Apex Strike Megaways Slot Review

Overview

Developed by Iron Dog Studio, Apex Strike Megaways takes players on a thrilling expedition through the rugged wilderness of North America. This 6 reel slot features a variable row structure with 2 to 7 symbols per reel, allowing for up to 200,704 ways to win.

Powered by the popular Megaways engine, Apex Strike Megaways delivers dynamic, action-oriented gameplay. The medium-high volatility and RTP of 96.13% supplies frequent payouts through cascading tumbling wins. Smooth navigation and aesthetically stunning high paying animal symbols ramp up the entertainment factor significantly.

While the Hold and Win respin feature serves as the primary bonus, I was hoping for additional elements like free spins or pick me bonuses to provide more variety. The theme and presentation also follow conventional slots formulas very closely. But seamless gameplay and remarkable visuals transport you right into the heart of untamed nature. With wild beasts and towering vistas around every spin, Apex Strike Megaways captures the allure of the wilderness - even if it doesn't fully realize its potential for innovative gameplay.

My Thoughts Overall

Over the course of my marathon thousand spin session, Apex Strike Megaways proved itself both beautiful and beastly. I was immediately struck by the cinematic visuals that brought the vibrant wilderness setting to life. Iron Dog Studio's artists deserve accolades for creating such lifelike renditions of majestic animals like the wolf and bear. Their animations and expressions give each spin a thrilling immediacy.

The soundtrack also complemented the theme well, ramping up excitement and drama with its tribal beats and rousing melodies. I did wish for more variety over extended play but the audio design is very solid.

Gameplay was smooth as silk across 1000 spins on desktop and mobile. The Megaways engine provided plenty of action thanks to the 200k+ ways to win. I triggered frequent tumbling cascades that really get the adrenaline pumping, especially when the roars and howls kick in!

While I craved more novelty in the bonuses and features, the Hold and Win mechanic consistently delivered solid payouts at a reasonable price. Combining animal symbols and special suns for those re-spin jackpots became addictive.

The rewards definitely skewed towards the quadruped quartet - the eagle, wolf, lion and bear accounted for my biggest wins by far. Their potential payouts seem appropriately high for these regal creatures. On the flip side, the playing card symbols felt very underpowered.

Apex Strike Megaways may not claim the most original theme or mechanics, but its stunning production values, great rewards through tumbling wins and respins, and overall polish cements its place near the top of the food chain. I'd eagerly return to these reels and recommend any fellow slot fanatic join the hunt within Apex Strike Megaways' lush world!

Bonus Features

While not the most bonus feature-packed slot, Apex Strike Megaways provides enough big thrills to satisfy. Here are the highlights:

Tumbling Wins

The tumbling win mechanic is integral to gameplay and payout potential. Any winning combination causes associated symbols to vanish and new ones cascade down to replace them. This leads to chained reactions when symbols align for multiple consecutive wins, quickly ramping up earnings.

Hold and Win Feature

By far my favorite bonus that reliably delivered big wins is the Hold and Win feature. Triggered by landing 6 of the special Bonus Sun or Strike Nugget symbols, they lock in place while you get 3 respins. Any additional Bonus symbols appearing during the respins reset the count to 3, allowing huge potential payouts as the reels fill with high paying icons.

The Bonus Suns reveal cash prizes while the Strike Nuggets represent mini, minor, major and mega jackpots worth 10x to 2000x your stake. Building a screen of respin symbols and accumulator jackpots is extremely rewarding.

Buy Feature

For 50x your bet, you can instantly buy access to the Hold and Win feature rather than waiting for bonus symbols to trigger it organically. This provides a solid way to get straight into the main action. I found it a worthwhile investment on some occasions but still hoped for a lower fee.

Win Potential

• Max payout: 10,000x stake
• High paying symbols: Bear (500x), Lion (150x), Wolf (100x), Eagle (50x)
• Bonus feature payouts: Hold and Win up to 2000x from mega Strike Nugget jackpot

While 10,000x your total bet is a sizable top prize, I was consistently impressed by the large base game payouts possible from the animal symbols during regular play.

The tumbling wins made lining up those eagles, wolves, lions and bears for big prizes exhilarating, especially when they cascaded in succession. The generous 500x maximum for just 6 bears created huge potential even without bonuses.

But the Hold and Win feature is really where Apex Strike Megaways' win potential goes wild. During my sessions, filling the grid with multiple Bonus Suns and Strike Nuggets as they held in place spin after spin resulted in some mammoth payouts.

The 2000x jackpot from the Mega Strike Nugget is enormous, but even steadily accumulating an array of Major and Minor jackpots over the re-spins builds tremendously. On one heart-stopping occasion I landed 4 Mega Strike Nuggets during the feature, which combined with the other symbols for a truly epic windfall.

While more bonus features could provide additional avenues to big wins, Apex Strike Megaways offers significant reward potential through base gameplay and Hold and Win respins. Any player has a legitimate chance of claiming a massive prize haul whether through cascading animal symbols or hitting those re-spin jackpots. This apex predator has some serious bite!