Stargate Megaways Slot Review
A giant chevron-studded ring arcs around the reels in a dim, concrete military bay, floodlights flaring up from the ramp below. Light & Wonder‘s Stargate Megaways takes that image seriously, and it takes a gamble with it: this is a Megaways game that has almost deliberately made its own paytable irrelevant. The base symbols pay pocket change, and the real money sits behind the bonus round rather than on the reels.
It’s a 6×4 set-up with up to 117,649 ways to win, running at 96.07% RTP with high volatility and a 25,000x win ceiling. Stakes run from 0.20 to 10 per spin. The studio’s Megaways form includes Raging Rhino Megaways, Rainbow Riches Megaways and Spartacus Megaways. A thin paytable waits below the ring, and the interesting part of this game isn’t on it.
How the Base Game Pays
Symbols come in different sizes and drop onto six reels, with the ways counter for each spin displayed beside the grid. Winning symbols explode and new ones cascade in, and any fresh combinations are paid before the sequence repeats. A spin settles only when no new win forms.
Wins pay left to right on adjacent reels, only the highest combination counts, and multiple ways add together. The wild substitutes for every symbol except the Eye of Ra. There’s no scatter in the usual sense; the bonus is reached through the trail instead. Symbol values as printed on the paytable:
- Woman (pink shirt): 1x, 2x, 4x, 10x for three to six of a kind
- Man with sunglasses: 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 4x
- Blonde man: 0.25x, 0.5x, 1x, 2x
- Stargate device icon / Pyramid: 0.2x, 0.4x, 0.75x, 1.5x
- A / K: 0.15x, 0.2x, 0.4x, 0.8x
- Q / J: 0.1x, 0.15x, 0.3x, 0.6x
- 10 / 9: 0.05x, 0.1x, 0.2x, 0.5x
It’s a flat paytable. The royals pay pocket change and even the top symbol needs six of a kind to reach 10x, so the base game alone isn’t where the money lives. The trail is.
The Trail
A nine-segment trail sits alongside the reels, its numbered tiles lighting up teal as you climb. Every winning cascade in the base game advances it by one. Segment five fires a random modifier; segment seven or beyond opens the bonus game. The base game caps out at nine cascades, so a single hot spin can carry you the whole way.
The trail exists only in the base game. That’s the detail that shapes every session: cascades in the bonus round build wins, not progress, so all nine steps have to be earned before the doors open.
Trail 5 Modifiers
Reaching segment five activates one of five modifiers at random, each aimed at stretching the cascade run that earned it:
- Random Wilds – up to six wilds added across reels two to five
- Expand Reel(s) – extra symbols drop in, up to the full 117,649 ways
- Wild Reel – one entire reel turns wild (reels two to five only)
- Mystery Symbols – stargate overlays convert up to ten symbols into matching ones
- Regenerate – the board clears and refills at the same ways count for a respin
None of these guarantee a win, but all of them keep the trail climbing, and the trail is the only road to the bonus. Mystery Symbols are the most thematic of the set: the gate overlay lands on up to ten positions, and every symbol beneath it becomes the same one, which can turn a dead board into a paying cluster in a single drop.
Regenerate works differently from the rest. Rather than adding anything, it wipes the board and deals a fresh set at the same ways count, effectively a free respin with nothing lost. It’s the quietest modifier and often the least useful, but it costs a cascade-free roll of the dice.
The Bonus Game
Segment seven or higher opens the bonus game, a picking round played out across fifteen doors with seven picks. Each door hides a symbol; match one and you’re awarded a modifier that carries into the free spins.
The number of starting spins depends on how far up the trail you got: segment seven pays 5 free spins, segment eight pays 6, and a full trail of nine pays 7. That’s a tight allowance of spins for a high-volatility game, and it puts real weight on which modifiers the doors give up. Seven picks into fifteen doors also means most doors go unrevealed, so the round is over quickly.
