Aztec Pyramid Megaways

Overview Aztec Pyramid Megaways

3 Oaks Gaming has designed a new online slot machine themed around the fascinating culture of the Aztecs. As you may or may not know, the Aztecs were a people that originated in northern Mexico and spread to cover most of Mesoamerica by the 15th century. The symbols and table design are both inspired by the Aztec aesthetic. In terms of gameplay, Aztec Pyramid is a Megaways slot, meaning that for each spin, each reel will have a different number of symbols in it which can lead to more winning combinations than a standard set of reels.

Aztec Pyramid also has quite a range of bonus feature content. Besides the Megaways mechanic, this game also employs what 3 Oaks Gaming have called the collapsing symbols dynamic, which in other games is called the cascading reels bonus. This bonus is activated when a new win is formed and removes the winning symbols to replace them with a fresh set from above to help players score more wins from one spin. There is also a Max Megaways bonus, a snake wild and a free spins round with an attached multiplier modifier.

Theme and Symbols

Aztec Pyramid celebrates the Aztec culture through its most recognisable and iconic art style. The Aztecs as westerners call them (they are also known as the Tenochca after their capital city Tenochtitlan) were the dominant people in Mesoamerica after the fall of the previous people, the Toltecs. Their civilisation, however, was eventually invaded by the Spanish in the early 16th century and came to ruin due to European diseases and warfare. Although none of this is reflected in the slot game, it is interesting to understand the theme’s cultural background.

The background for Aztec Pyramid is a shadowy depiction of some of the Aztec art that you might see inside one of their beautiful temples or indeed pyramids. The art style of the original pre-Columbian Aztecs is one dominated by the pictorial creation of various characters (usually gods). For example, just to the left-hand side of the reels, we can see a carved face adorned with jewellery and a native headdress. This authentic-looking art sets the scene for this game and makes players feel as though they are discovering the inside of an Aztec Pyramid.

The board on the other hand, has been designed to emulate the stacked stones that a pyramid of this size and shape would have been made from. The brownstones are hewn into different sizes, each one of them displaying a different symbol.
The symbols are split as is usually the case for online slot games into low-value, high-value and special symbols. The lower end of the value spectrum is represented by the 9, 10, J, K and Q card symbols. Out of these the K and A are the most valuable, paying out at 1x for 6 on a pay line. Next up in terms of value are the Fish, Bird and Lion symbols. Out of these, the Lion is the most valuable, paying 3x your stake for 6 on a pay line. However, the most valuable symbol is the golden mask, which pays 30x for the top combination. When it comes to specials, there is the snake wild, and the free spins pyramid scatter, both of which are self-explanatory in terms of looks.

Game Play

Aztec Pyramid is played on a 6 reel, Megaways mechanic game board, meaning that each row will contain between 2 and 7 symbols and change with every spin. This slot has a maximum of 117,649 active pay lines. To achieve wins on this slot, players must match 3 of a kind on a pay line or use the special symbols to make combinations. Each combination made must start on reel 1. The betting range for Aztec Pyramid is 20p to £10 per spin.

To adjust their bet levels, players can toggle their stake up and down using the coins tool located to the right-hand side of the reels. Information about the slot, including the paytable and the auto spins options, can be found via the information button on the very top right-hand corner of the reels.

The volatility rating for Aztec Pyramid is medium. The return to player percentage for Aztec Pyramid has not been disclosed by the provider. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 50,000x their stake.

Features

There is a range of bonus feature active on this slot game. The first one we have already mentioned is the Megaways system that is used. This shuffles the number of symbols in each row for every spin. At its peak, the game can offer as many as 117,649 ways to win thanks to this mechanic.

The second feature is a bonus that is randomly triggered. It is called the Max Megaways bonus. If triggered, it will boost the number of symbols on the board to the maximum amount so you can have a few spins with the maximum number of pay lines available in play.

Next on the feature list is the collapsing symbols bonus. This is involved in many Megaways slots and has been called many different things. It is triggered when a winning formation is found and removes the winning symbols and replaces them with a fresh set that tumbles into the vacated places of the old set. In this way, players can have another chance at scoring a win from the same spin. The bonus only stops when the new set does not trigger a winning spin.

This game also has a wild bonus that comes in the form of a golden snake symbol. This symbol can only fall on reels 2-5 but can substitute for any other symbol, barring the specials to help form more wins.

Finally, there is the free spins round which is triggered by landing 3 or more of the pyramid scatters on the reels at the same time. The number of scatters that you use to trigger the feature determines how many free spins you are granted. Land 6 scatters and you will be given 25 free spins. There is also a multiplier modifier active in the free spin round that starts on 1x and for each successful cascade in the round goes up by another 1x. There is no upper limit to the multiplier bonus you can activate.

Conclusion

It is difficult to know the true nature of this slot without an accurate RTP stat, however with a host of great features and an excellent top prize, you probably can’t go too wrong playing this game. The theme, although fairly derivative of many slots, is polished and well put together too. The Megaways mechanic is always a boon to players in terms of win rate as well.