We have to admire Playtech’s as they know how to keep people invested. Despite its origins as little more than a replacement for the previous series of progressive Playtech slots, Age of the Gods grew to be even bigger, easily one of the most popular titles in the belt of the developers. Because of that, is it any surprise that we would see more entries into the popular series? This time around, as the name clearly says, the focus is on Medusa and her fellow monsters. If you dare to sail to her home, you’re in for a rough time, as you’ll have to beat back several monsters. The game has 6 reels and 164 ways to win, requiring just three or more of the same symbol to be adjacent to each other. The game has a medium to high volatility.
You can tell Playtech put a lot of effort into making Medusa & Monsters stand out. The design of Medusa and the three monsters clearly shows a lot of effort has been put into them, as do the golden helmet, the sharp sword, and the majestic, Greek longboat. The gemstones, for the most part, look cool, but not really specific to this title itself. You could fit them in just about every fruit machine. But for us, the best designs are the monsters – the fierce, three headed dog Cerberus, a bloodthirsty, powerful Minotaur and a seductive, yet dangerous lamia – half woman, half snake. We liked the backdrop for the most part – though we’ll admit, the wave animation could use some work and we know Playtech can pull it off better because we’ve seen the visuals in their other games. These waves feel a bit rushed. Thanks to the special feature, having four progressive jackpots, and a medium to high variance, it’s no surprise that wins can take a while to ramp up. This means gameplay can feel slow at times – but the payoff is quite worth it.
Collecting three Scatters on the second, fourth and sixth reel at the same time will launch Medusa’s Gaze free spins. You pick between three shields to randomly choose one of the three monsters. The chosen one will be turned to stone by Medusa, staying in place for the duration of free spins. Medusa is also constantly available on the playing field – starting on reel 6, she slowly moves to the left, one reel every spin. When she passes a frozen symbol, she unfreezes it, meaning it will disappear after she passes it. The free spins end when Medusa reaches the first reel, which gives you five free spins in total. There are also four progressive jackpots which you win entirely at random. When you activate the jackpot game, players have to uncover different coins and reveal the colors beneath. The first progressive jackpot’s color you complete, that progressive jackpot will be awarded to you.
While the backdrop could use some work, the symbols looked great. The progressive jackpot will make any gambler worth his salt drool at the prospect of winning big, but even on top of that, we got a pretty cool special feature. There’s really nothing to say except good job, Playtech!