The last couple of releases from Pragmatic Play have seemed a little shaky compared to their early 2023 output – could the developer’s new game, Moonshot, mark a return to form for one of the industry’s most prolific developers? I’m not sure what to make of the game on a first impression, as the theme doesn’t really seem to match the title of the game. There’s nothing to shout about in terms of the vital statistics either; 1,024 payways, a 96.5% RTP, and a 5,000x bet maximum jackpot. As the old saying goes, you should never judge a book by its cover! On that note, let’s dig a little deeper and find out if there’s more to this one than meets the eye.
First, the game includes a unique golden mask symbol that is present on reels two through five. These symbols act as substitutes for the game’s regular highest-paying symbol whilst applying a multiplier of 1x for each symbol that features in a winning payway. Hitting three or more scatters will award up to 20 free spins with enhanced golden masks (it’s a golden version according to the paytable – yes, a golden, golden mask….) that offer boosted multiplier values. As with most Pragmatic Play releases, a bonus buy facility is available at 80x the normal price per spin.
How does this release sound to you so far? Is it just more of the same, or could these golden-golden masks have some potential in them? Why not grab a little help with making up your mind by trying our free demo slot of Moonshot, available to play below.
| Provider | Pragmatic Play |
| Reels | 5 |
| Rows | 4 |
| Paylines | 1,024 |
| Bonus Rounds | 1 |
| Bet Range | 0.20 - 100 |
| Volatility | High |
| Max Win | 5,000x |
| Bonus Buy | Yes |
| RTP | 96.50% |
| Our Rating | 4.0 |
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Moonshot Demo Slot
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Moonshot Slot Theme, Stakes, Pays & Symbols
It often doesn’t matter how good (or bad) Pragmatic Play’s online slots turn out to be – even a below-average release, such as their recent Lamp of Infinity machine, still receives a fair amount more play than many of their competitor’s games here at Demoslot. Even so, I’m still always hopeful that each new slot will turn out to be great – Pragmatic Play is always at its best when they offer unique features alongside a unique theme and a huge jackpot. Is that really too much to ask for?
How about the paytable, then? Can Moonshot impress us in the most essential of departments? Alas, I can’t say that I’m optimistic. The highest-paying Mask symbol is worth just 4x the total bet for a full payway of five of a kind, while the Cherries and Plums offer only 3x your total stake for all five symbols. The Blueberries will get you 2.5x your bet back for a complete payway, matching the payout of the Canteen, whilst the nice Cup of Tea (Is it just me, or are these some really random symbol choices?) drops the return to just 1.5x for five-of-a-kind. For some reason, a full payway of Aces is also worth 1.5x the bet for all five symbols, whilst the other royals can award as little as 1x whenever a full payway of those lands on the reels. If you were hoping the wild and scatter symbols could save the day, then I’m afraid your hopes are dashed there, too, as neither has any cash payout attached to it.
At least you can always rely on Pragmatic Play to get their wagering setup correct – you can choose to play from as little as €0.20 up to a maximum of €100.00 per spin, and there are no limitations on how much you can bet in between those two extremes either.
Base Game & Modifiers
The 1,024 payways available in Moonshot result from its enlarged playfield size of 5×4. On a positive note, this setup means that you can expect to win quite frequently whilst playing the game – the only issue being that there’s very little of note on the paytable to actually hit! Only the highest-paying symbol has a payout for two matching symbols, with everything else requiring at least three starting from the leftmost reel to award a prize.
Golden Mask & Wild Symbol
Wilds and golden masks (the regular variety) appear on reels two through five during the base game. The wild symbol does not have any multiplier assigned to it, whilst the golden mask will add a 1x multiplier for each symbol that forms part of a winning payway.
For example, hitting a mask on reel one plus four more golden masks on reels two through five results in a 4x multiplier being applied to each complete payway of five of a kind.
Moonshot Slot Bonus Features
The scatter symbols are present on all five reels in this game. Landing three of these will award ten free spins, whilst four or five scatters increase this to 15 or 20 free spins, respectively.
Free Spins
The free spins bonus is the only part of this game that is really worth getting excited about, and even then, you’ll need to make it to the highest level to be relatively certain of collecting a major payout. At the default level, the golden mask symbol can have a random multiplier of 1x, 2x, or 3x attached. Theoretically, this should make it possible to hit a maximum multiplier of 81x, although I suspect the chances of such are probably slim.
Collecting 40 masks of any variety will upgrade your feature to level two, where the golden mask is guaranteed to have a 2x or 3x multiplier attached to it. You’ll also receive three additional free spins when progressing to the second level. Collecting another 40 masks will see you progress to the third and final level, where all multipliers are upgraded to a guaranteed 3x. All you need to do now is land a full stack of them on every reel… easy, right?!
Bonus Buy
Considering that the base game is something of a damp squib, I’d definitely recommend utilising the bonus buy facility of Moonshot if you can. This costs 80x the current bet in return for a random number of scatter symbols – cross your fingers that the game gives you all five!
Pros
- The way the multiplier mask feature works is somewhat unique.
- Above average RTP.
Cons
- Paytable returns are absolutely abysmal, even for a game with 1,024 pay ways.
- Average jackpot cap of 5,000x the total bet.
- Even the bonus round cannot save this one… you’ll be lucky to make it to level three without a re-trigger.
Moonshot Slot Review Final Thoughts
What has happened over at Pragmatic Play this month? Moonshot is a disaster by the standards of this developer, and it’s honestly difficult to understand where all of the game's RTP has been allocated. I have no idea what the theme is about in relation to the title and even less of a clue why you’d want to spend your time spinning this. Let’s hope they don’t bother with a sequel.
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