5 Lions Megaways 2

5 Lions Megaways 2: Slot Overview

Watchu gonna do when you release a slot that manages to go on to become something of a hit amongst the wider gambling community? Follow it up, of course, which is what software provider Pragmatic Play has done with its well-performing game 5 Lions Megaways. The sequel is titled 5 Lions Megaways 2, and it takes the successful structure of the original game, then blasts up the top wild multiplier value, expands the gaming grid, inserts a free spins level-up mechanic, and adds a couple of souped-up bonus rounds on top. The follow-up is more of a handful, in other words.

Squint, though, and it's hard to tell the two games apart, so similar are the graphics. However, 5 Lions Megaways 2 has brighter-looking artwork, perhaps, and of course, the '2' in the title is a giveaway. Otherwise, as before, a blue patterned wall makes up the background, a golden-framed gaming area is where the symbols fall, and multiple references to Asian culture may be picked out. It might not look like a heckuva lot has changed at a glance, but if you delve deeper, a number of significant changes become apparent.

Pragmatic Play has pushed and prodded the game in several ways to fill the experience out and make it bigger than its predecessor. One way is a grid upgrade. Now, up to 8 symbols can land on each of the 6-reel Megaways grid, producing up to 262,144 ways to win. Winning symbols are removed from the grid by the tumble mechanic, letting symbols drop in to create another chance to win. Tumbles repeat till no win is formed. Bets of 20 c to $/€240 are pickable, while the ante bet lets players increase the stake by 2.5x to make it 7 times more likely to trigger free spins. All approaches have the same default RTP, 96.5% at the most, and the math model is highly volatile.

A cultural collection of turtles, fish, frogs, phoenixes, and dragons are the high-paying symbols, worth 2.5x to 25x for winning combinations of 6-of-a-kind. Beneath them are 9-A card ranks paying 1 to 1.25 times the bet for 6 OAK. The golden lion symbol is wild, and it replaces any of the regular paying symbols to help complete combinations. When at least one wild is part of a winning combination, a random multiplier of x1 to x100 is applied.

5 Lions Megaways 2: Slot Features

Hitting 3, 4, 5, or 6 scatter or super scatter symbols triggers the bonus round and awards 3x to 100x the bet. Landing 3 or more scatters triggers regular free spins, while a combination of regular and super scatter symbols awards super free spins. Before the round starts, players pick either 5–25 free spins with wild multipliers ranging from x2 to x100 or a mystery option with a random selection from the range.

Now, whenever a wild symbol hits and is part of a winning combination, a random multiplier from the relevant range is applied. If the bonus is the super free spins round, before it starts, +1 to +10 additional free spins are awarded, and the round may randomly start on level 2. The Level Up Coin may land in free spins. Each time 3 are collected, the round moves to the next level, +3 free spins are awarded, and the lowest wild multiplier value is removed till the end of the feature. After level 4, every time 3 Level Up Coins are collected, just +3 free spins are granted. If the feature was triggered with only super scatters, players win the max free spins feature. In this version, players get 35 free spins and x100 wild multipliers. There is no levelling up. Each 3 collected Level Up Coins award +3 extra free spins.

Bonus Buy

Three choices are available at the bonus buy. Regular free spins can be bought for 100x, super free spins for 150x, or a mystery option that triggers free spins, super free spins or max free spins for 500x.

5 Lions Megaways 2: Slot Verdict

Whilst a lot of what's covered in the previous sections will be familiar to players conversant with the original 5 Lions Megaways release, the changes aren't insignificant. Right off the bat, there are a lot more ways to win in this game, and the wild multiplier can now hit x100, smashing past the x40 ceiling that was in place last time. Those upgrades alone are enough to transform the upper end of what's possible in 5 Lions Megaways 2, but Pragmatic Play hasn't stopped there. The studio has also added in free spins levels, super free spins and, going even further, max free spins. So, even if for much of the time, 5 Lions Megaways 2 runs pretty close to 5 Lions Megaways, it's got an extra gear or two it can shift into, and those upper reaches are quite exciting to mentally visualise.

One little letdown is that even though the win cap has been eased, 5 Lions Megaways 2's 8,000x could have been higher when considering the potential devastation x100 wild multis might wreak on a game board delivering over 260,000 ways to win. This is an Asian-themed slot, so jamming the number 8 in there somewhere is kind of mandatory, but still. No matter, in 5 Lions Megaways 2, Pragmatic Play has transformed what was a winning formula into something chunkier and even more enticing. The core gameplay remains, but on top of the bones, the studio has added a lot more meat for players to sink their teeth into. Winning potential is still a little on the sad side for a Megaways slot, but it is a larger figure than the original boasted, and the extra features make taking 5 Lions Megaways 2 for a spin a virtual must for anyone who got a thrill out of the first game.