Tons of Suns

Tons of Suns Slot Review

A golden pyramid stands flooded with torchlight at the edge of the reels, creeper vines trailing over the mossy stonework around it. Tons of Suns dresses like a treasure hunt, but it isn’t one: this is a game where the reels themselves are near enough decorative, and every real outcome arrives through a single symbol that can fire cash, spins or a pick bonus on any turn. High Limit Studios built a slot that asks you to ignore what’s in front of you and wait for the sun.

The artwork is doing more than setting a mood, though. Tons of Suns runs a symbol that can fire cash prizes, free spins or a pick bonus on any spin, on a 5×3 grid with 243 ways to win, at 96.01% RTP and high volatility, with stakes from 0.20 to 40.00 per spin.

It sits alongside Boomstick Bill 2 and Reign of Fire in the studio’s catalogue, along with Devil Cash Uncovered. The sun, as the name insists, does most of the work here.

Base Game & Features

Wins pay left to right across 243 ways, with matching symbols on adjacent reels from the leftmost side. A way is simply a pattern of adjacent positions running across the reels, so there are no payline maps to keep track of. Only the highest winning combination is awarded per symbol combination, and if multiple combinations land on a single way, only the highest counts.

Payouts work off the initial bet rather than the total: each spin costs a total bet amount, the initial bet is the total divided by the way cost of 20, and way wins are paid as multiples of that initial figure. The total payout is the sum of every way win from the spin.

The wild substitutes for every symbol except the Scatter, Pyramid and Sun. Scatters are their own thing entirely: they pay in any position, and they only appear in the base game.

The Paytable

Every symbol in the game, from the purple snake mask down to the 9, shares one pay scale, and it’s a flat one. Payouts are multiples of the initial bet:

• Snake/Mask (purple): 3 pays 1.00, 4 pays 1.20, 5 pays 1.50
• Priestess: 3 pays 1.00, 4 pays 1.20, 5 pays 1.50
• Bracelet (blue): 3 pays 1.00, 4 pays 1.20, 5 pays 1.50
• Headdress (yellow): 3 pays 1.00, 4 pays 1.20, 5 pays 1.50
• Toucan: 3 pays 1.00, 4 pays 1.20, 5 pays 1.50
• A, K, Q, J, 10, 9: 3 pays 1.00, 4 pays 1.20, 5 pays 1.50

One scale for eleven symbols is unusual, and it tells you where the money in this game actually lives: not in the reels, but in the features stacked on top of them. No symbol is worth chasing for its own sake.

Sun Symbol Feature

The Sun symbol appears on all reels, and one or more of them in any position triggers the feature. Several Suns can land on a single spin, and each one awards independently. What each Sun pays depends on where you are in the game.

In the base game, each Sun symbol awards one of three things:

• A cash prize of up to 25x the bet
• 5, 10, 15 or 20 free spins
• The Pick Bonus Feature

During free spins the menu narrows: Suns pay cash only, still capped at 25x the bet.

Tons of Suns Free Spins & Bonuses

Free Spins

Land three or more Scatters anywhere on the reels and you’re awarded 10 free spins. The same round can also arrive through the Sun Symbol Feature, which hands out 5, 10, 15 or 20 spins. Bets and ways stay identical to the triggering spin, and wins during the feature are added to base game wins.

One quiet change does a lot of work: the A, K, Q, J, 10 and 9 symbols are all removed during free spins. Every spin of the bonus is high-symbol only.

Feature Trail

Pyramid symbols appear in free spins only, and each one that lands moves you a single position along the Feature Trail, left to right. Reaching an upgrade position doesn’t interrupt the round: the additional free spins and the bigger multiplier are played after the current set and multiplier have run their course.

The trail’s progress persists across the whole bonus, so Pyramids landing early keep counting towards later upgrades.

Pick Bonus Feature

The Pick Bonus can only be triggered through the Sun Symbol Feature in the base game. It’s a match-three pick game: match three icons and you win the corresponding prize from the ladder.

• Mini: 5x
• Minor: 25x
• Major: 50x
• Mega: 250x

Boost icons stack the ladder while you pick, and they’re where the real money hides:

• Boost adds 5x Mini, 25x Minor, 50x Major, 250x Mega
• Ultra Boost adds 10x Mini, 50x Minor, 100x Major, 500x Mega
• Epic Boost adds 15x Mini, 75x Minor, 150x Major, 750x Mega
• Win All awards every prize on the ladder at once

The boosts apply to the whole ladder, not just the prize you matched, and a Win All collects the boosted values across all four tiers.

Buy Feature

There’s a Buy button in the base game, and it buys exactly one thing: 10 free spins for 60x the current bet. The buy runs at 96.22% RTP, a fraction above the standard game’s 96.01%, and it isn’t available above a certain bet threshold.

Our Honest Verdict

Overall Rating: 7/10

Playing Tons of Suns is mostly staring at beautiful jungle scenery and waiting for the one symbol that matters. That’s the whole reason to pick it: unlike most 243-way games, it can hand you a bonus from a single spin of nothing, and that possibility hangs over every turn.

At its best, that’s a genuinely tense way to spend a session. The Pick Bonus ladder is the sharpest thing here, because the boost icons raise every tier at once rather than the one you matched, which is where the big arithmetic lives. The downside is just as real: eleven symbols on one flat pay scale means the reels between features are dead weight, and the free spins round itself pays less than the pick game it gates.

This is a game for players who enjoy the wait and want a bonus worth reaching. Anyone who values regular line wins will find the pyramid empty.

Tons of Suns FAQs

• How does the Sun Symbol Feature work in Tons of Suns?

  One or more Sun symbols in any position trigger the feature. In the base game, each Sun awards a cash prize of up to 25x the bet, 5, 10, 15 or 20 free spins, or the Pick Bonus Feature. During free spins, Sun symbols award cash prizes only, capped at 25x the bet.
• What does the Pyramid symbol do in Tons of Suns?

  Pyramids appear during free spins only. Each Pyramid that lands moves you one position along the Feature Trail from left to right, and reaching an upgrade position awards additional free spins and a bigger multiplier, played after the current set completes.
• How much does the bonus buy cost on Tons of Suns?

  The Buy Feature costs 60x the current bet and awards 10 free spins. It carries its own return figure of 96.22%, and it isn’t offered above a certain bet threshold.
• What are the prizes in the Tons of Suns Pick Bonus?

  Match three icons to win a prize: Mini pays 5x, Minor 25x, Major 50x and Mega 250x. Boost icons raise the whole ladder, with Epic Boost adding up to 750x to the Mega prize, and a Win All icon awards every prize at once.
• What is the RTP of Tons of Suns?

  The RTP is 96.01%. The Buy Feature runs slightly higher at 96.22%.
• What is the hit frequency of Tons of Suns?

  The hit frequency is 33.99%, so roughly one spin in three connects with a win. With high volatility on top, the wins that do land will vary widely in size.
• What are the betting limits on Tons of Suns?

  Stakes run from 0.20 to 40.00 per spin, with all 243 ways in play on every spin.
• When is Tons of Suns released?

  Tons of Suns’ release date is 22 January 2024.