Spear of Athena Slot Review
From the splendour of the Empyrean, Athena takes watch over Gods & mortals in Hacksaw Gaming’s latest release, Spear of Athena. Armed to the teeth, Athena is a living embodiment of wisdom, strategy, & warfare…her mind a crucible of counsel and cunning.
Not just a pretty face, Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of multiple cities across Greece, particularly Athens, which is where she most likely received her name. Admired by many for her wisdom & skill, the Pantheon on the Acropolis of Athens was dedicated to her, depicted with owls, olive trees, & snakes.
In Spear of Athena, we’re taken from war-torn plains & into the marble courts of Olympus, where we’re guided by the owl and protected by the spear. With each spin, we draw closer to battle, causing the wrath of Athena to stir…but hell hath no fury like a Goddess scorned.
Prepare to take on Goddess Respins, Fortune Reveals, and 3 epic Free Spins mode as you fight for honour & glory on the reels. Occupying 6 reels & 5 rows, this medium volatility slot utilises a fixed RTP of 96.20% and a 15,000x max win potential.
Continue reading our full Spear of Athena slot review for further insights into gameplay, mechanics, features, and our honest opinion & rating…
Base Game & Features
Spear of Athena is the latest Greek-inspired slot release from Hacksaw Gaming, consisting of 6 reels, 5 rows, and 19 fixed pay lines. Winning combinations occur when 3-6 identical symbols are positioned on adjacent reels, starting from reel 1.
The highest-paying symbol is Athena, followed by Medusa, the Owl, Horse, Snake, and A, K, Q, J, & 10 card ranks. Once a win has been determined on the reels, a fixed payout between 0.1x and 3x your bet is awarded.
Other symbols include Wilds & FS Scatters, which can each appear on any of the reels throughout a session. FS Scatters are responsible for triggering up to 3 Free Spins modes, whilst Wild symbols substitute for all symbols when completing a win evaluation.
Goddess Respins
In the base game, after each win evaluation, the contributing symbols will be highlighted by a Fire Frame, triggering Goddess Respins. During a Respin, each Fire Frame and other winning symbols will be held on the reels.
If a Fortune symbol is part of the Goddess Respin, it will be highlighted by a Blue Frame. Please note that FS Scatters that land together will also persist, even without Fire Frames. Throughout Respins, each paytable symbol that creates or enhances an existing win will also become sticky on the reels, awarding further Respins.
This feature continues until no new enhancements are made on the reels, after which all win sequences are paid out. At the start of the next base game spin, all persistent symbols are removed from the reels.
Fortune Reveals
If a Fortune symbol, in the form of white wings, is present at the end of a Goddess Respin, it will trigger all visible Fire Frames once all wins have been awarded. Activated Fire Frames reveal Special symbols on the reels, including Coins, Amphora Scatters, & Red or Green Shields.
- Coins: Reveal values between 0.2x and 500x your bet, depending on the type of Coin
- Amphora Scatter: Collects the value of all Coin & additional Amphora symbols on the reels, storing their total value. Amphora symbols activate from top to bottom, left to right.
- Green Shield: Multiplies Coins or Amphora symbols within adjacent positions by x2, x3, x4, x5, x10, or x20
- Red Shield: Multiplies all Coin & Amphora symbols on the reels by x2, x3, x4, x5, x10, or x20
Once all reveals and activations have taken place, all Coin & Amphora symbols will add their values together, multiplied by your current bet to determine the final outcome. Please note that Fire Frames, Fortune, & Special symbols are removed from the reels at the start of the next spin.
Spear of Athena Free Spins
Multiple Free Spins modes go hand-in-hand with a Hacksaw Gaming release, and Spear of Athena is no different. Omen of War & Siege of Troy are the game’s more accessible modes, with the addition of a Hidden Bonus: Athena Ascends.
Omen of War
Landing 3 FS Scatters in the base game triggers the Omen of War Bonus, awarding 10 Free Spins. This mode continues to maintain base game mechanics, with the addition of Fire Frames persisting on the reels until the end of the session, even after a Fortune symbol activates them.
When 2 or 3 FS Scatters land in the same spin, they will award an additional +2 and +4 Free Spins, respectively.
Siege of Troy
When 4 FS Scatters appear in the base game, the Siege of Troy Bonus triggers, awarding 12 Free Spins. Again, this mode follows the same mechanics from the Omen of War Bonus, with at least 1 Green or Red Shield revealed when a Fortune symbol appears in view.
Landing 2 or 3 FS Scatters awards a further +2 and +4 Free Spins, respectively.
Athena Ascends
Triggering the hidden bonus (Athena Ascends) requires 5 FS Scatters to land in the same base game spin, awarding 12 Free Spins. During this mode, a Fortune symbol is guaranteed to land on each spin, while maintaining the same mechanics from the Omen of War Bonus.
In addition, each time Coin symbols are revealed, they will always transform into Silver or Gold Coins. Landing 2 or 3 FS Scatters in this session awards an additional +2 and +4 Free Spins, respectively.
Featurespins & Bonus Buy
Players within eligible markets can purchase any of the following Featurespins & Bonus Buy options:
- Bonushunt Featurespins: Each spin is 5 times more likely to trigger a Free Spins session for 3x your bet per spin (96.21%)
- Fortune Featurespins: Awards a single spin with at least 1 Fortune symbol on the reels for 60x your bet (96.35%)
- Omen of War: Triggers 10 Free Spins & persistent Fire Frames after activation for 100x your bet (96.32%)
- Siege of Troy: Guarantees 12 Free Spins & at least 1 Green or Red Shield awarded for every Fortune symbol for 250x your bet (96.28%)
Our Honest Verdict
Once again, Hacksaw Gaming has proven they’re one to watch within the iGaming industry, thanks to the climactic release of Spear of Athena – a game that will undoubtedly spark an interest in History buffs everywhere, particularly those with a keen interest in all-powerful Greek Goddesses.
Of all the Greek goddesses Hacksaw Gaming could choose from, Athena finds herself at the heart of their next release, strategically plotting her next big victory on the reels, and we’re the ones to derive such advantage from her glory.
In true Hacksaw fashion, the base game is as feature-rich as others in their portfolio, consisting of Goddess Respins & Fortune Reveals, both of which invest in Multipliers as part of an ongoing trend. Although we’re missing a certain moustache-wearing raccoon, Bronze, Silver, & Gold Coins are part of the package here, and they’re plump with up to 500x your bet.
Although the Goddess Respins & Fortune Reveals features are separated by title, they work together as one in the base game & Free Spins modes. Unlike Thunderkick’s Midas Golden Touch, there is no need for fancy symbols when triggering the Goddess Respins feature – all you need is a single winning combination, and you’ve got it in the bag. However, there are opportunities to land Special symbols during this time.
Alternatively, Spear of Athena is home to 3 Free Spins modes, each of which possesses a higher potential than the one before, with the Athena Ascends Bonus, loosely translated as the ‘Hidden Bonus’, being the most potent of them all; however, it comes at the cost of 5 FS Scatters. Speaking from experience, we know all too well how challenging it is to land 3 FS Scatters, so having 5 FS Scatters fall in the same spin is equivalent to looking for a needle in a haystack, but not impossible…
When Athena is feeling particularly pleasant, a generous 15,000x max win potential awaits those brave enough to face her. All in all, outside of the Le Bandit series, Spear of Athena puts the much-loved Coin Feature to good use, enhanced by Goddess Respins and the culmination of fierce aesthetics & animations.
*The images found in this slot review are currently from Demo Play. On average, our reviews are written prior to the initial release date and before real play is available.
