Amazon Island Megaways

Amazon Island Megaways: Slot Overview

The last time we caught up with Red Tiger partner studio Max Win Gaming was in their cash appreciation slot, Dream Destiny - a slot that whisked players off to a beachside destination to kick back and count dollar bills. Amazon Island Megaways is the complete opposite. In this colourful game, players flee the rat race in an idyllic escape to a jungle environment, packing features like cascades and free spins governed by a somewhat uncommon set of rules.

The jungle is one of those destinations that's easy to romanticise but which can be exceptionally unforgiving if you're not prepared for what it throws at you. Well, in real life, that is, the one in Amazon Island Megaways is a squeamish friendly zone. There are no creepy crawlies blanketing the jungle floor, and everyone around here has fixed perma-smiles, even the so-called wildlife. Though it is a light one, there's also an Aztec touch, confined mainly to a couple of masks above the game grid and a bit of stonework around it. The game panel itself is standard Megaways stuff, made up of 6 main reels holding 2 to 7 symbols each, plus a 4-position horizontal reel right above it. A different symbol configuration lands on each spin, providing up to 117,649 ways to win.

Played offering bets from 20 p/c to $/€8 per spin, Amazon Island Megaways might look cute, yet it's all business behind the toothy grins. A highly volatile math model sees to that, producing a default theoretical return value of 96.07% (though this number can be lower, so be sure to check the paytable).

Wins are awarded when matching symbols land left to right, where the first symbol in the combination sits on the leftmost reel. 10 symbols make up the paytable, divided first into 9-A low pay card symbols, paying out up to 1.5x the bet for six of a kind. Next are 4 cheerful high pay character symbols displaying parrots, monkeys, leopards, and an Aztec Chief looking chap. If a six symbol winning combination of high pays hits, players collect a reward worth 2 to 50 times their stake. Another monkey is on hand to help players in their endeavour on the island. This is the wild, which is made out of gold and has blue jewels for eyes. Put simply, the wild substitutes for all paying symbols.

Amazon Island Megaways: Slot Features

As expected of a Megaways slot, Amazon Island Megaways utilises cascades. Following each win, the reaction feature comes into play. This removes the successful combo from the reels, and new symbols tumble down to fill the empty spaces. This system allows consecutive reactions to continue accumulating coins until no new wins take place.

Amazon Island Megaways' bonus game of free spins with a progressive win multiplier is nothing new, but the number awarded and the way they retrigger is a little different. Free spins are initially awarded when 3 or 4 treasure chest scatter symbols land. Next, a Jungle Wheel spins to set a minimum number of Megaways for the entire free spins bonus. The segments on the Jungle Wheel award anything from 1,000 to 25,000 Megaways.

Once that step's complete, the bonus commences. It starts with 3 free spins, and the number remaining is represented by jewels on one of the masks above the reels. Each winning spin resets the counter back to 3, the round ending after three consecutive non-winning spins occur.

A win multiplier is used during free spins, starting at x1 if 3 scatters triggered the feature or x5 if 4 scatters activated it. Following each reaction, the win multiplier increases by 1 with no stated limit to its upper value.

Amazon Island Megaways: Slot Verdict

If you ever wondered what slots might look like if Walt Disney stepped into the game, Amazon Island Megaways might well be a clue. It's one of the most cheerfully presented Megaways games we've come across in a while, its look bound to delight some players as much as nauseate others. Before Amazon Island Megaways, we'd just reviewed a hardcore Norse mythology driven game, and Amazon Island Megaways brightened up the room as soon as it hit the screen - a sort of palette cleanser of sorts. As always, looks don't always relate to gameplay, and Amazon Island Megaways flips easily from give to take as you'd expect any highly volatile slot to do.

While there is a level of innovation going on here, you won't find it in the base game, which relies solely on chain reactions to entertain you. When free spins trigger, Amazon Island Megaways quickly gets real once you realise you've only got three spins to conjure something up. The good thing is bonus rounds, rarely if ever, ended after three measly spins due to wins resetting the counter, adding more time to build up a respectable total. Having a minimum number of Megaways throughout the feature is a nice and, at times, very useful addition, too. Amazon Island Megaways never quite got out of control during testing, but there is a chance of collecting as much as 10,918 times your stake should it come together just so.

The way free spins have been set up means they are less mainstream than just winning a set number of them, and away you go. Essentially, free spins are still a case of locking in as many reactions as possible to build the win multiplier, creating a classic Megaways snowball effect. However, by designing the game in this manner, Max Win has given players a slightly different way of attacking the game. Like the ultra-cute characters that inhabit it, Amazon Island Megaways free spins won't be to everyone's taste, but they are interesting, and it won't be a major shock if this system pops up again in future releases.