. You can spin from 0.25 to 25 Eur per spin on all devices, and it’s also notable that there are two RTP configurations: triggering the bonus normally gives you a 96.28% RTP, while buying the bonus sets it to 97.63%.

For Medusa fans, it’s great to see the team keeping the feel of the original intact, both in the visuals and by retaining the same eerie soundtrack. The theme draws on the myth of Medusa, the gorgon portrayed as a winged woman with venomous snakes for hair, and the background shows ancient Greek stone ruins beneath pink skies. It’s an unsettling setting that shifts to the interior of a temple when free spins are triggered. The artwork is deliberately a little old-school as a tribute to Medusa, which works perfectly here.

The symbols feature A to 10 royals alongside talaria sandals, silver rings, golden snakes, trojan shields and pegasus horses. The pegasus is the top payer, awarding 30 times your stake for landing 6 on a payline. The intimidating Medusa is the wild, replacing all symbols except the scatter and the special Soldier symbol* which appears only on the extra reel during the free spins feature – more on that later!

Like most Megaways games, it uses cascading reels: any symbols that form a win are removed and new ones drop in, creating a chain reaction that continues until no further wins are formed.

Medusa Megaways: Features

Medusa Megaways comes loaded with features. Whenever one or more wilds land on the extra reel, there’s a chance the Medusa’s Gaze feature will trigger. If it does, Medusa covers the entire reel directly beneath the wilds, then vanishes to reveal one or more wild symbols.

While the base game can deliver some solid moments, the real focus is the Free Spins feature, which awards 10 free spins when you hit 3 or more scatter symbols anywhere on the reels (alternatively, you can Buy the feature for 100 times your stake). In addition, every extra scatter that lands grants 5 more free spins. The free spins can also be retriggered by landing 3 or more scatters, with no cap on the number of retriggers.

Once you’re in, you’ll have access to the Unlimited Win Multiplier feature – starting at 2x, the multiplier increases by 1 with each chain reaction win. And beyond Medusa’s Gaze (which also applies here), the Snake Strike feature can further boost your chances during free spins. Watch the two snakes beside the extra reel: when one or more *soldiers land on that reel, the snakes strike. If the left snake attacks, the symbol turns into a wild; if the right snake attacks, the symbol turns into a scatter.

Finally, after the feature finishes, the Temptation feature lets you pick between two choices – take your winnings and leave, or replay the feature in pursuit of bigger returns. Naturally, there’s a real chance the next run will be worse, so it’s a decision worth thinking through.

Medusa Megaways: Verdict

As you can tell, Medusa Megaways is a fairly busy game, packed with different mechanics. If it looks complicated at first glance, it isn’t too bad in practice once you start spinning. It’s reasonably balanced in the way these Bonanza-style slots often are, but the bulk of the excitement sits in the free spins round. We liked the full feature set, though the Temptation idea stands out as the most intriguing. If nothing else, it’s reassuring to know you can get another shot if you suffer through a terrible bonus.

Medusa Megaways is a high variance slot with a max win potential of 50,000x but is likely capped relative to the stake. Either way, we had a great time with it and feel it not only met expectations, but went beyond them. With Big Time Gaming’s brilliant invention powering it, Medusa’s curse continues, stronger than ever.