Developer Pragmatic Play has reached into their bag of tricks and pulled out a previous slot called Extra Juicy and given it some Megaways augmentation. Not exactly breaking news, since fruit-themed Megaways slots are fairly common now, but sure to excite players who like to mix and match elements of classic slot gaming with something more contemporary. Squeezed in alongside all the fruit are features such as tumbles, sticky(ish) multiplier symbols in free spins, an Ante Bet, and a bonus buy - a full fruit bowl of extras.
There might have been substantial alterations to the gameplay, but players who liked the pastel, bubbly background of the original will be happy to see it makes a return for the follow-up. A couple of new bits make their way to the screen, too, though. The biggest one is the action now happens on a 6-reel game grid, where the number of symbols changes on each spin, creating up to 117,649 ways to win. The rest of the visuals are pretty basic. It sort of looks like a new creative team might have been responsible for designing the game as it doesn't quite live up to the high standards of many other Pragmatic titles.
Another change in Extra Juicy Megaways is the addition of an Ante Bet. Regular bets range from 20 p/c to a maximum of $/€125 per spin, which rise in cost by 25% when activating the Ante Bet, doubling the chance of triggering free spins. As expected, volatility is high, and while RTP has fallen slightly, it still comes in at the respectable level of 96.42% at the default setting, increasing to 96.43% when using the Ante Bet, or 96.48% when buying free spins.
How you win in Extra Juicy Megaways is a bit different. At least three matching symbols in adjacent reels are needed to create a winning way, but the combo can start anywhere. So, a three of a kind win can hit on reels 3, 4, and 5, for example. In the symbol department, Extra Juicy Megaways uses a bunch of fruits, bells, and lucky sevens as its regular pays. From the low side to the high are cherries, lemons, grapes, kiwifruit, oranges, plums, blackberries, and watermelons worth 0.6 to 2.5x the bet for six on a payline. Next are bells at 3.75x and Lucky 7s at 6 times the stake for landing six on a payline. Due to the way wins are created, wilds are not used in the game at any point.
Like the previous Extra Juicy game, the focal point of Extra Juicy Megaways is its free spins bonus round where sticky multiplier symbols leap into play. Other features are tumbles and a bonus buy button - where available.
Tumbles are triggered when winning combinations hit. Instead of removing only the winning symbols, all symbols from the winning reels are removed and replaced by a completely new set of symbols. Tumbles keep firing until no new winning combination is created.
Players access the bonus by landing 4, 5, or 6 scatters to win 12, 16, or 20 free spins, with +4 additional free spins awarded for each scatter beyond 6 in view. If you win between 12 and 20 free spins, you are given the chance to gamble them for additional spins on a fortune wheel. A successful fortune wheel spin awards additional free spins; a losing spin downgrades them. This option is not available if you win more than 24 free spins from the base game.
Once into the bonus round, keep an eye out for scatter symbols. Now, they are transformed into multiplier symbols carrying values of x3 to x15. Multiplier symbols stay on the reels until the end of the current tumble sequence. When the tumble ends, all multiplier symbol values in view are added together and applied to the total win from the tumble.
If possible, players can buy access to free spins for the cost of 100x their stake. You must switch the Ante Bet off if you wish to buy free spins in this way.
There is satisfying gaming to be had in Extra Juicy Megaways, especially when you make it to the bonus round. The main game can be a bit dry since there's nothing but regular wins and tumbles providing the titillation. However, the pay from any starting reel system is rather novel for Megaways, so hopefully, that's enough to tie you over until free spins trigger. In some ways, Pragmatic Play has stayed true to the simplicity of the original, yet Megaways and the alterations make Extra Juicy Megaways an enticing prospect.
It's in free spins that Extra Juicy Megaways impresses, and the way sticky multipliers build-up at the bottom of reels during tumbles can be exciting. While multipliers don't stay sticky for the full duration of free spins, their values can be quite large when they're added up, meaning a successful tumble sequence can indeed be quite juicy.
And yet, not as juicy as you might suspect, especially if you've played the previous slot. Potential is an interesting topic since the original game advertised wins of up to 60,000x. Jaw-dropping, to be sure, but pie in the sky at the same time? Extra Juicy Megaways, by comparison, has a relatively modest win cap of 5,000x the bet. It could be argued that the 5K here is a lot more realistic than Extra Juicy's 60k boast, but it's a little disappointing for a Megaways game as well – particularly one that leans on its multipliers in free spins so much.
Extra Juicy Megaways turned out to be somewhat glossy, somewhat groovy, but not quite as exciting as expected. Having said that, fans of the first or fruity enthusiasts, in general, are sure to get a kick out of what Extra Juicy Megaways has to offer, as could others intrigued by the pay anywhere/sticky multiplier combo.
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