Octopays Slot Review

Many software developers have created products with an underwater theme incorporated in to them, and some manage to work very well, while others fail. Octopays, presented to the gaming world by Microgaming, sits somewhere in the middle of this range. It’s a very nicely designed game, offfering up a background of an underwater wreckage, and this is fronted by reels which are held in place by some wooden planks. There’s also a very Disney-sounding theme playing alongside as well, which would fit right into position in The Little Mermaid somewhere. However, on the whole, it’s a visually pleasing product, with high quality graphics and animations included in game play. And not only that, but the developer has also integrated some nice special features into the game, which work very well in ensuring that Octopays is a thoroughly entertaining product to play.

Float Through the Wreckage

The background of this game does look very appealing, but it’s the reels and foreground that you need to pay attention to here. There’s a total of five reels and three rows incorporated, which is a fairly standard video slot offering. It’s also here that you’ll find the various different icons, and these exist in the form of the frequently seen A, J, K, Q, 9 and 10 offerings. Joining these, there are four other standard symbols integrated, which start with the rusted and moss-covered anchor. Another one is the vicious Hammerhead Shark, there’s also a rusty diver’s helmet, and finally, there’s a red treasure chest filled with coins.

As well as the reels, rows and icons, Microgaming have also added a total of 243 different ways to win, and this is not something that you’re able to change in any way. However, you are able to adjust the amount of the wager you place per round, and this is done first of all by altering the value of a single coin. This section offers a range of between $0.01 and $0.50, and further to this, you can alter the amount of coins wagered per spin, and there’s a range between one and 10 to choose from here. This allows a maximum overall wager of 300 coins per round.

Tentacled Specials

Perhaps the most intriguing addition to this game is its tentacled round, also known as the ‘Kraken Feature’. This particular option is activated when the orange octopus symbol shows up on reels two and four at the same time. The Kraken Feature will provide players with a total of 12 freespins, and at the start of each spin, up to four of the orange octopus icons can be placed on any reel, except the middle one. This icon is actually a wild symbol, and it will substitute for any other icon on the reels, except for the toothy fish icon.

If any of the octopus icons don’t form part of a winning combination, they will swim off the screen, and when one of the toothy fish symbols lands on a reel, any of the octopus icons that complete a win will ink themselves. Then, any wins containing an inked octopus will provide you with a pay out of double the amount. All the wilds will then swim of the screen at the end of each freespin.

During the Kraken Feature, the toothy fish symbol can only show up on reel three, and it will also act as a wild, substituting for any other icon apart from the alternative wild. And any wins featuring the toothy fish will also be doubled.

Summary

It’s definitely great when games build upon an often seen feature, such as the freespins round, and make it a bit more compelling than just watching the reels go round and round. Octopays does just that, thanks to the addition of the special wilds, and this round accompanies the base game play very nicely. The addition of the odd soundtrack is a little distracting at times, but apart from that, everything else works.