Stone Gaze of Medusa 2

Stone Gaze of Medusa 2: Slot Overview

Such is the enormous number of slots flooding the market, the effective use of even the slightest gimmick, innovation, or evolution could be just the thing to set one software provider's products apart from the herd. Developer Stakelogic put its thinking cap on when designing the 2024 release Stone Gaze of Medusa, a scatter pays slot with multiplier symbols by injecting an interesting symbol removal feature. It has since gone back to the drawing board to come up with Stone Gaze of Medusa 2, a game which does just about everything the original release did, but on a game board that alternates the number of symbols landing on each reel, Megaways style.

She of the turning people into stone with her eyes, Medusa, is back, and as before, she doesn't just have snakes for hair, but her entire lower body is one enormous serpent. Bow in hand, this Medusa accompanies players as they brave her domain, set amidst a handsome ancient Greek scene, as she shrieks and laughs malevolently next to the 6-reel gaming grid.

Where Stone Gaze of Medusa 2 deviates from the past is that it does not land a set number of symbols. Instead, 4 to 7 symbols land on each reel, creating winning combinations when 8 or more matching symbols land anywhere in view. Winning symbols are blasted off the board and are replaced by other symbols tumbling into the gaps as part of a process that repeats as long as new winning combinations land. With a default RTP sitting on 96.03%, Stone Gaze of Medusa 2's math model is medium-high volatile. Players can bet 20 c to $/€100 per spin or switch on the Super Stake, which adds 25% onto the bet to double the chance of triggering free spins.

Five gems set in stone are the low-pay symbols, while the highs are daggers, helmets, cups, and shields. Winning combinations made up of 8-9 matching symbols are worth 0.3 to 5 times the bet, whereas a 15+ combo pays 2.5 to 50 times the bet.

Stone Gaze of Medusa 2: Slot Features

Stakelogic has largely left the features as they were, meaning Stone Gaze of Medusa 2 delivers Multiplier symbols, Power symbols (which have been upgraded), free spins with a global win multiplier, and a feature buy.

Multiplier Symbols

Multiplier symbols have values of x2 to x1,000, and they multiply the total win. If more than one Multiplier symbol lands, their multipliers are added together.

Power Symbols

Power symbols may land anywhere on the grid to turn to stone and remove paying symbols. When more than one Power symbol lands, the higher-level ones activate first. The first level Power symbol destroys all symbols on the reels that are 1 or 2 of a kind, the second level Power symbol destroys 1, 2, and 3 of a kind, while the third level Power Stone destroys 1, 2, 3, and 4 of a kind.

Free Spins

Hitting 4, 5, or 6 scatters awards 10, 15, or 30 free spins, respectively. It is possible to win +5 more free spins while the round is active by landing 3+ scatter symbols. During free spins, Multiplier symbols add their values to a global win multiplier. The win multiplier applies to any wins and does not reset during the feature.

Feature Buy

Free spin entry can instantly be bought for 100 times the base bet.

Stone Gaze of Medusa 2: Slot Verdict

All in all, Stone Gaze of Medusa 2 isn't enormously different to the slot it follows on from, yet there are alterations. Stakelogic might have played with the number of symbols landing on each reel, in effect giving the game a semi-Megaways quality, but the rest of the slot is more or less the same as it was in the original. It does raise thoughts about a full-blown scatter paying slot on a genuine Megaways game engine - two enormously popular devices brought together in one spot could be lethal. At the very least, such an amalgamation would create quite an attention-grabbing headline, just saying.

Stone Gaze of Medusa 2 is arguably less headline-worthy, but it gives scatter-paying folk something they might not have seen before. Alternating the number of symbols on the reels works about as well as you might expect. Potentially better when there are more of them, perhaps less so when the number of symbols is thinner. The concept might not be a game changer, but it's something new, and this effect helps push Stone Gaze of Medusa 2 even further away from Gates of Olympus than the first Stone Gaze of Medusa slot did - though the much slower-paced gameplay might turn some players off. Maybe if winning potential had increased, the sequel would have gained a greater oomph, but the top number has remained the same as before, at 10,000x the bet.

As well as the dynamic reel height, there are other reasons why a scatter pays fan might want to pick this over, say, Gates. One is that Power symbols are able to remove more symbols than ever. Another is that the multiplier system is enjoyably straightforward. For instance, in free spins, Multiplier symbols always increase the win multiplier, and the win multiplier applies to all wins, whether a Multiplier symbol was present or not. So, while much of this was available in the previous game, the faux-Megaways effect is something you don't really see in a scatter pays slot, making Stone Gaze of Medusa 2 one for the completists to tick off their list.