Rumble Rhino Megaways: Slot Overview
Rumble Rhino Megaways is the first use of Big Time Gaming's pervasive game engine in a Wizard Games online slot, which is an in-house studio launched by Pariplay in 2021. Instead of capitalising on a recognisable brand and going large, they've tacked it onto one of Pariplay's previous slots, Rhino Rumble, which was released in early 2019. In an unusual turn of events, apart from the enhanced number of reels and ways, Rumble Rhino Megaways offers less innovation than the original did, in the form of Mega Symbols, Mystery Symbols, and some of the least imaginative free spins you'll come across in a Megaways game.
If a slot has the word 'Rhino' in the title, it's a pretty safe bet you'll find yourself in the African countryside mixing it up with all manner of beasts. So, it is in Rumble Rhino Megaways, where a 6-reel game grid is catching some rays, in a grassy heartland, amidst acacia trees, rocky outcrops, and a light speckled cloudy sky. Wizard Games does have a decent graphics team; you have to give them that. If they were given original subject matter, it might be interesting to see what the team could come up with. The animals on the reels appear realistic, and players with an interest in zoology should be satisfied. Still, Rumble Rhino Megaways has a look that players will be well accustomed to, and the passable theme treatment is betrayed later on when we get to the features.
As you can see, Rumble Rhino Megaways' grid does not sit flush. This is because up to 6 symbols can land on the outer two reels and up to 7 on the middle four. When the panel is filled to capacity with symbols, it means 86,436 ways are active, serving up a hit rate of 14.24%. This might seem a little low for a non-fruit slot game, but on a more positive note, the default RTP is on the higher side of average due to a 96.16% value, while volatility comes in at medium-high.
Playable from 50 p/c to $/€100 per spin, animals rule the paytable, where meerkats, birds, antelopes, zebras, cheetahs, and gorillas are used as the high pay symbols. Landing a 6 of a kind combination of animal tiles is worth a payout of 0.4 to 2.5 times the stake. Pretty low for Megaways, and the 4 low-value royal symbols are even more so. Three jacks, for example, trigger a win worth 0.01x the bet, or 1c if making one Euro bets. Anyway, there's a wild symbol – this is where the rhino is used, which substitutes for all symbols except the bonus symbol.
Rumble Rhino Megaways: Slot Features
If you're not sold on Rumble Rhino Megaways so far, then its features are highly unlikely to close the deal. Here the paytable lists Mega Symbols, Mystery Mask Symbols, and free spins.
Mega Symbols appear on the middle 4 reels and may land partially in view or fully cover them. When one hits, the number of reel positions it covers equates to the number of symbols used in calculating the number of Megaways. All but wilds or scatters may appear as a Mega Symbol.
When Mystery Mask symbols hit, they all reveal the same matching pay symbol. Mystery Mask Symbols can also appear in a Mega 4x7 form.
Landing a diamond scatter symbol on reels 1 and 6 at the same time awards 12 free spins. Strangely, nothing really changes during the bonus round, as the exact same rules apply as in the base game. Free spins, however, can be retriggered during the feature.
Rumble Rhino Megaways: Slot Verdict
Sure, play it safe for your first Megaways game and all that, but Rumble Rhino Megaways is one of the least imaginative Megaways debuts we've come across in a while. There's absolutely nothing to prompt putting it on a to-try list. Unless someone really wants to see Africa but has a phobia of leaving the house, there is no point sampling the limited range of delights Rumble Rhino Megaways has to offer. If we're being positive, it doesn't look bad, quite attractive actually, though again, how many times do players have to be dragged across the sun-baked savannah of Africa to see the wildlife? Even the Lion King font used for the royals feels overdone.
Perhaps we wouldn't feel so short-changed if Rumble Rhino Megaways offered a few novel features to break it out of the mediocre rut Wizard Games has buried it in. However, even here, Rumble Rhino Megaways falls flat. The issue isn't so much the two special symbols, those we can live with as they do their best to brighten things up. Mega Symbols, in particular, can be quite effective when they hit. Mystery symbols are less so because you regularly get just one, which does little. Fair dues, at other times, batches of mystery symbols hit, proving to be a bit more useful.
What's less forgivable is the free spins bonus round. The main issue being, it's the same as a batch of regular spins, minus the cost. You know, it's easy to bemoan Megaways slots that come with a standard progressive win multiplier as unoriginal. However, after a few rounds of Rumble Rhino Megaways free spins, you start to wish it had one, or anything really. Coupling the disappointing bonus game with the sheer number of dead spins and noticeably low symbols values is more than enough to destroy any desire to keep on playing.
To finish on a downer, imagine a future world where poaching, plagues, pollution, human encroachment, deforestation, or disease has wiped out the land mammals of Africa. The only way future generations would know they existed outside biodomes is via books, movies, tv, or online slots. These majestic beasts deserve better.
Rumble Rhino Megaways might have been considered an interesting game 3 years ago but in this era, it feels hopelessly outdated.
