Epic Ze Zeus

Epic Ze Zeus: Slot Overview

Developer Hacksaw Gaming hit a fruitful vein of gold when it released its law-bending raccoon slot Le Bandit, mid-ish 2023, and has since flooded online casinos with a variety of Le slots ever since. The studio hasn't been above reskinning its cash cow either, evidenced by the ancient Greek mythology version, Ze Zeus, which hit screens roughly a year later. Whether prompted by player feedback, a desire to increase the challenge/possible rewards, or something else entirely, Hacksaw Gaming has designed Epic Ze Zeus, a slot which takes the ancient Greek god original, mostly leaves the gameplay alone, yet offers higher volatility, significantly greater winning potential, and the chance to buy the Epic Bonus.

The visuals haven't been drastically overhauled, but a few adjustments have been made. Zeus returns to hover on the right-hand side, with a lightning bolt in hand and forearms lit up with crackling energy, ready to unleash, hopefully, good things on the grid. The base game background sky has a reddish hue rather than a blue one, but apart from that, not a whole lot has been done to shake up Epic Ze Zeus' appearance. Instead of cosmetic touch-ups, Hacksaw Gaming has chosen to make the biggest changes to technical aspects such as math mode and max win. As in the previous Ze Zeus incarnation, the theme isn't as unique as Smokey Le Bandit was when he first scurried onto the scene, even if he has become commonplace by now, but Greek mythology is popular, and Epic Ze Zeus depicts it in a stylish way.

One alteration Hacksaw Gaming has made is increasing the volatility to give Epic Ze Zeus a high, 5 out of 5, rating. The RTP has decreased slightly to 96.22%, and the bet range has been tightened on account of the vastly increased winning potential, to options of $/€0.10 to $/€20. The bedrock mechanics have remained the same, meaning Epic Ze Zeus is played on a 6x5 cluster-paying grid, forming winning combinations when 5 or more matching symbols are connected to each other.

Epic Ze Zeus pay symbols are made up of 5 low-pay spades, diamonds, clubs, hearts, and stars, whereas its high pays are a column piece, shield, grapes, helmet, and Zeus. When landing a 5 OAK cluster, the payout is 0.1x-1x the bet, rising to 15x-100x the bet when winning clusters of 13+ OAK hit. Golden W symbols are wild, substituting for any regular symbols on the paytable.

Epic Ze Zeus: Slot Features

Epic Ze Zeus' features are Super Cascades, the Win To Win, What If Zeus Was One Of Us?, Ze Zeus Take The Wheel, and Ze Zeus Might Superstar bonus rounds, along with feature buys.

Super Cascades

After winning combinations form, all regular paying symbols of the winning symbol type on the reels are removed, and new symbols drop down to fill the empty spaces.

Win To Win

After a winning combination appears, the positions behind the winning symbols are highlighted as Divine Squares. If there is a Hand of Zeus symbol in view on the grid, it activates the Divine Squares after regular wins have been handled. Activated Divine Squares reveal Bronze, Silver, or Gold Coins, Zap of Zeus, or Vessel of Wealth symbols. Bronze Coins are worth 0.2x to 4x, Silver Coins 5x to 20x, and Gold Coins 25x to 500x the stake.

After symbols have been revealed, if any Zap of Zeus symbols are present, they activate by multiplying all Coins or existing Vessel of Wealth symbols on adjacent positions by x2 to x10. Vessel of Wealth symbols trigger after Coin reveals and Zap of Zeus activations. Vessel of Wealth symbols collect the values of all Coins and all other Vessel of Wealth symbols and hold the total value. After the last Vessel of Wealth has activated, all other Divine Squares activate again to reveal new symbols, repeating the Win To Win sequence.

What If Zeus Was One Of Us? Bonus

Hitting 3 scatters in the main game awards the What If Zeus Was One Of Us? round with 8 free spins. During this feature, Divine Squares remain highlighted between spins until they have been activated by a Hand of Zeus symbol. In this bonus and Ze Zeus Take The Wheel, hitting 2 or 3 scatters awards +2 or +4 free spins, respectively, plus this version mentions minimum Coin values of 1x in its two lower bonus rounds. If 4 scatters symbols hit in What If Zeus Was One Of Us?, 4 free spins are awarded, and the bonus upgrades to Ze Zeus Take The Wheel.

Ze Zeus Take The Wheel Bonus

Landing 4 scatters in the base game triggers Ze Zeus Take The Wheel, awarding 12 free spins. In this bonus, Divine Squares remain highlighted throughout the entire feature, even after being activated.

Ze Zeus Might Superstar Epic Bonus

Ze Zeus Might Superstar is triggered by landing 5 scatters in the base game, awarding 12 free spins. In this round, Divine Squares remain highlighted throughout the feature, even after being activated. In addition, a Hand of Zeus symbol is guaranteed to hit on every free spin, and Bronze Coins do not appear.

Feature Buys

The five feature buys in Epic Ze Zeus include BonusHunt FeatureSpins, making each spin 5 times more likely to trigger free spins for 3x, and Mighty FeatureSpins for 50x, guaranteeing a Hand of Zeus symbol lands. The three free spins versions cost 100x, 250x, and 2,000x the bet to buy, respectively.

Epic Ze Zeus: Slot Verdict

The previous Ze Zues title made no attempt to reinvent much, but it did give gamblers who preferred a mythology-themed version of Le Bandit a deity-driven chance to chase the thrilling highlighted squares gameplay these slots are famous for. Epic Ze Zeus doesn't reinvent much either, but like its predecessor, that was never one of its main goals. In place of wild innovation, Hacksaw Gaming has taken the opportunity to make alterations to a formula that already worked well and push it towards a more hardcore audience. An audience that appreciates volatility with extra sting, far larger winning potential to aim for, and those with deep pockets who might not have the patience or luck to experience the Epic Bonus and are willing to responsibly shell out for the privilege.

There is not much to say about the way Epic Ze Zeus functions that hasn't been brought up before, more than once. The Golden Squares/Win To Win sequence is a proven Coin reveal sensation, which fits perfectly with the way winning clusters highlight the reels. A Hand of Zeus symbol is needed to kick-start the Win To Win process, but when they do show, the result can be quite exhilarating. Possessing max volatility means Epic Ze Zeus can potentially blow up when it goes off, and its final climactic destination is a 50,000x the bet cap, throwing shade on even Le Cowboy, the leading Le slot in terms of winning potential if you don't count the exclusive release Miami Hustle. For feature buying players, the chance to buy the Epic bonus might be quite a temptation, and anyone who wondered what Le Bandit's Hidden Epic Bonus would have cost to buy, then Epic Ze Zeus serves as a good indicator. The staggering price tag highlights just how valuable and difficult to reach that feature can be.

So no, Epic Ze Zeus is not a slot which surprises with fresh new ideas. Instead, Hacksaw Gaming has focused on increasing some of the key technicals, without sacrificing anything that made the Le Bandit system popular in the first place. Epic Ze Zeus won't be collecting any unique slot of the year awards, yet it should suit players who enjoy the Le experience but prefer a more precarious ride with far greater rewards sitting at the finish line.