Divine Riches Helios

Divine Riches Helios: Slot Overview

Microgaming associates Just For The Win appear to have a definite interest in all things 'riches'. So far, there's been Neptune's Riches, the studio's first grid slot Odin's Riches, and now they take to the sky with Divine Riches Helios. Helios, of course, is the Ancient Greek God of the Sun. Also known as Phaethon, the shining, or Hyperion, the one above, Helios was often depicted driving a chariot across the sky. In Divine Riches Helios, he's been depicted as a real beefcake, all bulging arms and popping pecs, while starring alongside features such as jackpots and free spins with premium symbol upgrades.

Helios might be the God of the Sun, but the slot made in his honour is not quite so dazzlingly bright. Nestled behind the game's grid, clouds make their way across a deep blue sky, and that's about it. Fair enough, this minimalist angle does make a change from the columns, temples, and Mt Olympus references, usually found in Ancient Greek themed slots, so it is a little different. In addition, a helping of charm is provided by the uber-ripped Greek God, yet apart from that, Divine Riches Helios is a little plain looking. Interestingly, there is a strong connection to good old WMS classics such as Kronos and Zeus III, possibly as a nice little homage to these iconic games.

Played on a 5-reel, 4-row game grid with 30 paylines, one way of collecting coins is when at least three matching symbols land in adjacent reels. All but one symbol type pays from left to right - the exception is the Helios symbol which pays both ways. The game comes in a trio of RTP settings, with 96.05% being the most optimal before decreasing to 94.04% or 92.16%. Volatility is medium for all three settings, whilst Divine Riches Helios accepts stakes of 20 p/c to $/€30 per paid game round.

The paytable starts off on the lower side with the four playing card suits, diamonds, clubs, hearts, and spades, pulling in 2.5-3 times the bet for a five of a kind win. On the high side are olives, pots, musical instruments, horse statues, and Helios symbols worth 4.5 to 10 times the stake for a line of five. Last but not least, wild symbols are used in Helios to replace anything except the free spins symbols.

Divine Riches Helios: Slot Features

Just For The Win has kept a lid on innovation in Divine Riches Helios, choosing instead to go with features titled the Blazing Bonus and Free Spins with the Hand of Helios.

Blazing Bonus

Every time special bonus tokens land in the game, there is a chance of triggering the Blazing Bonus feature. In this one, players click items to reveal a symbol – Divine, Mega, Major, or Big. When 3 of the same symbol type is revealed, the corresponding cash prize is won. The four prizes, Divine, Mega, Major, and Big, are worth 5,000x, 200x, 40x, and 15x the bet, respectively.

Free Spins

If 3, 4, or 5 scatter symbols land anywhere on the reels, then 8, 12, or 16 free spins are respectively awarded. In free spins, when a Helios symbol lands, it is collected. Every time 12 Helios symbols have been collected; the Hand of Helios feature is activated. When triggered, the Hand of Helios feature upgrades a high pay symbol to the next more value one on the paytable. In addition, whenever the Hand of Helios activates, +2 extra free spins are awarded. If all upgradeable symbols have been upgraded to Helios symbols, no more Helios symbols are collected.

Divine Riches Helios: Slot Verdict

Unless you're absolutely gagging to take to the reels with one of the buffest dudes in iGaming, you aren't losing much by giving Divine Riches Helios a miss. Just For The Win is good at coating their slots with a glossy outer layer, which Divine Riches Helios sort of has, but dig beneath that, and the gaming is a bit shallow. A fairly pleasant, plain-looking game (though the cartoon hero has a certain charisma), Divine Riches Helios comes stacked with several rather plain features on board to match.

Perhaps plain isn't the right word, but there's little in Divine Riches Helios that hasn't been used to as good if not greater effect elsewhere. From the jackpot picks to the Pink Elephants style symbol upgrading free spins. To be fair, going through the full upgrade process and having Helios as the only high paying symbol on the board could be interesting, though we never made it quite so far during the review to verify. The pay both ways symbol gives Divine Riches Helios a smidge of individualism, though it wasn't enough to draw attention away from the shortcomings. These largely being gameplay which failed to stimulate much imagination and feelings of insecurity after constantly self-comparing to such a muscle-bound alpha with an epic jawline. To experience the same theme with more unique gaming, Relax's beast Helios' Fury might be the go. Or, if you're feeling sentimental, old classics such as Kronos or Zeus III might fit the bill as Divine Riches appears to have been modelled after these old iconic WMS titles.

Ironically, given the visuals, Divine Riches Helios doesn't possess as much of the blue sky thinking that went into Neptune's Riches or Odin's Riches. This could be for better or for worse, however, as some players might prefer the straightforward thrills offered by a simple pick 'n click jackpot bonus. The top prize of 5,000x is decent enough, but it was hard to shake the feeling Divine Riches Helios is destined to take up space on a shelf as much as anything else.