Monkey Gods of the Inca

Monkey Gods of the Inca: Slot Overview

One cute thing about some slots is that players are often provided with an on-screen companion to join them through the ups and downs of the gambling ride. In Relax Gaming's Monkey Gods of the Inca, players are joined by three simian companions as they hack their way through the dense South American undergrowth in search of treasure. Each of the monkeys is connected to a feature, making Monkey Gods of the Inca another one of these three-pot style of slots currently running rampant in the iGaming space. Relax Gaming has pushed out some goodies in the past, though, so if you're up for a trek, we can discover how well these three monkeys work together.

From a killjoy point of view, it could be pointed out that the Incas didn't actually have a monkey god in their main pantheon. The Aztecs, however, had Ozomatli, a monkey deity associated with music, dance, and playfulness, as well as one of their calendar signs, but the Incas not so much. Never mind, this is a slot after all, not a National Geographic documentary, so let's not nitpick too hard. Plus, the theme has been used rather nicely, the base game introducing players to a lush, dense, Incan-inspired realm, before poking above the tree line to take in pyramids and a blazing sky in the bonus round. The three monkey characters on top of the reels add charm, and the game as a whole has a pleasantly inviting look.

Most of the time, the game grid consists of 5 reels and 4 rows of symbols, though the expansion feature can push that out to 5 or even 6 rows. Monkey Gods of the Inca uses ways to evaluate winning combinations, where there are 1,024  to 7,776 of them. A medium-high volatile math model crunches the numbers beneath the skin, providing a theoretical RTP of 96.1%. The coins button lets gamblers set a stake from $/€0.10 to $/€100.

Making up the symbol hierarchy are 10-A card ranks, three rock monkey faces,  and three metallic monkey faces. Royals pay 0.8x-1x for a 5 OAK win, the rock monkeys 2x-4x,  and the metallic monkeys 5x-8x the bet. When wilds are on the screen, they substitute for all regular pay symbols.

Monkey Gods of the Inca: Slot Features 

Monkey Gods of the Inca has a collection element, free spins, super free spins, a Coin Bonus, Enhanced Spin, and Supercharge buys.

Collection

In the base game, overlays may appear on regular symbols, which contribute to their respective pots above the reels. Features can randomly trigger, with up to 3 triggering at the same time. 

• Reel Expansion - Expands the grid by up to 2 extra rows.
• Transform Symbols - Transforms 2-6 symbols on the reels into the highest paying symbol in view. If no win is created, symbols shuffle to create a win.
• Wild Reels - Transforms 1-3 random reels into Wild Reels with multipliers of x1-x10.

Free Spins & Super Free Spins

Collecting 3, 4, or 5 scatters in the base game awards 5, 7, or 9 free spins, respectively. During free spins, at least one base game feature triggers on each free spin, with a chance to land more. Collecting 3, 4, or 5 gold scatters in the base game awards 6, 9, or 12 super free spins. At least 2 base game features trigger on each super free spin, with an increased chance of activating all 3. If all 3 features trigger on the final spin, players are given the chance to buy an extra spin with all 3 features for 45x.

Coin Bonus 

Collecting 3 coins in the base game triggers the Coin Bonus. When triggered, 30 coins are dropped one by one into buckets. Buckets have no value, regular values of 10x-50x, or jackpot values of 250x (Mini), 500x (Major), and 1,000x (Mega). Three coins must fall into a jackpot bucket to award its value. Regular bucket values are awarded when any coin lands in them. Coin collection is saved per bet level.

Enhanced Spin & Supercharge Buys 

The Enhanced Spin ante bet adds 40% to the stake, increasing the chance of triggering free spins by removing paying symbols from the reels so only scatters may land. From the Supercharge, players can activate bonus reels, which have a much higher chance of triggering a bonus for 10x, or a Feature Spin for 25x that triggers 1 to 3 base game features. Free spins cost 60x  to buy or 200x buys super free spins. 

Monkey Gods of the Inca: Slot Verdict 

Monkey Gods of the Inca turned out to be a decent example of this style of slot, after a pretty slow waltz in the base game. Symbol overlays appear frequently, seemingly on every base game spin, making the action seem busier than it actually is, zooming to pots but less often triggering one or more of the three features. The three features themselves are good ones to have on hand, each contributing a desirable effect, from reel expansion to symbol upgrading and shuffling to wild symbol adding. They're also at their best when more than one triggers, with the combination of features complementing each other well, if you can get them all on screen together.

Even individually, they can perform positive things, with the symbol shuffle effect being surprisingly effective. Catching these wild animals can be elusive, but imagining what might happen when the grid opens up, multipliers are in place, and symbols are transforming into the highest value symbol on the board is a motivating thought. Wins are capped at 10,000x, a figure that feels realistic given the symbol values and high number of ways - before any of the features have even stepped in. Super free spins provide an extra level of desirability, since in that phase at least two features are guaranteed on each spin. Finally, there's the Coin Bonus, by far the most hidden feature in Monkey Gods of the Inca, but there to bring a completely different change of pace should it ever activate.

In summation, Monkey Gods of the Inca does enough with its three-pot setup to stand out from the crowd. The presentation makes up a large part of the appeal; the three monkeys add personality, and the features have potential when they line up together, or even on their own. It may take a bit of patience to see the game at its most entertaining, but when reels expand, wilds multiply, and symbols are transforming and shuffling, players get an added sense of satisfaction in seeing a troop of monkeys pulling the game in the same direction.