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6 August 2024 
5 Lions Megaways Slot Overview
The Fu Lions are back to guard the treasure once again in 5 Lions Megaways from Pragmatic Play.
Pragmatic Play have been gracing the iGaming community with 5 Lions slots since 2018, when they released their first slot in the series, 5 Lions.
5 Lions was succeeded by 5 Lions Gold in 2019, and 5 Lions Dance came a year later in 2020.
Some may say that it was merely a matter of time until Pragmatic Play decided to put a Megaways spin on this slot, but will 5 Lions Megaways outshine its predecessors? With up to 200,704 possible ways to win, 5 Lions Megaways has certainly piqued our interest.
In this 5 Lions Slot Review, we’ll be breaking down everything you need to know about 5 Lions Megaways to see if the treasure that the Fu Lions are so diligently guarding is worth pursuing.
5 Lions Megaways Slot Theme
The theme for 5 Lions Megaways is pretty much exactly what you’d expect an Asian themed slot to look like.
In the background you’ve got the illustrations of some waves but the foreground will undoubtedly grab your attention more with an imperial temple style golden reel border.
The theme inspiration in 5 Lions Megaways comes from what are called Feng Shui Dogs, or to put it simply, Guardian Lions. These Guardian Lions are referred to by many names in western society, and their story and purpose gives an interesting insight in to the diverse culture of China.
Typically found in pairs, these guardian lions stand proud in front of Chinese imperial palaces, and their presence is thought to have powerful and mythic protective benefits.
These symbolic statues and other interesting aspects of Asian Culture regularly make for an intriguing theme in the iGaming world, so it’s no wonder that Pragmatic Play have chosen to utilise it once more in their latest 5 Lions Megaways Slot.
Can the gameplay be as interesting as the theme and the story behind it? Let’s find out.
5 Lions Megaways: Betting and Symbols
The Betting options in 5 Lions Megaways has the usual, diverse Pragmatic Play settings.
Bet options in 5 Lions Megaways may be changed by Bet Level, Coin Value, or Total Bet. The lowest option here is £/€0.20 per spin, and the highest option is £/€100 per spin if you don’t include the Ante Bet setting.
The Ante Bet setting is a setting that we’ve seen regularly from Pragmatic Play slots. This allows you to increase your stake by 25% which gives you double the chance to win the feature.
Some may see this option as a plus, and understandably so, but on the other hand it doesn’t inspire much confidence on the slots ability to feature without this option, so sometimes you feel like you’re annoyingly inclined to activate it.
When we look to the Symbols, the Dragon Symbol reigns supreme as the highest paying symbol in the game. Following on from this is the Phoenix, Frog, Koi Fish and Turtle.
Low paying Symbols are Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10, and the Fu Lion acts as the Wild Symbol in this slot.
5 Lions Megaways: The Base Game and Feature
The Base Game for 5 Lions Megaways offers up some classic Megaways Slot functionality for those who prefer what could be considered the conventional method of doing it.
In order to form a win, you’ll need to match at least 3 symbols from left to right, starting from the left-most reel. Reels 1 and 6 may have up to 7 symbols on each reel, and reels 2, 3 4 and 5 may have up to 8 symbols.
Because of this, the maximum number of winning ways in 5 Lions Megaways is 200,704 instead of the ‘standard’ 117,649 ways. Increased number of winning ways is certainly a good sign to start with, but what else does 5 Lions Megaways offer?
For one, winning symbols in 5 Lions Megaways have a cascade feature. This means that winning combinations are removed, which leaves space for new symbols to fall in via a cascade to create further winning combos.,
This all sounds pretty standard so far, but one thing that isn’t quite standard is the Wild Multiplier that is available within the Base Game.
Wild Multiplier Feature
Whenever a Wild symbol is part of a winning combination, then a random multiplier is applied to all combinations that used the Wild.
It looks as if some impressive multipliers are available even within the Base Game.
The possible values are:
- 2x
- 3x
- 5x
- 8x
- 10x
- 15x
- 30x
- 40x
A 15, 30 and 40x multiplier within The Base Game bodes well as an indication of what 5 Lions Megaways might be able to pull off in the Base Game, and as is the nature of slots, things get even better in the Free Spins round.
5 Lions Megaways Free Spins
In 5 Lions Megaways you’ll need at least 3 Scatter Symbols to trigger the Free Spins Feature.
In a nice touch, Scatter Symbols also pay.
- 6 Scatters – 100x
- 5 Scatters – 25x
- 4 Scatters – 5x
- 3 Scatters – 3x
More Scatters do not give you more spins, and for good reason due to the number of choices available to the player.
Before the round starts, you’ll get a choice of 7 Free Spins options.
- 25 Free Spins – 2x, 3x, 5x Wild Multipliers
- 20 Free Spins – 3x, 5x, 8x Wild Multipliers
- 15 Free Spins – 5x, 8x, 10x Wild Multipliers
- 13 Free Spins – 8x, 10x, 15x Wild Multipliers
- 10 Free Spins – 10x, 15x, 30x Wild Multipliers
- 6 Free Spins – 15x, 30x, 40x Wild Multipliers
- Mystery Choice – A random Number of Spins and Multipliers
Any Wilds that contribute to a win in the Free Spins will use a random multiplier from the selected range. This round can be re-triggered by landing 3 more Scatters.
The number of spins awarded on a re-trigger will be the same as the option that you chose prior to starting the round.
5 Lions Megaways Bonus Buy
Those outside of the UK can instantly trigger the Free Spins with a Bonus Buy option.
This will cost you 100x your bet.
The RTP for the Bonus Buy feature is the same as the normal game at 96.50%
5 Lions Megaways: Our Verdict
5 Lions from Megaways from Pragmatic Play builds upon a series that the developer has been making for a while, but you’ll actually find that 5 Lions Megaways has less potential than their previous game, 5 Lions Gold.
We’re not sure why Pragmatic Play are so insistent on the maximum win potential of most of their slots being 5,000x. While this figure is nothing to scoff at, you just wish that Pragmatic Play would go all in with a title capable of hitting unprecedented potential.
We can’t understand why Pragmatic Play reduced the potential in this slot. You’d think that a Megaways slot would be much more capable, and it probably is, but Pragmatic have once again decided to cap it.
Despite initial frustrations, there is good to be said about 5 Lions Megaways. There’s plenty of Free Spins options to choose from in this slot, as well as a mystery feature, and Multipliers within the Base Game certainly increases the excitement in what might have been an otherwise cumbersome experience.
If you’re a fan of the 5 Lions series so far, or just Asian themed slots in general, then you’ll be pretty pleased with 5 Lions Megaways. If you’ve no particular affinity for this type of game then it won’t be the most memorable experience you’ve ever had.
Overall, it’s not a bad experience by any means, but its predictable and the win potential should be much more.
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