There appears to be two sides to iSoftBet, much like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, when it comes to the development of Megaways slot machines. On the one hand, they’ve shown they’re capable of making stunning games that run on the popular engine, with high-quality visuals and unique features or mechanisms. Instead, we get Megaways reimaginings of their 2018 slot machines like The Ruby Megaways. For those looking for some throwback fun on a more robust slot arrangement, it could do. It’s essentially a carbon replica of iSoftBet’s previous usage of the Megaways engine, Shining King Megaways, which was itself a copy of iSoftBet’s Majestic Megaways. As a result, while having good metrics and gameplay, the game is hard to enjoy.
A person unfamiliar with iSoftBet Megaways’ games and the enchantment their effects team can create may assume that the company is still searching for its purpose. Although the shimmering backdrop is visually appealing, the graphics are simplistic and reuse tired stock images. The music, a dull jammy organ song, has an atmosphere so laid back that it’s almost asleep. The visuals of The Ruby Megaways are serviceable for what they are, which is vintage gaming lovers, but nothing about them particularly sticks out.
As for the solid stats we discussed, the RTP is above average at 96.11% in the default setting and increases to 96.86% with the feature purchase enabled. However, the potential is significant, as is usually the case, and the volatility is medium to high. It’s no trouble for the Ruby Megaways to slowly nibble away at a balance and then explode during bonus rounds.
Gameplay takes place on a regular 6-reel Megaways actin area, with wagers ranging from 20 p/c to $/€20 each spin. In addition, the standard reels are accompanied by a bonus reel that sits horizontally above them and may store an extra four symbols. On every one spin, there might be anywhere from 324 to 117,649 possible combinations of symbols yielding a win. When three or more identical symbols appear from the first reel forward, left to right, the player is a winner.
When it comes to the icons, they’ve all been there since the beginning of slot machines. Barrels, double barrels, triple barrels, cherries, blue sevens, and red sevens make up the low-value tiles. Bells, coin bags, the dollar sign, and a large, bright ruby all provide higher rewards. If you get a straight of six from the later set, you’ll win anything from two times to fifty times your original wager. It’s also worth noting that the ruby is an elusive sign, yet it pays out for a pair. The last symbol is the bonus reel’s wild, which appears exclusively there. Wilds can stand in for any other icon, including the bonus one.
Slot Machine Options for Ruby Megaways
You should know going in that The Ruby Megaways is not a game you play if you want to push yourself to the technological boundaries of slot machines. You may expect to see the usual assortment of Megaways features, including cascades, mystery symbols, free spins with multipliers, and a bonus purchase, among other things.
After a successful spin on Megaways, the cascade effect is started. When a player gets a winning combination, the response mechanism kicks in, clearing the way for fresh symbols to fall in and fill the empty spaces. This method has the potential to produce a string of wins that may potentially go on indefinitely.
Mystery symbols, denoted by a question mark, can appear in your game at any time. When they do, every one of them becomes the same symbol, with the exception of the wild and the bonus.
To activate the free spins bonus round, you need to see four or more scatter symbols anywhere on the reels. This will give you 12 free spins, and each subsequent bonus symbol will give you five more spins, up to a maximum of 27. Three or four scatters appearing on the top horizontal reel throughout the round triggers an additional five or ten free games, respectively. Also new in free spins mode is an uncapped win multiplier that begins at x1 and increases by 1 after each cascading win.
Those who would rather not rely on chance to trigger the free spins round can make use of The Ruby Bet. To activate free spins and increase the RTP to 96.86%, you must wager 75 times the total stake.
Final Say on the Ruby Megaways Slot Machine
The Ruby Megaways gives off an air of irrelevance, as if the idea of recreating Majestic Megaways with a fruity/classic vibe was redundant. Nothing about these statistics, features, or themes is unlike what we’ve seen in Shining King Megaways. While iSoftBet is capable of producing high-quality Megaways slots when they put their minds to it (as seen by Moriarty Megaways), The Ruby Megaways seems like something the B-Team worked on in order to meet a quota.
The Megaways gaming is good, and the fruity theme is implemented competently, if you remove context. Technically, players should be amused if this is your genre. The assortment of bonuses and extras is well-balanced, and the free spins may go as crazy as any slot machine with a progressive multiplier. It has the same maximum payout of 35,000 times the wager as Majestic Megaways. If you just care about the large stakes and a Las Vegas vibe while playing on a Megaways grid, then this is a fine option.
Even when large wins are happening, the action at the Ruby Megaways isn’t exactly frenetic. This is more suited to a relaxed session than a deep dive into an engaging topic or a good blowout because of the low key soundtrack, old school images that don’t really do much, and the lack of warmth. Even after finding some good points, the overall impression is negative. Given that this company has previously attempted something quite similar, there aren’t many good reasons to watch this recycled effort.