Late in 2019, iSoftBet caved to BTG’s pressure and bought a Megaways license. Aztec Gold Megaways was their debut release, and it was a beautiful South American spectacle with generous payouts. About six months later, the firm released a sequel called Western Gold Megaways, which followed the same formula but simplified certain aspects.
Because the only place to go creative is the skin, the cloning process has never been accused of being an original one. While the Piggy Bank Megaways slot machine is entertaining, it is not very innovative because iSoftBet stuck with the tried-and-true piggy bank theme. What this implies for players is a grid of coins and piggy banks set against a pink background and powered by Megaways’ 6-reel system. The music is very cool; it has the feel of a rock organ track from the 1960s or 1970s, like Ray Manzarek letting loose on an upbeat Doors tune.
Because iSoftBet reused the same mathematical model throughout all betting ranges (from 20 p/c to £/€20), players can count on the game’s medium volatility, which the developer has evaluated at 7 out of 10. You may choose between two different RTPs (95.98% by default, 97% with the bonus game) in this game. Every time you push the spin button in a Megaways game, the number of symbols and the number of possible ways to win both change. There are 324 to 117,649 possible combinations because to the 2-7 symbols on each reel. To win, you need at least three identical symbols to appear on the leftmost reels, with the exception of the top premium tile, which only requires two matching symbols to do so.
There are 9-A card icons, a hammer for breaking the bank, a mound of money, a piggy bank that looks like a real piggy, and a logo tile, in that order of increasing value. If you get six of a type of any of the image symbols anywhere on the reels, you’ll win anything from two times to twenty-five times your wager. The swine-covered wild emblem appears again here. Wilds can replace any other icon, however they can only appear on reels 2, 3, 4, or 5.
Slot Game Features Inspired by a Piggy Bank
The cascade function is activated if a winning combination occurs. When this happens, the relevant combination disappears from the board and fresh symbols drop into its vacant slots. As a result, it’s possible to rack up a string of victories that won’t stop until another lucky streak is broken. The victory is given out at the end of the sequence.
On each given spin of the main game, two features will activate at random and be signaled by a screen darkening. Activating Max Megaways locks in place seven symbols across all six reels for the current play, increasing the possible number of paylines to 117,649. The other is the Bonus Add feature, which can increase the number of scatters on the reels but does not always result in respins.
Multipliers of the wager are displayed on gold coins that appear with the normal symbols. These are known as scatter symbols, and when 5 or more appear anywhere on the reels during the main game, Piggy Rich Cash Respins are activated. Locking the triggering scatters, clearing the other places, and awarding three respin attempts. When fresh icons arrive, the counter starts over and they, too, are locked. When a reel is completely filled with symbols, a multiplier is activated that is proportional to the amount of symbols on that reel. When triggered, these multipliers affect only the active reel. In addition, Mini, Major, or Mega scatters can appear, awarding 10, 25, or 50 times the wager, respectively. When the timer reaches zero, the sum of all visible values is paid.
Last but not least, there is an optional extra to purchase for those who have access to these features. Piggy Rich Cash Respins can be guaranteed to activate on the following spin at a cost of 50x the stake.
The Final Say on Piggy Bank Megaways Slots
Aztec Gold, iSoftBet’s first foray into BTG’s Megaways platform, was a bold statement that the developer wasn’t scared to shake things up. Western Gold, its sequel, was quite similar to its before in many respects, but it was far less powerful than its forerunner in many others. Fans of Megaways might be disappointed that Piggy Bank Megaways wasn’t a clone of the superior Aztec Gold. Perhaps iSoftBet didn’t want their firstborn Megaways to be tarnished in anyone’s mind.
Piggy Bank Megaways is still a great place to play games because to the expert design and positive atmosphere they provide. The soundtrack really shines, creating a lot of the game’s upbeat vibe and working well with the game’s bright pink aesthetic. Both of the secondary features are thrilling when they trigger respin rounds from the Bonus Add or increase the number of possible winning combinations on the grid. While the addition of multiplier reels is a nice touch, the Piggy Rich Cash Respins feature is otherwise similar to other hold and win rounds. The maximum gain is an astounding 12,000x the wager, but the Mega award is a pitiful 50x the bet and nothing to write home about.
As a whole, Piggy Bank Megaways wasn’t a terrible experience. There is fun to be had here, but it’s not very desirable because it’s a copy of a game that wasn’t that innovative to begin with.