Power of Merlin Megaways Slot Review
Mist hangs over a ruined rampart deep in an emerald forest, and an old wizard in a pointed purple hat cups a flame in his raised hand. Power of Merlin Megaways is at its best in exactly these in-between moments – the base game here has one genuinely good idea, and it isn’t the paytable. What keeps a spin interesting is a lightning bolt on the top row that can turn an entire symbol into wilds mid-tumble, which is more than most of this game’s dressing does.
Underneath that lies a very familiar Pragmatic Play construction, and how much the wizardry matters versus the maths is the real question. The numbers: 96.09% RTP, high volatility, a 40,000x win cap and up to 117,649 ways across six reels, with stakes from 0.20 to 100 per spin.
Sister titles Power of Thor Megaways and Madame Destiny Megaways tread the same ground, and this one sits comfortably beside them.
How the Base Game Pays
Wins pay left to right on adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost, with combinations of any symbol size counting. Reels one and six hold up to seven symbols; reels two to five hold up to six each plus a symbol on a top row that spins independently, right to left.
Only the highest win counts on any single pay way, so a symbol cluster can’t pay twice on the same route. When several ways win at once, all of them are added together into the spin total, and every value is multiplied by the base bet.
That’s where the 117,649 ceiling comes from, though most spins land well short of it. The wild substitutes for everything except the scatter and the lightning bolt, and it can appear on reels two through six. In this game the wild mostly matters when the bolt makes it.
All symbol values are multiples of the total bet:
- Merlin – 0.5x for two, 1x for three, 5x for four, 10x for five, 20x for six
- Owl – 0.5x for three, 2x for four, 2.5x for five, 5x for six
- Slipper – 0.5x for three, 1x for four, 1.5x for five, 2.5x for six
- Potion – 0.25x for three, 0.5x for four, 0.75x for five, 2x for six
- A – 0.2x for three, 0.4x for four, 0.6x for five, 1.5x for six
- K – 0.2x for three, 0.4x for four, 0.5x for five, 1.25x for six
- Q – 0.15x for three, 0.25x for four, 0.5x for five, 1x for six
- J – 0.15x for three, 0.25x for four, 0.5x for five, 0.9x for six
- 10 – 0.15x for three, 0.2x for four, 0.4x for five, 0.8x for six
- 9 – 0.1x for three, 0.2x for four, 0.4x for five, 0.6x for six
Tumble Feature
Every winning combination is paid, then all winning symbols disappear. Whatever’s left falls to the bottom of the screen and fresh symbols drop in from above to fill the gaps, matched in size to the original spin. Tumbling continues for as long as each new arrangement produces another win.
The whole chain’s winnings reach your balance once the sequence finishes. It’s the engine the rest of the game is built around: the base game’s rhythm is spin, win, cascade, repeat, and both headline features hang off what the tumbles bring in.
Lightning Bolt Feature
The bolt lands only on the top horizontal reel and doesn’t pay anything itself. Whenever it hits, whether on a normal spin or mid-tumble, every instance of one random paying symbol on reels two to five is swapped for a wild.
If a tumble shifts it to a new position on the top row, it fires again, converting another random symbol the same way. Chained correctly, that’s a lot of wilds on the middle reels at once. It’s the most interesting thing in the base game, and it carries into the bonus round too.
Free Spins
4 or more scatters anywhere on the reels trigger the round, and the scatters can land at any size the reel allows. The spin count scales with how many you hit:
- 4 scatters – 10 free spins
- 5 scatters – 14 free spins
- 6 scatters – 18 free spins
- 7 scatters – 22 free spins
- 8 scatters – 26 free spins
- 9 or more scatters – 30 free spins
Before the round begins there’s a gamble option. A wheel spins and stops on a win or lose position: win and you gain four free spins, lose and you forfeit the lot. Collecting at any point starts the round as it stands.
The odds improve as the stakes rise – 63.10% going from 10 to 14 spins, 69.37% from 14 to 18, 73.95% from 18 to 22, 76.58% from 22 to 26 and 78.92% from 26 to 30.
Inside the round, a win multiplier starts at 1x and climbs by 1x with every tumble, applied to each tumble’s total as it lands. The multiplier never resets, so the number only moves one direction for the duration. 3 scatters during the round add 4 more spins, the lightning bolt stays active, and a separate reel set is in play.
Buy Free Spins
The round can be bought from the base game for 150x the total bet, running at 96.08% RTP against the standard game’s 96.09%. On the triggering spin, 4, 5, 6 or 7 scatters can hit at random, so a purchase doesn’t guarantee the top of the spin ladder.
It’s a steep ticket relative to what similar purchases cost elsewhere in Pragmatic Play’s range, and the scatter count roulette on entry does nothing to soften it.
Our Honest Verdict
Overall Rating: 8/10
Playing this one is mostly a waiting game dressed in very nice clothes. You sit in Merlin’s misty forest, watch the reels tumble, and wait for the one thing worth waiting for: a bonus round where the multiplier never comes back down. That’s the reason anyone picks it.
The free spins round is the strength, and it’s a real one. The multiplier only climbs, the bolt keeps making wilds, and the pre-round gamble with odds that improve to 78.92% is a decision with actual stakes attached. The weakness is everything either side of it – the base game is a long, quiet corridor, and the art is doing a lot of the work of holding your attention.
This one suits the patient kind of player who likes a long build towards one loud payoff, and the fantasy styling matters to them too. Anyone chasing frequent small wins will find the forest a lonely place. For the rest, the wizard’s patience pays.
Power of Merlin Megaways FAQs
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What is the RTP of Power of Merlin Megaways?
The RTP is 96.09%, sitting just above the usual benchmark for high-volatility releases. If you buy the free spins round instead of triggering it, the RTP is 96.08%. -
Is Power of Merlin Megaways high volatility?
Yes, it’s a high-volatility game. Payouts come less often on average, but the ceiling on a short session is higher. -
How do you trigger free spins in Power of Merlin Megaways?
Hit 4 or more scatter symbols anywhere on the reels. 4 scatters award 10 free spins, rising through 14, 18, 22 and 26 as the count climbs, with 9 or more awarding the maximum of 30. -
What does the Lightning Bolt do in Power of Merlin Megaways?
It’s a top-row-only symbol that pays nothing but turns every instance of one random paying symbol on reels two to five into a wild. If a tumble moves it along the top row, it converts a second symbol the same way. -
Can you gamble your free spins in Power of Merlin Megaways?
Yes. Before the round starts you can spin a wheel to win 4 extra free spins, but a lose result forfeits the entire round. The win chance rises with each step, from 63.10% at 10 spins up to 78.92% at 26. -
How many paylines does Power of Merlin Megaways have?
Up to 117,649 ways to win. The six reels vary in height each spin, and the count on any given spin depends on how many symbols land. -
What is the maximum win on Power of Merlin Megaways?
The maximum win is capped at 40,000x the bet. If a round’s total reaches that cap, the round ends immediately, the win is awarded and any remaining features are forfeited. -
When is Power of Merlin Megaways released?
Power of Merlin Megaways’ release date is 6 July 2023.
