The latest title I've been pumping through spins on is Marching Legions from Relax Gaming. After reading through a separate conversation about collecting mechanics I wanted to write this up as a full review.
Marching Legions
In an era of 95% RTPs as standard, having to check different RTPs on different sites, and even much-loved classics being downgraded with lower RTP variants, it's refreshing to see a supplier stick their neck out. At a tasty 98.12% and a max win of 10,000x, there's a lot to like about this high volatility title. At first glance, it should be a perfect fit for the modern big-win seeking player, but scratch beneath the surface and all is not as it seems. There is a Buy Bonus feature at a slightly lower 97.13% but as I'm UK-based I won't touch on this any further.
Basics
This 5x3 slot pays 243 ways, features stacked walking respin premium symbols, and has a collecting feature to enter the bonus round. The premium Legionaire symbol can fill a reel and start walking across the screen, respinning as it goes. If two or more stacked Legionaires are visible on screen but none fill a reel, there is a chance that all showing Legionaires will be nudged onto their reels. Each stacked legionaire which walks off the reels will help to fill the Collect Meter, bringing you closer to a bonus.
Payouts
The paytable is fairly basic with the legionaire the symbol you'll focus on. 2 of a kind pays 1x, 3 pays 1.5x, 4 pays 2x, and 5 pays out 2.5x. The low paying symbols start at 0.2x for 3 up to 1x for 5. The bulk of the RTP seems to be in the Legionaire, and any decent size wins require a good portion of the screen filled with them. Stacked premiums in the first 3 reels pays 40.5x while full-screen pays 607.5x. These aren't unreasonable amounts but they come infrequently and don't have the big single-spin payoffs which you see with multipliers in other slots. You should expect a 15x win every 81 spins, a 30x win every 206, and a 60x every 709 spins. The multiplier amounts selected for the game sheet tell their own story; with a mere 60x considered an epic win you shouldn't be expecting 100x+ wins. This is mainly because the RTP is split very unusually - 44.79% in Base game, 49.55% on Respins and a mere 3.79% on the Bonus Round.
The Bonus Round
I talk of the Bonus Round from second-hand experience only as, despite being 800 spins in so far, I'm still nowhere near reaching one. You start the feature with stacked premiums on reel 5 which, as in the base game, walk along each spin and can be joined by additional stacks. The aim is to collect 3 horns from reel 5 before you run out of potential respins. If you manage this you'll pass onto the second wave with stacked premiums on reel 4 and 5 to start your marching. The average payout on a bonus round sits at 116.5x but this is where the volatility really hits hard, don't be surprised for a bonus round to fall flat on its face, however long it took you to get there.
Collecting Feature
While I mentioned a collecting feature and my struggle to reach the bonus round I haven't yet explained completely - you can only reach the bonus round through the collecting feature. The game rules tell me that you need to collect 330 stacked legionaires to enter it, and my 800 spins have gotten me 109 so far. Anecdotally that puts me on course for a bonus round at an outrageous 2500 spins. Even more outrageously, this sees my run-rate ahead of the official hit frequency of 1 in 3076.6.
The Positives
The artwork of this game is visually appealling, similar to Snake Arena if you're used to playing Relax games. It's an underrated part of a game but if you're going to be staring at something for hundreds of spins, it's better if it's pleasing to the eye.
The theoretical RTP is a real positive, but only if you're patient and committed enough to grind your way through to the bonus.
There is decent win potential, but again you are unlikely to see it unless you get lucky in the bonus round which is so hard to get to.
The Negatives
My least favourite part of this slot is the tracking of this collection. While you can find the 330 requirement hidden in the game rules, what you see as you enter the game for the first time is a display with a horseshoe shape split into wedges, and the counter displaying: 1/5. This implies that you have to fill it up 5 times, but tells you nothing of the fact that the wedges get substantially smaller as you run up the tiers. My 109 collections have just completed the 3rd level, so while it feels like I've just reached 60% through I haven't even reached 1/3 of the way through yet. This is misleading and a really poor experience for the majority of players who won't read the full rules sheet before playing.
If the collection tracker is misleading then so too is the RTP. Unlike the majority of slots which allow you to access the full RTP with a randomly awarded bonus round, you can only reach the full RTP here by grinding out 3000 spins and a reported 6 hours' play. What's more is that you likely only learn this after you've already ploughed time, spins and money into what works out at a 94.33% slot in the base game.
Overall
Gift to the casino community or trojan horse delivering another way to take our money quickly? While the RTP is strong for committed players seeking value, most will never realise it - getting bored long before the 3000 spins required. With slow gameplay, an exceptionally difficult to reach bonus round, and epic wins at a mere 60x, there is little to keep your attention beyond the tidy artwork and animation. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth in the obvious benefit to supplier and operator - if you drop out early they get the margin, if you get through to the bonus round you've given them the volume.
Instead of surprise and delight we've got surprise and despair. The misleading way this game is pitched taints, for me, what otherwise would be a decent game.
