Eternal Phoenix Megaways: Slot Overview
Not long ago, Blueprint Gaming seemed to be popping off a new Megaways slot every five minutes. Recently they've taken their foot off the gas, seemingly more interested in consolidating their range and integrating it into the Jackpot King network. The last time we tangled with a Blueprint Megaways game was in Thai Flower Megaways, a remake of an older slot that failed to get many pulses racing. This leads us to Eternal Phoenix Megaways, a new concept, though one which uses only classic Megaways features for the most part.
At first, Eternal Phoenix Megaways gave off some strong Dragon's Fire Megaways vibes, but this one is based around the mythical phoenix creature rather than dragons, or the capital city of Arizona. If you're not into fantasy or haven't seen Harry Potter, a phoenix is a bird that exists in a continual state of living, dying, and rising from the ashes to live again. Some say they are eternal; some say they exist for around 500 years. In this game, the phoenix mainly pops up on the paytable or during cutscenes when transitioning from the base game to free spins. Otherwise, the visuals consist of some strange, volcanic location like Mordor. Not exactly the sort of place you associate with phoenixes, which were said to reside in Paradise. Maybe it's on some sort of mission?
First, players select a base bet of 10 p/c to $/€10 per spin, then decide whether to activate one of 4 Power Play options – covered below. In its default mode, Eternal Phoenix Megaways is played on a game grid using 6 main reels holding 2-7 symbols each, plus a 4-symbol upper reel. This setup produces 324 to 117,649 ways to win when the maximum number of symbols lands on the reels. Eternal Phoenix Megaways is a fairly volatile game, too, giving an RTP value of 95.5%.
Winning combinations pay when matching symbols land left to right in adjacent reels from the leftmost side. Low-value tiles include 9-A card ranks, followed by three glowing patterns inscribed on stones worth up to 2 to 5 times the reference bet. The highest value symbol is the phoenix, paying out 50x the bet for a six of a kind win. Phoenixes also payout for two of a kind, while the rest need at least three symbols to form a win. Appearing only on the top positions above reels 2-5 is the wild, substituting for all symbols except scatters.
Eternal Phoenix Megaways: Slot Features
Eternal Phoenix Megaways is another slot from Blueprint Gaming to offer their Power Play function. This is an optional ante bet feature, first seen in Pirate's Frenzy that increases the stake for enhanced conditions. As well as Power Play, Eternal Phoenix Megaways comes with cascading symbols, mystery symbols, and free spins with a progressive multiplier.
With Power Play, there are 4 options to choose from. Each sets the number of minimum Megaways on the reels to 5,000, 10,000, 15,000 or 20,000, for an increase in stake of 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, or 5 times the base bet, respectively. In all cases, Power Play increases the bonus chance as well.
The rest of the features are regular Megaways extras, such as the cascade system, which removes winning symbols from the reels. New or existing symbols then cascade down into the empty gaps, which can lead to more wins, ending when no new combinations line up.
Mystery symbols look like open phoenix eggs and can land in any position. All mystery symbols in view transform into the same random symbol, anything but wilds or scatters.
Unlike the wild, scatter symbols land in any position except the upper four cells in the base game. Landing 3 of them awards 8 free spins, plus every additional scatter adds an extra 5 free spins. Next, players can gamble the free spins they've won on a prize wheel for the chance to win up to 30. Be aware that losing the gamble means you can end up losing all the free spins you've won.
During the bonus round, an unlimited win multiplier comes into force. Starting at x1, the multiplier increases by one after every cascade with no set upper limit. Extra free spins can be won, too, as the scatter now appears on the 4-position top reel. Landing 3 or 4 scatters there awards +5 or +10 additional free spins. Just to be clear, if you are using the Power Play, whatever the minimum Megaways level is carries over to free spins as well.
Eternal Phoenix Megaways: Slot Verdict
Eternal Phoenix Megaways is a decent game that won't set the world on fire, but one you probably won't regret having a turn on either. It does everything you could ask from a regular Megaways game, plus there are the four Power Play options to test out if you're feeling experimental. The theme is alright, though the background graphics feel a little out of place. It might have been nice if Blueprint had used more positive mystical imagery to lighten the at times oppressive atmosphere. Still, Eternal Phoenix Megaways is heavily steeped in fantasy for players into this sort of thing.
On the topic of gameplay, there's not much to say since most of Eternal Phoenix Megaways has been seen so many times before. It's difficult to knock a proven blend of cascades, mystery symbols, free spins, and progressive multipliers – except to say it is an unimaginative setup. The only new bit is the Power Play which performed quite well. The more, the merrier, and the 20k minimum ways worked a treat during free spins packing on some tidy wins. Of course, betting 5 times the reference stake does quickly add up.
Eternal Phoenix Megaways is hard to critique because it sticks so closely to the script. However, if you're not interested in Power Betting, then the rest probably won't excite much either since it is such basic Megaways gaming - though the max win is immense.
Eternal Phoenix Megaways is hard to critique because it sticks so closely to the script. However, if you're not interested in Power Betting, then the rest probably won't excite much either.
