Following the success ofDeal or No Deal Megawaysslot, Blueprint comes up with a sequel, featuring a slightly adjusted math model and a brand new feature, The Golden Box. Players are once again offered to experience the thrill of a popular self-titled gameshow. Like in the previous part, players will have to make it out to the top of the trail to uncover riches, and this time the Golden Box is what they’ll have to compete for. Let’s dive into it and figure out what’s new.
Loading the game will take players to a familiar setting for the game’s appearance remained untouched. Blueprint kept the original DNA of the DOND Megaways slot in terms of the design, thus ‘The Golden Box’ phrase is the only thing that hints us that we’re playing a different game. Some might consider it a lazy approach from Blueprint, however, the design is authentic and perfectly represents the real studio of the British game show series. Furthermore, Deal or No Deal Megaways the Golden Box hasn’t really needed a restyle for the graphics are nice and modern.
The actions take place across a 6-reel grid with the reels holding 2-7 symbols each and an extra upper 4×1 reel above the main reel set. True to Megaways’ style, the number of symbols on each reel is determined at the beginning of each spin. Hence, the number of ways to play is dynamic also, varying from 64 on a 6×2 layout and 117,649 on a fully unlocked 6×7 layout.
Playable on any device, DOND Megaways The Golden Box offers players to place wagers from 0.1$ to 10$ per spin, which is half of the betting range found in most of the Megaways-powered slots. The sequel’s volatility was bumped down to medium, while the trade-off is the slightly increased payback percentage. The RTP increased by 1/10 percent, not a major change, but 95.83% is yet closer to the average 96% level.
The symbol collection also remained identical to the previous part. The pay symbols start at the low end with a bunch of 9-A royals. They are followed by 4 premiums, including in ascending order cups, banker seals, envelopes, and mystery boxes. At least 3 symbols on a line are required to score a win, except for the top-paying DOND box, which needs only 2. Matching 6 instances of low-paying symbols on a single payline will award from 0.8x to 1x of the bet, while more valuable ones are worth from 2 to 50 times the stake. Helping you to form winning combos is the Wild symbol, which acts as a substitute for any other regulars, however, it can only appear on the upper reel.
The DOND Megaways slot wasn’t really rich in in-game extras and was all about the self-titled bonus round, where players could win tasty cash amounts and Free Spins. The Golden Box edition follows the same winning formula, though, allows players to benefit from a new Golden Box bonus round, guaranteeing even more free spins and greater payouts.
On any winning spin during both the base and the bonus games the Cascading Wins feature is available, which plays a central role in the gameplay. Whenever you hit a win, all winning symbols then get removed from the grid to allow new ones to tumble down and fill empty spaces. The feature continues to work until no new winning combos could be made.
The Cascading Wins mechanic is strongly linked to the highlight feature of the DOND Megaways The Golden Box slot. The bonus game is achieved when 4 or more consecutive cascades occur on the same spin, with the more cascades you hit, the bigger will be the prize.
Once triggered, players will proceed to a bonus game, where they have 22 boxes to choose from and reveal prizes. Cash rewards and free spins will be displayed on either side of the screen, and each picked box removes the prize from the board.
Furthermore, just like in a real TV game show, the banker may call and offer a random cash amount to buy your box, after what it will be up to you to decide whether ‘take the deal’ or refuse. The purpose of the bonus game is to eliminate as many prizes as possible until opening your chosen box that will determine your win. The Golden Box bonus round is the most desired for here you are guaranteed to win a minimum of 20 Free Spins.
After the Deal or No Deal bonus game is over, the Free Spins feature kicks off. 2 major upgrades come into play during the free rounds. The feature starts with a 1x multiplier, and every cascade increases it by 1x, no limits. Moreover, the multiplier does not reset between the spins. Furthermore, a random number of Mystery Symbols will be added to the reels at the begging of the bonus game, and whenever they land onto the grid, they transform into the same instance of a randomly chosen symbol except for Wild.
It’s also possible to extend the feature with the help of Scatter symbols, available to appear on the upper reel only. 3 will award +5 additional free spins while landing 4 will grant 10.
There aren’t too many differences between the original DOND Megaways and The Golden Box makeover. Blueprint stayed true to the original concept, sticking to minimal features and the same design. However, the Golden Box bonus round is not the real highlight here, and we’ll tell you why.
While the new feature adds more chances to win, it surely fails to add a whole new layer of entertainment to the simple gameplay. Landing 4 consecutive cascades is a challenging task, not to mention 7. However, Blueprint did a great job of toning down the volatility level to make it more appealing to mainstream masses, and what’s really likely to ensure its success is the increased potential.
All said and done, Deal or No Deal Megaways The Golden Box is a fun-filled slot, offering intense gameplay. Even though it doesn’t drastically differ from its older sibling, a few changes would be enough to make fans of the original DOND Megaways switch to a newer part.
