Greek mythology themed slots abound, but few have the winged horse Pegasus amongst their ranks. We can think of one - Pegasus Rising, from Blueprint Gaming with its toothy hero rising above the clouds. Pragmatic Play has gone for a cartoony look with Hercules & Pegasus that is reminiscent of the old Asterix and Obelix comic books. Joining Pegasus, we get Hercules of course, as well as Zeus who shows up now and then to help cobble a few wins together. Yes, this is a mythology themed slot, but there are no heartless gods raining lightning down on mortals without mercy. Hercules & Pegasus takes a lighter-hearted approach, and you will need a sense of humour to weather the highs and lows of what the game has to offer.
First impressions are good. The background definitely looks mythologically inspired with a dreamy clouds, stars, and nature effect . The classically themed action takes place on a 5x3 layout with 20 fixed paylines. Though the look and subject matter are completely different, a few spins in and the vibe is similar to the previous Pragmatic Play slot Aladdin and the Sorcerer. More on this later. The reels play a short jingle as they spin, which interestingly if you engage turbo spins, plays the soundtrack without interruptions. This does make them tempting to engage but beware; they are lightning-fast. There are bet levels to suit practically any bankroll from 10 c/p up $/€100 a spin.
Wavy, Greco styled 10 - A royals makes up the lesser pay symbols. Four higher paying symbols make up the rest of the paytable - a pot, a golden harp, a temple on a cloud, and the game’s logo. The logo pays the most at 20 times the stake for five of a kind. The default RTP is set to 96.5%, and volatility is rated 3.5/5 on the load screen and 4.5/5 on the paytable. A little confusing, but rest assured, this game is volatile indeed and can be tough to crack. Base game combos are generally fairly low due to the high volatility but do become more exciting when the features come into play.
>There are three wilds that show up at different stages of the game. The Hercules and Pegasus Wild can appear on any reel and substitute for the main game pay symbols. It is also worth up to 25 times the stake for five of a kind.
At any time during the main game, three scrolls can appear at random and hover over the reels. The player chooses one to reveal a random feature:
The golden Bonus symbol works in conjunction with the Hercules Bonus symbol and the Pegasus Bonus symbol. This might sound a little confusing and requires a fair amount of squinting at the paytable to fully understand, but here we go.
Get the Golden Bonus symbols on reels 1 and 3, and the Hercules Bonus on reel 5 to trigger the Hercules Free Spins. There is no limit to the number of free spins during this round. A new flask symbol can appear on the 5th reel. When it does land, it awards extra wilds, but when it lands for the fifth time the free spins come to an end.
Land the Golden Bonus symbols on reels 1 and 3, along with the Pegasus Bonus symbol on the fifth reel to unlock the Pegasus Free Spins. Again, there are unlimited free spins which come to an end when the fifth flask lands. Until then, the flask increases a win multiplier from x1 up to x5.
Finally, if Golden Bonus symbols land on reels 1 and 3, and a Hercules Bonus and a Pegasus Bonus land on reel 5, the Hercules & Pegasus Free Spins are triggered. This time the two types of flasks can add Hercules wilds and win multipliers at the same time. As before, if five of the same flask lands the round is over.
It sounds like a lot is going on, and there is, but there can also be a fair amount of dead spins and downtime. Hercules & Pegasus is one of those games that is a lot less cute than it looks. Lurking beneath the cartoon graphics and the smiling characters is a ruthless mathematical model that can punish and reward in equal measure. It's probably the same one we got with Aladdin and the Sorcerer which was also just as challenging. Yes, it can work in your favour, but at times it can feel like Hercules’ last task which was wrestling Cerberus with his bare hands.
Hercules was famous for his 12 tasks. The high volatility and algorithm make Hercules & Pegasus the 13th. If you are up for a challenge - here it is. There are rewards here if you are judged worthy by the gods though. The key to winning big is to trigger the Hercules & Pegasus Free Spins round - land a grid full of wilds during the bonus round with the x5 multiplier active and you are looking at 2,500 times the stake on a single spin. With theoretically unlimited free spins on tap, wins likely have the potential to rack up, but as no max win cap has been stated by Pragmatic nothing can be said for sure.
Hercules & Pegasus has its moments and is an entertaining game, and one that could easily sting casual gamers lured in by its cute looks. As far as Mythology themed slots go, it is okay, but there are far better options out there such as Blueprint's Gods of Olympus or Rise of Olympus from Play'n GO.
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