Monkeys Go Bananas MultiMax: Slot Overview

Yggdrasil Gaming launched its slot Multifly! in 2020, introducing the clever MultiMax reel multiplier setup, yet the studio hasn’t truly pushed the concept much further since. Titles like Rock Star Santa MultiMax and Firekick! MultiMax appeared, along with releases from partner studios, but it still hasn’t taken off in the way mechanics like Gigablox or DoubleMax have. After spending time with Monkeys Go Bananas MultiMax—another Yggdrasil Gaming release—it’s hard to say the feature has received the big boost it arguably needed. That said, some players may disagree; monkey pirates are an entertaining idea on paper.

They’re pretty charming as well, with five of them perched above the reels, each responsible for the MultiMax multipliers. The rest of the scene leans into choppy seas and barrels, placing the game in the same salty corner as Yggdrasil’s Pirates: Smugglers Paradise and Pirates 2: Mutiny. If you’re looking for something with a tougher pirate vibe, partner studio Peter & Sons’ Barbarossa DoubleMax arguably brings more of that rough-and-ready ‘edge’. The audio is a bit of a curveball, too: the track is surprisingly rousing, but it doesn’t really feel like a natural match for a monkey pirate theme—unless the demo simply used a temporary tune.

It’s possible the adorable monkey buccaneers are there to soften the blow of a lower-than-usual (for Yggdrasil) maximum RTP of 94%. The volatility is labelled as ‘super-high‘, which can sound intimidating, but with decent upside available, Monkeys Go Bananas MultiMax could still deliver if the swings land your way. Bets run from 20 cents to $/€25 per spin, and there’s also a free spins bonus buy option.

Monkeys Go Bananas MultiMax runs on a 5-reel, 3-row layout with 243 ways to win, and during free spins it pays in both directions. The paytable includes 9-A royals as the lower-value symbols and 5 character icons at the top end. A 5 OAK low symbol win pays 0.4 to 0.8 times the bet, while landing five of a premium symbol returns 1.6 to 3.6 times the bet.

Monkeys Go Bananas MultiMax: Slot Features

Monkeys Go Bananas MultiMax carries over key elements from Multifly!—including Avalanches, Reel Multipliers, and free spins—while introducing a pay both ways twist in the bonus plus Bomb symbols.

Avalanches

Monkeys Go Bananas MultiMax uses Avalanche wins, meaning winning symbols are removed from the reels, allowing new symbols to fall into place and potentially create additional wins from the same spin. Whenever an Avalanche win hits, a wild symbol is added into a random empty spot before the remaining spaces are filled again.

Wilds and Reel Multilpiers

Wild symbols replace any standard paying symbol. When a wild is placed on the grid after a win, it adds +1 to the reel multiplier for the reel where it lands. That reel multiplier then affects every win that includes at least one symbol on that reel. If more than one reel multiplier is involved in a win, they are multiplied together, so an x2 and an x8, for example, create a total multiplier of x8. In the base game, reel multipliers reset after an Avalanche that doesn’t produce a win. The minimum multiplier is x2, and there is no cap on the maximum multiplier.

Free Spins

Hitting 3 scatters on the three middle reels triggers 8 free spins. During the free spins feature, reel multipliers do not reset, and wins pay both ways—left to right and right to left—although 5 OAK wins only pay from left to right. Free spins also include a Bomb feature. Bomb symbols can appear anywhere on the reels on any free spins without a win. Bombs come in 3 power levels:

• Level 1 Bombs destroy the symbol they land on and trigger an Avalanche;
• Level 2 Bombs do the same and also destroy adjacent positions.
• Level 3 Bombs destroy the centre position plus all positions up to 2 away from it.

Bonus Buy

Using the bonus buy, you can purchase entry to the free spins feature for 95 times the bet.

Monkeys Go Bananas MultiMax: Slot Verdict

As hinted at earlier, Monkeys Go Bananas MultiMax didn’t come across as the release that would truly supercharge the MultiMax mechanic and elevate it to a new tier. It’s at least not a straight Multifly! copy in the way the football-themed entry was, but it also doesn’t feel like a flawlessly refined or especially thrilling evolution of the idea. Overall, it didn’t give the sense that Yggdrasil’s top-tier team was behind Monkeys Go Bananas MultiMax. The test run was fine, but “fine” was pretty much the ceiling.

When things line up, Monkeys Go Bananas MultiMax can probably go, well, bananas—there’s little doubt about that. The concept of reel-based multipliers that combine by multiplying each other was a great move when Multifly! first introduced it, and it still works well here. This version also gains value from Bombs that set off Avalanches, and from the ability to pay both ways. Since both additions are limited to free spins, getting into the bonus becomes an even clearer priority. Neither change impacts the maximum win, however, which remains 10,000 the bet, while the reduced RTP leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste.

Monkeys Go Bananas MultiMax does a decent job of keeping the MultiMax concept present in the online gambling space so it doesn’t slip away entirely. It’s not a standout title, but it does offer MultiMax fans another round with the mechanic, plus a couple of fresh touches. Even so, next to the original, the overall presentation felt a step behind, and the game ultimately left a weaker impression.