Stone Gaze of Medusa

Best to divert your gaze now, readers, not from the review itself, but from its central character. This time around, the spotlight falls on none other than the snake-haired Gorgon of antiquity, Medusa, famed for her ability to petrify anyone who dared meet her gaze. Quite the downer, right? Welcome to the realm of Stone Gaze of Medusa, a slot concocted by software developer Stakelogic to join the ever-expanding array of scatter-paying slots saturating the market.

Hmm, scatter-paying slots featuring a figure from Ancient Greek mythology…sounds familiar, doesn't it? Just teasing. Obviously, Stone Gaze of Medusa treads a path already well-worn by Pragmatic Play's smash-hit scatter-paying slot, Gate of Olympus. However, instead of the lofty abode of Olympus, this game unfolds amidst a dilapidated setting of fallen columns and twisted stairways, ruled over by the serpentine-haired entity herself. True to tradition, Medusa takes her place beside the reels, also appearing as part of the bonus scatter symbol.

Stone Gaze of Medusa boasts a gaming area of 6x5 dimensions, where winning combinations are formed by 8 or more identical symbols landing anywhere on the grid. With high volatility and commendable winning potential, this game offers a default RTP of 96%, accommodating wagers ranging from 10 cents to $/€50 per spin. Additionally, players can opt for the Super Stake ante bet, an optional gambling feature offering increased stakes by 25% for 'extra chances of hitting insanely valuable winning combinations!' The exact implications of this feature remain somewhat unclear.

As for symbols, Stone Gaze of Medusa presents purple, green, blue, orange, and red gems as its lower-paying icons, while daggers, goblets, helmets, and shields represent the highs. Winning combinations of 8-9 identical symbols yield rewards ranging from 0.3 to 5 times the bet, while scatter wins of 15-of-a-kind pay out 2.5x to 50x the bet. The cascade mechanism removes winning symbols from the reels, allowing new ones to drop down and replace them, with cascading continuing until no further wins are formed.

Now, let's avert our gaze from Medusa's visage and focus on the features, which include multiplier symbols, Power symbols, free spins, and a free spins buy option.

Multiplier symbols with values of x2 to x1,000 may land during the base game or free spins, with their total values cumulatively applied to scatter wins on each spin.

In both the base game and free spins round, Power symbols of varying levels may appear, each impacting the game as follows:

• Level 1 Power Symbol: Turns to stone and eliminates all 1-of-a-kind symbols.
• Level 2 Power Symbol: Turns to stone and eliminates all 1 or 2-of-a-kind symbols.
• Level 3 Power Symbol: Turns to stone and eliminates all 1, 2, or 3-of-a-kind symbols.

Medusa herself graces the scatter symbols, which can land anywhere on the gaming grid. Landing 4, 5, or 6 scatters triggers 10, 15, or 30 free spins, respectively. During free spins, all accumulated multipliers contribute to a global multiplier applied to winning combinations. It's even possible to retrigger additional free spins during the feature.

Stone Gaze of Medusa allows players to purchase the free spins bonus round for 100 times their bet.

It seems there's hardly a week that passes without at least one nod to the reigning monarch of scatter-paying slots, Gates of Olympus. Stakelogic attempts to distinguish Stone Gaze of Medusa from Pragmatic Play's mega-hit by introducing Power symbols, larger multiplier symbols, and adjustments to the free spins global multiplier. Is it enough to pull the game out of the shadows cast by the Zeus-infused slot? Probably not. However, Stone Gaze of Medusa offers enough differences to entice scatter-paying slot enthusiasts to give it a spin.

So, what sets it apart, you ask? Well, the addition of multipliers to the global multiplier during free spins, regardless of whether a multiplier symbol lands simultaneously with a win, is a noteworthy feature. Unlike Gates of Olympus, which requires both a win and a multiplier symbol to activate the global multiplier, Stone Gaze of Medusa simplifies this process. Furthermore, the game boasts an impressive maximum win cap of 10,000 times the bet. And let's not forget about the Power symbols—they add an extra layer of excitement to the gameplay.

In summary, Stone Gaze of Medusa introduces a few deviations from the slot it aims to emulate while retaining certain elements. Amidst a sea of Gates of Olympus imitators, Stone Gaze of Medusa may not emerge as a frontrunner for the top spot, but it certainly isn't the worst contender out there either.

• Title: Stone Gaze of Medusa
• Developer: Stakelogic
• Reels: 6
• Rows: 5
• Paylines: Scatter Pays
• RTP: 96%
• Hit Freq: 1 in 3.5
• Max Win: 10,000x
• Volatility: High (5/5)
• Min/Max Bet: 0.10/62.50
• Release Date: May 23, 2024