Athena Ascending Slot Review
Not just a pretty face, Athena the Goddess of War is the City’s fiercest protectress and is known for her great wisdom and prowess. Having become one of the most powerful Dieties in the Greek Pantheon, will Athena bestow her wisdom onto us?
Athena Ascending looks very family to Rise of Athena…almost identical in fact. We had to rub our eyes to make sure we wasn’t looking at the original game. What could Play’n GO have changed here to warrant an entirely different game?
At first glance, Athena Asencding looks to have similar features to accompany the almost identical style, but behind the scenes stats might suggest a bigger chance than meets the eye.
Athena Ascending Base Game and Features
Athena Ascending is a 5 reel slot with 20 fixed paylines. Winning combinations are formed when 3 or more of the same symbols (or 2 or more of the highest paying symbol) lands from left to right, starting from the left-most reel.
The minimum bet available to players is £/€0.05 per spin and the maximum bet available is £/€100 per spin, with an ample selection of betting options in between the two. Athena Ascending has a theoretical RTP of 96.20% and a max win cap of 10,000x.
In terms of symbols, the highest paying regular symbol here is Athena, followed by the Horse, Helmet, Vase and Scroll. Low-paying symbols are standard Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten.
There is also a Wild symbol present on reels 2, 3 and 4 which substitutes for all other symbols except Scatters. Each Wild symbol will land with a Multiplier up to x4 and when combined they can form a max Multiplier of up to x64.
Other than an increase in the max value of Multiplier Wilds, Play’n GO has made no attempts at spicing up the base game with features or modifiers. This is most likely down to the fact that they have chosen to alter statistics rather than the game itself.
Athena Ascending Free Spins
Landing 3 or more Scatters in any position across the reels triggers the Free Spins round, awarding 5 Free Spins and a payout of 1x, 20x and 500x your current bet for 3, 4 and 5 Scatters respectively.
During Free Spins, Wild symbols that land in view will become sticky until their Multiplier reaches x4. With each new spin, all Multiplier values will increase by x1. The game will Repsin until no Wild symbols are left on the reels.
Athena Ascending FAQ
Athena Ascending: Our Verdict
Play’n GO certainly looked at Rise of Athena throughout the development of Athena Ascending to see where they could improve, and we think they have.
The similarities between the two are rather striking but if you look deep enough, there’s some notable differences.
First of all, the maximum win here is double than what Rise of Athena was offering with up to 10,000x as a maximum win, and secondly, Multiplier values increase in value between spins, rather than decrease.
The decreasing multiplier in Rise of Athena was a bit of a cold shower, and it certainly doesn’t sit well with players if the bonus gets less exciting as it progresses. We think Play’n GO has addressed this well, yet we think 5 Free Spins is rather stingy on their part.
Overall, Athena Ascending is a pretty good slot with plenty of potential, yet its limited and it doesn’t differentiate itself enough from the original to be considered all that imaginative. Still, it’s well suited to no wagering slots offers that give value, especially if you’re testing it out without committing to sticky bonus terms.
