Blueprint has an impressive amount of Megaways engine releases under their belt already, but Eternal Phoenix Megaways sticks out because of the Power Play ante bet options. The feature was first seen in the less-than-memorablePirates Frenzy, but this time it gives you the opportunity to put the Megaways engine into high gear with up to 20,000 win ways as a guaranteed minimum per spin.
Of course, you’ll have to pay extra for this, but with 4 options in addition to regular spins there should be something for everyone. Looking past that novelty, the rest of the game is fairly standard Megaways stuff. You get Cascading Reels, Mystery Symbols and a Bonus Round with an unlimited progressive win multiplier. Visually, it’s a bit too hellish perhaps, but it’s still a solid production overall.
The Phoenix symbol is worth a mention, since it pays so much more than the other symbols. While regular higher value stones pay 5x at the most for 6-oak, the Phoenix symbol pays 50x your stake for the same. The wild appears on the top sliding reel only, and it steps in for all regular pay symbols without holding any value of its own.
You get4 Power Play optionsin this game, and you can thus play with a minimum number of Megaways for a higher price than regular spins. You get5,000, 10,000, 15,000 or 20,000 minimum megaways, respectively, if you’re willing to pay1.5, 2.5, 3.5 or 5 times the regular stake. You also increase your bonus round chances by taking advantage of the Power Play feature.
Each win triggers the Cascading Reels feature, removing all winning symbols so new/existing symbols can drop down to fill the gaps. This can lead to indefinite extra wins per round, as the process repeats for every new win you land. The Mystery Egg symbol can land anywhere, and all instances will transform into a random matching pay symbol.
You need3 scattersanywhere in sight to trigger the Bonus Round, and you win8 free spinsas a minimum.Each extra scatter above 3awards+5 extra spinson top of that, and you can even gamble forup to a total of 30 free spinsin a pre-featurebonus wheel game. Keep in mind that you can lose the whole bonus round if you hit the red segments on the wheel on the 2 first tiers.
The bonus round comes with aprogressive win multiplierwith no upper limit, and it increases by+1 for every cascading win.Scatters slide in on the top horizontal reelonly during the feature, and 3 or 4 award+5 or +10 extra spins, respectively. The Power Play minimum megaways limit is active also in the bonus round.
The bonus round is triggered right as the 4 and a half minute highlights video starts, but we landed only 3 scatters. We therefore decided to take our chances on the gamble wheel, and we increased our number of free spins from 8 to 12. We got lucky with some extra spins in the feature as well, so it went on for quite a while. See it all for yourself by hitting the play button below.
While Eternal Phoenix Megaways does not stray very far from Blueprint’s proven “blueprint”, we do like the Power Play feature. If you can stomach the volatility, playing with, say, 20,000 win ways as a minimum on each spin feels like shifting into a whole new gear that similar games don’t have. This can really make an impact in the bonus round, increasing your chances of cracking the very solid50,000xpotential (capped at £250,000).
Cascading wins and mystery symbols will keep you somewhat entertained in the base game, especially if you Power Play, and the bonus round comes with the usual unlimited progressive win multiplier. If you want less dynamic win ways tipped in your favour by paying extra per spin, Eternal Phoenix Megaways is well worth checking out since everything else is close to top notch, albeit in a very formulaic way.
Pros
Cons
Phoenix Forge- is a Pragmatic Play release revolving around the myth of the death/rebirth bird, and you get multiplier hotspots that can be upgraded in the base game. These progressive multiplier positions don’t reset in the bonus round, and you can win up to 5,000x your stake.
Dragon’s Fire Megaways- is a steroid injected upgrade of Red Tiger’s original smash hit, and it comes with a fire blast feature that can add up to 12 wilds randomly placed on the grid. The bonus round features an unlimited progressive win multiplier for payouts up to 10,000x your stake.
Mighty Griffin Megaways- is a Blueprint release that revolves around a somewhat similar mythological beast, and the game itself is pretty similar too. You get cascading wins and mystery symbols, and the bonus round comes with an unlimited progressive win multiplier. The volatility is medium to high, and you can win up to 50,000x your stake outside of 4 progressive jackpots.
