Casino Bonuses
| Provider | Playstar |
| Reels | 6 |
| Rows | 4 |
| Paylines | 10,000 |
| Bonus Rounds | 1 |
| Bet Range | 0.50 - 6 |
| Volatility | High |
| Max Win | 10,000x |
| Bonus Buy | Yes |
| RTP | 96.71% |
| Our Rating | 5.0 |
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Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Game Overview
Dedicated slot fans will likely recognise several aspects of the user interface of the Treasures of Aztec Z slot. This is because, as we have previously identified here at Demoslot, Playstar is either a division of Pocket Games Soft (PGSoft) or at the very least, publishes their games using its technology. This is fantastic if you are a player who enjoys using their mobile device to play online slots; not so great, however, if you are using a large-screen device such as a desktop or laptop computer. Putting that issue aside for now, Treasures of Aztec Z promises a 96.71% RTP, a 10,000x jackpot, and supposedly “easy” winning combinations that only require a single symbol on the first reel of its 10,000 payways.
The gameplay is certainly not your typical slot machine fare – most of the symbol positions contain nothing but blanks, and landing four of these on reel one renders the entirety of the rest of the playfield moot. Assuming you do land a paying symbol or a wild on reel one, you’re guaranteed to win a little something – wins are paid on a per-symbol basis, and there is also a global multiplier that increases by 1x each time a winning combination is removed from the reels. The game also includes the gold and silver frame features which are common to many games produced by PGSoft, along with a free spin-based bonus round and somewhat unique bonus buy facility that we’ll be discussing later on.
It’s often said that modern slots are becoming ever-more similar to one another – endless derivatives of the same ideas being pushed out in factory-farm like fashion. If you hold such a view and yearn for something that plays a little different, look no further than our free Treasures of Aztec Z slot demo – it’s available to play below.
Treasures Of Aztec Z Slot Theme, Stakes, Pays & Symbols
Let’s be honest here; the name of this one – Treasures of Aztec Z – is slightly silly. Why not just call the game Treasures of the Aztecs? Perhaps Playstar just really likes the letter Z – I have no idea, but I’m sure their titling decision won’t help them regarding the search engines! Furthermore, the market has been flooded by Aztec-themed games ever since the release of Gonzo’s Quest – recent examples include Aztec Bonanza, Aztec Gold Extra Gold Megaways (another ridiculous title, by the way, iSoftBet!), and, Treasures of Aztec?! Yes, it seems that PG Soft has already published a game with a very similar title, but it’s a very different machine in all but name. There’s plenty of competition here then, so how does Playstar’s alternative pay?
The first thing you will notice after opening the Treasures of Aztec Z slot paytable is that every symbol is listed with a payout for just a single symbol. Any number of wilds can pay between 1x and 10,000x the total bet, which seems frankly ridiculous, if I’m honest. How on earth do you calculate an RTP if the payout for your highest-paying symbol is random? There are six more paying symbols, and it’s worth taking a look at them on the paytable because the reels are littered with other junk that does not pay anything. Of the six that do, the payouts for a single symbol are 0.5x, 0.3x, 0.2x, 0.1x, 0.06x, and 0.02x. Hitting multiple symbols across the reels can increase these payouts by up to 6x, but that still isn’t going to get you very far! To win something respectable, you are going to need to win many times during a single round – either that or get extremely lucky with the wild symbol payouts. This setup sure is different; there’s no denying that.
The minimum possible bet on this machine is higher than most at €0.50 per round. I’m not entirely sure why that is, but it’s probably related to the very unusual payout mechanics. The maximum bet is relatively low too, at just €6.00 per spin, which might upset some of the richer Asian players who this machine is almost certainly aimed at.
Treasures Of Aztec Z Base Game
I’ve played a couple of other online slots with mechanics similar to Treasures of Aztec Z, but I rationalised that those machines were as strange as they were because they were based around the famous (and hugely popular) Chinese tile game Mahjong. This game, however, is an entirely different proposition – it looks like a regular slot machine with its six reels of four rows each, along with a Megaways-style horizontal reel at the top of the playfield. Winning only requires a single symbol on the leftmost reel, but the catch is that most symbols on the reel strips are completely worthless!
Frame Feature
During any spin, one or more positions on reels two through six can appear as double-height symbols surrounded by a silver frame. Whenever a silver-framed symbol is involved in a winning combination, that position will receive a golden frame during the next round. If a symbol with a golden frame is involved in a win, that position will be transformed into a guaranteed wild symbol for the next round.
Multipliers
At the start of each base game spin, the global multiplier will be reset to 1x. If a winning combination forms on the playfield, this multiplier will increase by 1x for every symbol removal phase that occurs. There is no limit to how large the multiplier can grow, and the paytable shows a potential figure of 18x being reached – for reference, I managed a maximum of 7x during the couple of hours of testing I did on the game whilst writing this review.
Treasures Of Aztec Z Slot Bonus Features
Triggering a bonus round in the Treasures of Aztec Z slot requires at least four bonus scatter symbols. You’ll receive either 10, 12, or 15 free spins for four, five, or six scatters, respectively.
Free Spins Feature
At the start of every bonus round, the global multiplier will be set to 2x. Winning combinations that land on the playfield will increase your multiplier will increase this multiplier by 1x, but unlike the base game, the multiplier is not reset in between free spins.
This makes re-triggers extremely valuable – a re-trigger of five additional free spins is awarded for hitting at least four bonus symbols whilst the feature is active. Unfortunately, a five or six-scatter re-trigger doesn’t appear to provide any additional benefit over a four-scatter one.
Lucky Strike
The bonus buy facility in this game is labelled “Lucky Strike”, and there are three options to choose from: you can pay 30x the total bet for a 60% chance of triggering a bonus, 50x the total bet for an 80% chance of triggering a bonus, or 60x for a guaranteed bonus round on the next spin.
In my opinion, the first two options presented here are not worth the risk – why pay 30x if there is a 50% chance of getting nothing in return? The bonus buy menu offers an option of a 50% discount, which is rather charitable, to say the least!
Pros
- Almost unique gameplay in most respects – I’ve only encountered these payout mechanics on a couple of previous occasions.
- Attractive top prize of 10,000x the total bet, even if it is only possible by random award,
- Wins certainly come easier than they do in most slots – let’s not confuse easy with generous or attractive though.
Cons
- The regular prizes on the paytable are tiny – unless you include the random award for hitting one or more wild symbols.
- The “discounted” lucky strike features come across as nothing less than a rip-off to my eyes – your perspective may be different, but a bonus buy feature with a 50% chance of not awarding the feature is no bonus buy feature at all to my mind.
Final Thoughts
The “unique” gameplay of Playstar's Treasures of Aztec Z slot seems like a double-edged sword to me – yes, it’s different, but that does not mean it is good. Likewise, the 10,000x stated jackpot is attractive for sure, but tying it to combinations of “1x – random” numbers of the wild symbol makes the proposition almost a joke. I’m not sure if slots like this are common in the Asian markets where Playstar is popular, but to a Western slot player, the gameplay feels bizarre and uncompelling.
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