Apex Dregs

Apex Dregs: Slot Overview

Grand Theft Auto 6's release date might be pushed back till the next millennium, but in the meantime, gamblers are able to get a taste for a sun-drenched crime lifestyle in the online slot Apex Dregs. Designed by game studio Exco, this is a doubling win multiplier slot, following in the footsteps of Yggdrasil Gaming's DoubleMax mechanic as seen in the likes of Raptor DoubleMax and 10,000 BC DoubleMax. Other providers, such as Slotmill, have made their own versions as well. Mechanically, there is actually quite a lot of crossover happening here, though Apex Dregs slips in a few extras to give the game a jolt. Still, the main attraction is the escalating multiplier system, which is a proven thrillster, so let's see what Exco has managed to squeeze out of it.

The game is set in a big, busy American city, the sort of place where dreams can come true, but so can nightmares. It's got an end justifies the means vibe, where climbing to the top might involve stepping over friends and business acquaintances to get there, but oh well. Even so, the long arm of the law stands by at all times in Apex Dregs to keep a lid on crime, and the way more and more officers appear on the screen as consecutive wins pile up is quite amusing. The game provides a view of the city, from graffitied outer suburbs to inner city skyscrapers, like Miami, Los Angeles, or somewhere like that, where anything is possible, and fame, money, and clout are all. A place where it is just as easy to get caught up in the rat race, forgetting that there are other things in life than just big bank accounts and likes.

Apex Dregs is a highly volatile slot, with action playing out on a 5x5 grid. There are 3,125 ways to win, and winning combinations are removed from the reels, making way for symbols to cascade down, repeating in this way as long as wins keep landing. Players may stake $/€0.10 to $/€30, and the RTP is 96%.

Greyed-out knives, pistols, machine guns, and grenades are the lower-paying symbols, worth 0.8x-1x the bet for 5 OAK. The high pays are four character symbols, awarding 2x-8x the stake when landing a 5-of-a-kind combination. Wilds appear as well, substituting for all of the regular paying symbols.

Apex Dregs: Slot Features

Apex Dregs' extras include a multiplier counter, wild/scatter injection, free spins, and a collection of feature buys.

Multiplier Counter

The multiplier counter in the base game starts at x1 and increases after each win. When tumbles end, the multiplier resets.

Wild & Scatter Injection

After each win, a wild is placed in an empty position created by cascades before symbols fall in. In the base game, when two scatters are present and a win occurs, there is a chance the third scatter is injected instead of a wild, triggering free spins.

Free Spins

Landing 3, 4, or 5 scatters awards 10, 13, or 16 free spins, respectively. During free spins, the multiplier counter has checkpoints at x4, x32, x256, and x2,048. When reaching a checkpoint, the multiplier cannot reset lower than the checkpoint. It is possible to start free spins with the multiplier doubled to x2, or x8 with the Super Hack. One of the modifiers guarantees that all multiplier counter levels are checkpoints. When cascades end, if a Spin Extender symbol is present on the rightmost reel, +2 free spins are awarded. The Spin Extender can land once per free spins round. The Escape Bonus may also occur in free spins under certain conditions, when a cascade would otherwise end in no win. When it triggers, symbols along a payline are changed into a win.

Hacks & Golden Bet

Hacks let players pay to trigger a bonus round or get additional modifiers while playing. Paying 60x buys 10+ free spins, 125x buys 13+ free spins, 300x buys 16+ free spins, and 600x buys 17 free spins. When buying free spins, modifiers are possible: Double Multiplier, Additional Free Spins, All Levels Guaranteed, Extra Wild Injection, and Wild Stacks Enabled. One modifier is possible with all options, except Super Hacks, which guarantee three modifiers. When activating the optional Golden Bet, the stake increases by 50%, providing more than double the chance of triggering free spins.

Apex Dregs: Slot Verdict

One of Exco's slogans is 'no recycled ideas', and after sampling a unique release like Piranha Bite Club, that statement is pretty accurate. Not so much Apex Dregs though, which is a slot that owes a debt of gratitude to the Yggdrasil's DoubleMax concept. Putting that elephant in the room to one side, Apex Dregs is an interesting addition to the multiplier trail genre, taking a proven idea and giving it an edgy, urban makeover. The multiplier counter is the obvious star of the show, and there is always something satisfying about watching it climb higher with consecutive wins, especially when wild injections keep the action going. Rather than simply just copying the DoubleMax blueprint, though, the studio has added a few elements to make the game feel more like its own thing. The base game could at times seem devoid of much action, though, with notable wins few and far between.

Free spins were light and day different, however, and they could turn out solid results. Two things stand out in that phase. One is that the multiplier trail locks in at certain levels (all levels with the relevant modifier), so reaching a locked level means players don't have to start the entire trail all over again, which could be huge. Modifiers are the other critical piece of the puzzle, and while they were relatively common when using Hacks, they did not seem to be present when triggering free spins organically. Some of the game info was a bit patchy at the time of writing, so it was unclear whether modifiers were only part of Hacks or not. Presumably not, but Lunax's max win was locked behind its Super Hack, so it's hard to say. Apex Dregs' max win is a big one, too, tipping the scales at 25,000x the bet, putting it at the higher end of the winning potential scale for games of this kind.

DoubleMax slots make up an important part of Yggdrasil's portfolio, with various partner studios also making contributions, and there are a lot of them to choose from. Apex Dregs might not be as shinily unique as some of Exco's output, but that said, it competes well when set against the upper-tier examples of double multiplier gaming, and is able to pop off some pretty neat stuff that its competitors cannot.