Thalassophobia, the fear of deep water; if any readers suffer from this condition, they might want to skip this review. The game is Beware the Deep Megaways and was designed by the highly productive Pragmatic Play team. It's a slot taking place way down in the shadowy depths, which really is not humankind's domain, where bizarre creatures lurk, mysteries abound, and in this game, sizable treasure potentially lies in wait for lucky players.
Actually, Beware the Deep Megaways doesn't seem like it's all that far beneath the water's surface. For one thing, light still manages to illuminate the screen's contents. The really creepy vibe sets in at 1,000 metres or deeper, where light can no longer penetrate, in what is called the aphotic zone. Interestingly, creatures thrive down there, strange creatures, some looking like they're straight out of science fiction. It would be kind of boring, perhaps, to stare at a completely black background when playing an ocean slot, though. Then again, it could work, actually, if the screen was punctuated by bizarre, glowing entities of the marine abyss. Moving on.
Suspended under the water is Beware the Deep Megaways' gaming grid, which, in somewhat typical Megaways fashion, uses a main 6-reel section where symbols spin vertically and a 4-position reel below it where the symbols rotate horizontally. The number of symbols hitting on the main reel can vary from spin to spin, and when combining the bottom reel, users get up to 117,649 ways to win. With a 5 out of 5 rating, Beware the Deep Megaways takes players on a highly volatile adventure, where the default RTP is 96.52% - 96.54%. When using the ante bet, more scatter symbols are added to the reels. Normal bet levels are 20 c to $/€240 and with the ante bet on, stakes increase by 25%.
Also bobbing around down here are 10-A card ranks, as well as a bell, a bottle, a dagger, a chest, and a shark warning sign. When a winning combination of 6 matching royals hits, players collect 0.5 to 0.75 times the stake or 0.75 to 5 times the bet for 6 matching premium picture symbols. A shark is printed on the wild, substituting for all symbols except the scatter. Wilds only appear on the bottom row of reels 2, 3, 4, and 5. When a wild hits, it has a random multiplier that is added to a total multiplier, which gets applied to the total win of the spin. In the base game, the possible multipliers are x2 to x25. In free spins, the possible wild multipliers are x2 to x100. Winning symbols explode off the reels after they have paid out. Any spaces they create are filled by symbols tumbling down the screen, giving players another chance to win something. Tumbles consecutively trigger until no new win appears.
Megaways regulars, tumbles and mystery symbols are joined down here by free spins with a locking wild element and bonus buys.
Weed symbols are mystery symbols. Whenever mystery symbols hit, they all transform into the same random paying symbol.
In the base game, hitting 4 or more scatters triggers the free spins feature. Players then choose The Deep Free Spins or Even Deeper Free Spins.
In The Deep Free Spins, 4, 5, 6, or 7 triggering scatters awards 10, 12, 14, or 16 starting free spins, respectively. However, players can collect or gamble on a wheel to potentially win more (or lose) free spins - 16 is the maximum, and 6 is the lowest. In this fs mode, each tumble increases the total multiplier that applies to all wins in the round by +1. Wild symbols also add to the total multiplier. During the round, whenever a scatter lands above a wild symbol, the wild symbol locks in place for 1, 2, or 3 random tumbles, each time getting a new random multiplier. Hitting 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 scatters wins you +2, +4,+ 6, +8, or +10 additional free spins, respectively.
In this mode, each tumble increases a total multiplier that applies to all wins in the round by +1. All multipliers hitting on wilds also add to the total multiplier. The round ends when a certain guaranteed multiplier value is reached by the total multiplier. The starting guaranteed multiplier is x15, x20, x25, or x30 when triggered by 4, 5, 6, or 7 scatters, respectively. However, players may collect or gamble to increase (or decrease) the multiplier. x30 is the highest, x6 is the lowest. During the round, whenever a scatter lands above a wild symbol, the wild symbol locks in place for 1, 2, or 3 random tumbles, each time getting a new random multiplier. Each scatter symbol increases the guaranteed multiplier by +1.
The two free spins options up for grabs are 100x the bet to trigger free spins with 4 or 5 scatters (RTP 96.53% - 96.55%), or 250x the bet to trigger free spins with 6 or 7 scatters (RTP 96.51% - 96.54%). When buying the bonus, players can choose The Deep Free Spins or Even Deeper Free Spins.
Since water covers the majority of the planet, around 71%, it's a wonder there aren't more water-based slots floating around the market. Oops, for a moment there, the enormous number of fishing-related slots had slipped from memory, perhaps related to the way it's been said memories may be blocked due to overwhelming trauma. Sorry, just trying to be light-hearted while fully acknowledging trauma is no joke. Anyway, can't say Beware the Deep Megaways was a particularly traumatic experience. It's got a pleasant, if common, underwater look, Prag pizzazz, and a couple of bonus rounds that are interesting enough on their own but maybe more so amongst players who like to take advantage of pre-feature gambles.
All together, Beware the Deep Megaways is a tidily constructed Megaways slot, and yet it wasn't one that held a strong grip overly long. The dilemma here is which free spins bonus to pick once triggered. Go for the more conventional The Deep Free Spins, where you know vaguely how many spins are going to occur, or chance it with Even Deeper Free Spins? They're less predictable when it comes to spin count, yet still straitjacketed by the guaranteed multiplier limit. Swings and roundabouts, perhaps, but rather different bonuses in many respects. Both are capable of achieving Beware the Deep Megaways' max win, it seems, a figure coming in at 10,000x the bet.
For a hearty Megaways slot which bubbles away beneath the waves, it's hard to fault what Beware the Deep Megaways can do. At the same time, it wasn't a slot that massively wowed either. Not all of them can, then all games would, by definition, be average. Whatever, Beware the Deep Megaways is a competent slot with fine free spins choices and scope for gamblers to push their luck pre-feature in an attempt to drive up the experience.
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