Merlin’s Revenge Megaways

Merlin's Revenge Megaways: Slot Overview

iSoftBet's Twisted Tales series felt like it'd taken a back seat to the Hold & Win range of slots the studio has been pushing out with reckless abandon. It's like someone at iSoftBet cracked open a fire hydrant of streak respin slots and lost the lid. Too bad, because while the world might be able to do without another mid-level hold' n winner, the Twisted Tales games tend to be more darkly original. Morgana Megaways certainly was, climaxing in an excellent round of free spins where players collected symbols to increase the minimum number of ways on the reels. Now we have a follow up called Merlin's Revenge Megaways, which is similar in some ways, very different in others, but crucially, just as exciting. Wave your wands; let's take a look.

For the setting, iSoftBet has moved the game grid away from Morgana's domain to somewhere outdoors, in a wintery, leafless forest, somewhere near Camelot, we are guessing. Further reinforcement of the Arthurian story is provided by the legendary sword in the stone, which sits to the right side of the screen. Like Morgana Megaways, Merlin's Revenge has a look that is simultaneously modern and kind of retro as well, like a movie set in the Mediaeval era with a rock 'n roll soundtrack. A gutsy move, and in Merlin's Revenge Megaways, the move pays off.

Any device may be used to get the revenge going, with bets of 20 p/c to $/€20 per spin being available. Mathematically, the RTP has improved slightly compared to the previous instalment, now coming in at bang on 96%, while the bonus buy return comes in at 96.50%. As expected the volatility remains high, with the gaming taking place on a 6-reel game grid, powered by the Megaways engine which has the capacity to produce up to 117,649 ways to win.

Wins occur when matching symbols land in adjacent reels from the leftmost side, and this time they trigger a cascade mechanic when they hit. This feature removes winning symbols from the reels and fills empty positions by dropping symbols down from above. The paytable starts with low pay 9-A tiles worth up to 0.5 - 1 times the stake, followed by four high pay symbols, including Merlin, paying 1.5 to 10x the bet for six of a kind. Wilds substitute for everything except bonus or mystery symbols, and land on reels 2, 3, 4, or 5.

Merlin's Revenge Megaways: Slot Features

Merlin's Revenge has two phases – base and bonus. In the base game, 2 modifiers called Marlin's Magic and Max Megaways can trigger, while Mystery Symbols can appear at any time:

• Merlin's Magic activates on any non-winning paid spin to change it to a winning one or trigger the bonus.
• Max Megaways can also trigger on any paid spin and causes the reels to land the full 117,649 ways.
• Mystery Symbols appear anywhere and transform into the same pay symbol type when they hit. This can happen in the base or bonus game.

Merlin's Free Spins

When 3, 4, 5, or 6 scatter symbols land, players win 8, 10, 14, or 20 free spins, respectively. Before free spins begin, players can spin a gamble wheel to potentially win up to 20 spins. Land on the wheel's green segment to gain +1 free spin, or on the red segment to lose them all. During free spins, players collect symbols to win extra free spins and increase the minimum number of ways on the grid. The collection goes in a progressive order from the lowest pay symbol to the highest:

• Collect 20 9's to win +4 free spins.
• Collect 20 10's to win +4 free spins; 500 minimum ways.
• Collect 15 Jacks to win +4 free spins; 500 minimum ways.
• Collect 15 Queens to win +3 free spins; 1,000 minimum ways.
• Collect 12 Kings to win +3 free spins; 1,000 minimum ways.
• Collect 12 Aces to win +3 free spins; 2,000 minimum ways.
• Collect 10  Blue Orbs to win +2 free spins; 5,000 minimum ways.
• Collect 10 Green Crystals symbols to win +2 free spins; 10,000 minimum ways.
• Collect 8 Swirls to win +1 free spin; 50,000 minimum ways.
• Collect 8 Wizards to win +1 free spin; 117,649 minimum ways.

Buy Bonus

If available in your region and casino, clicking the bonus buy button lets players trip straight to free spins for the cost of 80x the bet. For the record, this can result in all 6 scatters landing to give you instant 20 free spins, without the need to gamble for it.

Merlin's Revenge Megaways: Slot Verdict

It might have been interesting if players bore witness to an actual Merlin revenge scene, played out in devious detail across the reels at some point in the game. The wizard was said to be one of the wisest people to walk the earth, so if he put his mind to it, Merlin could probably conjure up next level revenge scenarios. Ah well, some say living well is the best revenge anyway, and besides, what's in Merlin's Revenge Megaways is a hefty substitute. It is close to what Morgana Megaways already served up, but a couple of alterations have changed the pace of the game. Add them up, and there are no complaints about a second helping, this time with the man Merlin himself at the helm.

While close to Morgana Megaways, it's not exactly the same, and the tweaks are such that some appear to benefit the player, some appear to hinder. The number of initial free spins is less than were triggered before; however, there are cascades now and the new gamble wheel can potentially compensate. Those red slivers do look very small after all, and as the game rules state, 'the sizes of each section are a true representation of the odds to hit them.' When we gambled, extra free spins were relatively easy to win. Of course, push it, and there is a chance to lose them all on a red segment. The gamble element will either add extra thrills for some, an unwanted risk for others. Yet, it's totally optional. Statistically, RTP is a tiny bit higher when playing naturally, significantly lower when buying the bonus round – down from 98.01% to the current value of 96.5%. Not a terrible figure by any stretch of the imagination, but good to know.

We'll let you make your minds up on the aforementioned details because the gaming part of Merlin's Revenge Megaways is as nail-biting as Morgana could get. Free spins with their progressively higher number of minimum Megaways was a great idea, and here's another chance to experience it, with the added benefit of cascades on the menu. Morgana Megaways was a breath of Megaways fresh air, and Merlin adds another puff. The differences might seem slight on paper, but Megaways connoisseurs should be happy to line up for a Twisted Tales retelling, from Merlin's point of view this time.