Let me know your thoughts!
Marching Legions
In an era of 95% RTPs as standard, having to check different RTPs on different sites, and even much-loved classics being downgraded with lower RTP variants, it's refreshing to see a supplier stick their neck out. At a tasty 98.12% and a max win of 10,000x, there's a lot to like about this high volatility title. At first glance, it should be a perfect fit for the modern big-win seeking player, but scratch beneath the surface and all is not as it seems. There is a Buy Bonus feature at a slightly lower 97.13% but as I'm UK-based I won't touch on this any further.
Basics
This 5x3 slot pays 243 ways, features stacked walking respin premium symbols, and has a collecting feature to enter the bonus round. The premium Legionaire symbol can fill a reel and start walking across the screen, respinning as it goes. If two or more stacked Legionaires are visible on screen but none fill a reel, there is a chance that all showing Legionaires will be nudged onto their reels. Each stacked legionaire which walks off the reels will help to fill the Collect Meter, bringing you closer to a bonus.
Payouts
The paytable is fairly basic with the legionaire the symbol you'll focus on. 2 of a kind pays 1x, 3 pays 1.5x, 4 pays 2x, and 5 pays out 2.5x. The low paying symbols start at 0.2x for 3 up to 1x for 5. The bulk of the RTP seems to be in the Legionaire, and any decent size wins require a good portion of the screen filled with them. Stacked premiums in the first 3 reels pays 40.5x while full-screen pays 607.5x. These aren't unreasonable amounts but they come infrequently and don't have the big single-spin payoffs which you see with multipliers in other slots. You should expect a 15x win every 81 spins, a 30x win every 206, and a 60x every 709 spins. The multiplier amounts selected for the game sheet tell their own story; with a mere 60x considered an epic win you shouldn't be expecting 100x+ wins. This is mainly because the RTP is split very unusually - 44.79% in Base game, 49.55% on Respins and a mere 3.79% on the Bonus Round.
The Bonus Round
I talk of the Bonus Round from second-hand experience only as, despite being 800 spins in so far, I'm still nowhere near reaching one. You start the feature with stacked premiums on reel 5 which, as in the base game, walk along each spin and can be joined by additional stacks. The aim is to collect 3 horns from reel 5 before you run out of potential respins. If you manage this you'll pass onto the second wave with stacked premiums on reel 4 and 5 to start your marching. The average payout on a bonus round sits at 116.5x but this is where the volatility really hits hard, don't be surprised for a bonus round to fall flat on its face, however long it took you to get there.
Collecting Feature
While I mentioned a collecting feature and my struggle to reach the bonus round I haven't yet explained completely - you can only reach the bonus round through the collecting feature. The game rules tell me that you need to collect 330 stacked legionaires to enter it, and my 800 spins have gotten me 109 so far. Anecdotally that puts me on course for a bonus round at an outrageous 2500 spins. Even more outrageously, this sees my run-rate ahead of the official hit frequency of 1 in 3076.6.
The Positives
The artwork of this game is visually appealling, similar to Snake Arena if you're used to playing Relax games. It's an underrated part of a game but if you're going to be staring at something for hundreds of spins, it's better if it's pleasing to the eye.
The theoretical RTP is a real positive, but only if you're patient and committed enough to grind your way through to the bonus.
There is decent win potential, but again you are unlikely to see it unless you get lucky in the bonus round which is so hard to get to.
The Negatives
My least favourite part of this slot is the tracking of this collection. While you can find the 330 requirement hidden in the game rules, what you see as you enter the game for the first time is a display with a horseshoe shape split into wedges, and the counter displaying: 1/5. This implies that you have to fill it up 5 times, but tells you nothing of the fact that the wedges get substantially smaller as you run up the tiers. My 109 collections have just completed the 3rd level, so while it feels like I've just reached 60% through I haven't even reached 1/3 of the way through yet. This is misleading and a really poor experience for the majority of players who won't read the full rules sheet before playing.
If the collection tracker is misleading then so too is the RTP. Unlike the majority of slots which allow you to access the full RTP with a randomly awarded bonus round, you can only reach the full RTP here by grinding out 3000 spins and a reported 6 hours' play. What's more is that you likely only learn this after you've already ploughed time, spins and money into what works out at a 94.33% slot in the base game.
Overall
Gift to the casino community or trojan horse delivering another way to take our money quickly? While the RTP is strong for committed players seeking value, most will never realise it - getting bored long before the 3000 spins required. With slow gameplay, an exceptionally difficult to reach bonus round, and epic wins at a mere 60x, there is little to keep your attention beyond the tidy artwork and animation. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth in the obvious benefit to supplier and operator - if you drop out early they get the margin, if you get through to the bonus round you've given them the volume.
Instead of surprise and delight we've got surprise and despair. The misleading way this game is pitched taints, for me, what otherwise would be a decent game.
Let me know your thoughts!