Branded Megaways slot review (Iron Dog Studio)

Branded Megaways slot: a Pirate Kingdom clone that offers online casinos the chance to offer their “own” Megaways slot

Branded Megaways is Iron Dog Studios’ third Megaways slot, following the more than successful releases of Pirate Kingdom Megaways and Megaways Jack.

It offers online casinos the option to add their name and aesthetics to the slot, thus creating a “branded” Megaways slot.

Iron Dog Studios is modest when it comes to the number of released slots a year, but not when it comes to quality, which is high.  

Unfortunately, though, I have to conclude that this one is a 100% clone of the excellent Pirate Kingdom Megaways slot.

It doesn’t mean that the slot is no good. On the contrary. The locked reels, within the Megaways spectrum, is just a great feature.  

What’s also worth mentioning is the enormous win potential. 

You can win up to 40,000x the stakes on Branded Megaways

That’s not just brutal, but VERY BRUTAL!  

Such a ridiculous max win is appropriate for a theme with diamonds, ruby and golden bars.  

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Software: Iron Dog Studios 

Number of paylines: Up to 117,649 Megaways  

RTP and variance: 96.2% (main game) and 95.79%–96.07% (Bonus Buy), Very High variance 

Maximum win: 40,000 x the total bet or $€0.8 million  

Betting range: $€0.20 – $€20 

Bonus features: Free spins, Buy a Bonus Feature 

Casino Hipster verdict: Hot! 

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Branded Megaways slot – Gameplay and Features

It’s a Megaways slot.  

• There are 6 reels with at least 2 and at most 7 symbols each.
• There is no “top row” above the middle reels.
• It results in a maximum of 117,649 Megaways. 
• This slot makes use of the Avalanche (Cascading of Tumbling) mechanism, so you get free re-spins after each winning combo.
• Winning symbols disappear, and are replaced by new symbols. 

There are five high-paying symbols (Diamond, Ruby, Emerald, Gold bars, Silver bars). The A, K, Q, J and 10 are the low-paying symbols.  

Furthermore, you have a Wild Symbol and an x2 Wild Symbol. These replace all symbols and appear on reels 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.  

In the best case, you have an x2 Wild on all 5 reels. Your total multiplier can get as high as x32 (2x2x2x2x2=32).  

The x2 Wild symbols are only active during the main game. 

How do you activate the free spins?

You get the free spins if you make 5, 6, 7 or 8 consecutive winning combos (4, 5, 6 or 7 consecutive tumbles). That yields 8, 10, 12 or 14 (the maximum) free spins.   

If you get 4 or more consecutive tumbles during the free spins, you get 4 free spins again. Each additional successive tumble gets you another extra free spin. You can get up to 14 extra free spins.  

If it takes too long, you can buy the free spins, with the Buy a Bonus Feature. You can purchase 6, 8 or 10 free spins. It is also possible to get a head start with the free spins by buying 1 “locked reel” of 7 symbols.  

The cost is 30x the original bet (6 free spins without a locked reel), and it goes up to 130x the initial bet (10 free spins with 1 locked reel).

The free spins: get ready for something insane!

Now, it is time for the real fireworks to begin.  

As soon as you spin 7 symbols on a reel, the reel is locked, resulting in a guaranteed reel with 7 symbols for the remaining free spins. With a Megaways slot, that’s exactly what you want. Moreover, you get an additional free spin when this happens. That’s a nice extra! 

Furthermore, as with most Megaways slots, you’ll have an increasing multiplier (multiplier goes up by +1 after each winning combo). 

Yes, it can all become very lucrative. Don’t forget that you can get up to 28 free spins!  

Payout percentage (RTP)

The payout percentage is 96.2%. That’s around the average of online slots.  

If you choose the Buy a Bonus Feature, the RTP is between 95.79% and 96.07%. Depending on which variant you want. 

Branded Megaways slot – the variance (volatility) is very high

According to Iron Dog Studios, the variance is high to very high. I have no reason to believe otherwise. 

If you see how many free spins you can get, the increasing multipliers, combined with locked reels of 7 symbols WITH a Megaways slot! 

The top wins will undoubtedly be several thousand times the bet.  

Pros and Cons

Advantages: 

• Easy and simple to play, but certainly not boring 
• Thrilling!  
• Conveniently, you can buy the free spins with the Buy a Bonus Feature.    

Disadvantages: 

• A 100% clone of Pirate Kingdom Megaways. 
• The main game is a bit boring.  
• Very addictive, and your balance can evaporate very quickly, especially with the Buy a Bonus Feature. 

So, who’ll like the slot? And who won’t? 

Most Megaways lovers will also love this slot.

Not so much because of the complexity of the features, but because of the combination of: 

• Potentially many free spins.
• Progressive multipliers.
• Locked reels. 

These combined features can make makes the bonus rounds so exciting, you’ll want to play it again, and again.

Heaven knows, we have.   

This Iron Dog Studios slot does NOT add anything new if you’ve already played Pirate Kingdom Megaways, but does give online casino a quick way of adding their own, customized Megaways slot.

We feel Iron Dog may be onto something big, with this concept.

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