Casino Bonuses
| Provider | Pragmatic Play |
| Reels | 6 |
| Rows | 5 |
| Paylines | Scatter Pays |
| Bonus Rounds | 1 |
| Bet Range | 0.20 - 125 |
| Volatility | High |
| Max Win | 5,000x |
| Bonus Buy | Yes |
| RTP | 96.50% |
| Our Rating | 7.0 |
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Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Game Overview
Online casinos are already packed full of Aztec-themed online slots from Pragmatic Play, but that hasn’t stopped the developer from creating yet another Mesoamerican machine titled Gates of Aztec! So what’s new this time around? For a start, this is a scatter-pay game which means that there are no paylines or payways to worry about – wins are awarded merely for hitting eight or more matching symbols anywhere on the screen. The RTP is a touch above average at 96.50%, whilst the top win has been capped at 5,000x the total bet.
Cash payouts for scatter symbols seem to be getting rarer by the day in new slot releases, but this game bucks that trend by offering an acceptable 100x bet for all five of its scatters. Of course, that isn’t the only great feature available in Gates of Aztec – the real attention grabber is the four circular multiplier symbols, as every one of these which lands will boost your winnings by up to 500x! The multipliers become even more valuable during the bonus round, where their values become cumulative and are retained in a meter for the duration of the feature. Pragmatic has included a bonus buy facility into this game, and there is also an ante bet available that doubles your odds of triggering a feature in return for a 25% increase in the price per spin.
I wouldn’t be surprised if many players skip past this game because they mistakenly believe that they have seen it before; Trust me, it’s definitely a new release! You can check for yourself if you wish – we have a free demo slot of Gates of Aztec available to play below.
Theme, Stakes, Pays & Symbols
What is the deal with Pragmatic Play and Aztec slots? Our review library already contains Aztec Bonanza, Aztec Gems Deluxe, Book of Aztec King, and at least four more right now! The strangest part of this is perhaps that all of these games are unique – they all contain entirely different symbols, features, and payout mechanics, so it isn’t a case of the developer just being lazy and recycling assets. However, whilst there may be plenty of them, none of those previous Aztec games has done enough to stand out from the crowd, as far as I’m concerned. I’m hopeful that Gates of Aztec will fare better in this regard, as I’m a massive fan of its scatter-pay payout mechanic.
The Scatter symbols have the highest payout in Gates of Aztec, awarding 100x the total bet whenever six appear anywhere on the playfield. As for the regular symbols, the Green Character is the most valuable of the bunch and offers a prize of 50x the total bet whenever 12 or more of them land on the screen. The Purple Character is worth half as much at 25x for 12 or more symbols, whilst the Cyan and Blue Characters will award you 15x or 12x, respectively, for the same 12+ symbol combination. As for the low pays, I think somebody at Pragmatic Play must have gotten confused when making this game, as 12 or more Tens will pay you 10x the bet, whilst the same number of Aces are only worth 2x!
Many slot developers now insist on limiting the betting options available in their games, but Pragmatic Play continues to buck this trend by including a flexible and player-friendly bet selection setup. Hitting the plus or minus buttons on either side of the main spin control will open a small pop-up with three selectors for choosing a current bet, coin value, and total bet. The default minimum/maximum bets available using these controls are €0.20 and €100.00, respectively, increasing to €0.25 and €125.00 when the ante bet option is enabled.
Base Game & Modifiers
The reel set used by Gates of Aztec is relatively large by online slot standards, but this is a vital part of what makes scatter-pay games function correctly. The game features six columns of five rows each, which makes for a total of 30 symbol positions.
Every symbol on the paytable requires a minimum of eight matches to award a win, and with 30 available positions, you can potentially have three sets of winning symbols at the start of every game round. Winning combinations are removed from the playfield immediately after landing, creating space for new symbols to land, which may deliver a further win.
Multiplier Symbols
All six reels include special multiplier symbols represented by green, blue, purple, and orange gemstones. Multiplier symbols can land during the base game and free spins, and each one takes on a random value of between 2x and 500x.cIf more than one multiplier symbol lands during a single game round, the value of all multipliers are added before being applied to your total win.
Ante Bet
You can increase your chances of hitting the bonus round by enabling the ante bet option located on the left of the reels. Enabling the ante bet will double the odds of triggering the free spins but costs an additional 25% on top of the normal price per spin.
Gates Of Aztec Slot Bonus Features
Bonus scatter symbols appear on all six reels, but only four are required to trigger the free spin bonus round. A minimum four-scatter trigger will award a small cash premium of 3x the total bet, whilst five or six scatters pay 5x or 100x the total bet, respectively. The game will award 15 free spins regardless of the number of triggering scatters.
Free Spins
In this mode, every winning spin that includes a multiplier symbol will cause the multiplier value to be added to a total round multiplier. The total round multiplier is retained for the duration of the feature and will be applied to all subsequent prizes won for the remainder of the bonus round. You can re-trigger five additional free spins by hitting three or more scatter symbols whilst the bonus round is active.
Bonus Buy
Pragmatic Play tends to offer a bonus buy facility in their slots, which is the case with Gates of Aztec. If you are playing in a jurisdiction that allows a feature buy, you purchase immediate access to the free spins bonus for 100x your bet.
Pros
- Cascading reels, multipliers and stacked symbols.
Cons
- Low max win of 5,000x.
Gates of Aztec Slot Review Final Thoughts
The bonus round featured in Gates of Aztec is a personal favourite; my only gripe is the low maximum jackpot! Considering that each multiplier symbol can be worth up to 500x, it seems obvious that players will run up against the 5,000x limit sooner rather than later. If Pragmatic Play would only raise this cap a little, this would be an unmissable release.
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