Roman Power: Overview

Spin Play Games is another youthful indie studio that’s been absorbed by industry heavyweight Microgaming and folded into its roster of partner studios. Operating out of Las Vegas—the spiritual home of gambling—Spin Play Games describes itself as “A Math First Studio”.

That claim is backed up by their site, where the term “math” appears repeatedly and is clearly a point of pride. The company launched in early 2019 and has only a handful of slots in development, with Roman Power as the first. With such a strong focus on a math-led design, expectations were naturally set fairly high.

To package that math model in an appealing way, Spin Play Games places the 5-reel, 3-row layout inside a Roman colonnade, with visuals that aren’t a million miles from Nero’s Fortune by Quickspin. It’s not as dark or intense, though, opting for a yellow-brown palette instead of Rome’s fiery reds. Visually, Roman Power feels closer to Caesars Palace than authentic Italy—serviceable rather than striking. The themed soundtrack does help by boosting the atmosphere.

With stakes from 20 p/c up to $/€50 per spin, Roman Power keeps the setup straightforward thanks to its 20 fixed paylines. There are 11 symbols altogether, made up of 5 low pays and 5 premium icons. The low pays are 10-A royals in a quasi SPQR-style typeface, while the higher pays include crossed swords, bracers, a shield, body armour, and a plumed helmet.

Payouts are fairly standard: the 5 low pays return 2.5x-5x the stake, while the 5 premium symbols land 6.25x to 12.5x the stake. Top of the pile is the Hero Wild, which not only pays 20 times the stake for five of a kind, but also drives the game’s features.

Before looking at the Hero and what he brings to the table, it’s worth covering the headline math stats. Most players should be satisfied with the RTP, which is listed at 96.18%, alongside a hit frequency of 15.69%. Battle-hardened Centurions and risk-takers will also appreciate the high volatility, though—like the Roman games of old—it may be a bit too brutal for some. Up to this point, it’s all fairly familiar, so the features need to do the heavy lifting if Roman Power is going to stand out.

Roman Power: Features

This section won’t take long, as the feature set is pretty compact. As noted, the Hero Wild is central, first and foremost acting as a substitute for any other symbol in the game. When the wild lands as part of a winning combination, it expands to fill the entire reel, complete with a slick slashing animation. This is the Hero Wilds feature, and multiple expanding wilds can trigger at the same time.

Extending the Hero Wilds feature is the Power Multipliers features. Each time the Hero Wilds feature triggers, there’s a chance a Power Multiplier will also activate. If it does, a random multiplier of x2, x3, x5, x7, or x10 is selected. The final win is then multiplied by the revealed value.

Roman Power: Verdict

That’s the package. Roman Power is a fairly brief but enjoyable debut slot from Spin Play Games. Even so, its limited depth means it’s unlikely to set the iGaming scene alight any time soon. It doesn’t go toe-to-toe with genre mainstays like Victorious MAX, though players who love Ancient Rome may find their interest’s piqued.

The visuals are decent enough, and the top prize of 4,000 times the stake is respectable, made possible when Hero Wilds, Power Multipliers, and stacked reels all line up together. For simple, very simple gameplay, it may suit a certain type of player.

Still, it’s the lack of features that really limits Roman Power. The entire experience hinges on the Hero Wild, which does appear reasonably often, but that’s largely where it ends. And it’s not exactly a fresh idea. Yes, there are Power Multipliers too, but they can be extremely elusive. Initially it even felt like we’d overlooked a rule about them—yet no, they simply don’t show up that frequently.

As a result, most spins play out routinely, with the occasional expanding Hero Wild added in to keep things moving. For players who prefer a clean, uninterrupted style of slot, that could sound ideal. For others, the lack of variety and the repetitive rhythm may be a turn-off.

It’s possible the team played things a little too safe and could have aimed for something more eye-catching. Future titles might improve by balancing the number-crunching with more development elsewhere, because visually the game can come across as a touch plain. All in all, there are some upsides, but Roman Power is a debut that probably won’t have established studios worrying about a new challenger just yet.