Free Spins
Free spins run automatically at the triggering bet and can’t be retriggered, though the Eye of Ra symbol can reset the count when it lands on reel six, provided fewer than twenty cascades have passed. The round ends when spins run out or the maximum win is hit. Modifiers awarded in the bonus game include:
- Additional Free Spins – between one and 25 extra spins
- Win Multiplier – combination wins multiplied by the awarded value
- Ways Increase – each spin guarantees more ways than the last, up to the maximum
- Reincarnate – the Eye of Ra resets the free spin count
- Cash Prizes – x5 to x50 the total bet from a Trail 7 bonus, x5 to x100 from Trail 8 or 9
- Wild Gates – extra wilds added in the top reel
- Expanding Wilds – wilds expand to cover their whole reel (reels two to five)
There’s no guarantee an awarded modifier actually triggers during the round, which tempers the picking game’s promise a little. Stack a multiplier with expanding wilds, though, and the ceiling opens up quickly.
Cash Prizes behave as an instant payout rather than a spin enhancer, multiplied by the total bet and added alongside whatever the round wins. Ways Increase is the slow burn of the set: on a seven-spin round it guarantees each spin plays on a bigger grid than the last, which pairs well with anything that adds wilds.
Buy Pass
The Buy Pass skips the trail entirely and buys direct access, at the following multiples of your current bet:
- Trail 5 Modifier – x31.5
- Bonus Game at Segment 7 (5 free spins) – x45.5
- Bonus Game at Segment 8 (6 free spins) – x72.5
- Bonus Game at Segment 9 (7 free spins) – x123.5
Bought features play at the bet level selected when you triggered the pass, and no trigger win is paid. The Buy Pass carries its own expected return of between 96.13% and 96.89%, slightly above the base figure, which is unusual among bonus buys.
The step from x45.5 to x123.5 is a steep one for two extra starting spins, so the top tier is a bet on the doors, not the spin count.
Our Honest Verdict
Overall Rating: 7.5/10
This is a game that spends most of its time getting somewhere. The ring looks superb, the paytable barely matters, and the one reason to sit down here is the climb: cascades stacking, tiles lighting up, and a bonus that only opens once the trail has been earned. Nobody plays Stargate Megaways for the spinning; they play it for the arriving.
The picking round is what makes it worth earning. Because the doors decide what your free spins become, no two bonuses here are alike, and a mediocre trail can still produce a round worth having. Five to seven spins is a thin round for this much volatility, though, and a modifier that never triggers turns a long build into an anticlimax.
It’s a good fit for players who like a slot with a journey in it, and for Stargate fans, who get one of the better-looking uses of the licence. Anyone chasing frequent bonuses will find the trail a slog. For the rest, dialling the gate and waiting for the chevrons to lock is half the fun.
Stargate Megaways FAQs
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What is the RTP of Stargate Megaways?
96.07%. -
Is Stargate Megaways high volatility?
Yes, it’s a high volatility game, so wins can be infrequent relative to the stake and the bonus takes some reaching. -
How do you trigger the bonus in Stargate Megaways?
There’s no scatter. Every winning cascade in the base game advances a nine-segment trail, and reaching segment seven or higher activates the bonus game, a picking round across fifteen doors with seven picks. Matching a door awards a modifier for the free spins. -
Can free spins be retriggered in Stargate Megaways?
No, free spins can’t be retriggered. The Eye of Ra symbol can reset the spin count when it lands on reel six, but only when fewer than twenty cascades have passed in the round. -
What does the Eye of Ra symbol do in Stargate Megaways?
It re-sets the free spin count, and it only appears on reel six during free spins, and only when fewer than twenty cascades have passed in the round. It substitutes for nothing and the wild can’t stand in for it. -
How many paylines does Stargate Megaways have?
Up to 117,649 ways to win on the Megaways system, with the ways count for each spin displayed beside the reels. -
What is the maximum win on Stargate Megaways?
25,000x the bet. Free spins end immediately if it’s hit. -
Can you buy the bonus on Stargate Megaways?
Yes. The Buy Pass buys the Trail 5 Modifier for x31.5 the bet, or the bonus game directly at x45.5 (5 free spins), x72.5 (6 free spins) or x123.5 (7 free spins). The Buy Pass has its own expected return of between 96.13% and 96.89%. -
Who makes Stargate Megaways?
Light & Wonder, under licence from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. Stargate Megaways’ release date is 19 April 2022.
