Have You Played Madame Destiny Megaways?
Pragmatic Play launched Madame Destiny Megaways on January 18 in what is slightly odd move. Relaunches and revamps tend to involve hits from yesteryear but Madame Destiny was not a hit even in the loosest possible terms. Pragmatic Play hopes giving its clairvoyant-theme pokie a dose of Megaways magic does the trick. Does it? Let us find out.
Madame Destiny Megaways Fundamentals
The name of this machine gives a major clue into what to expect. Madame Destiny Megaways uses the ever-popular Megaways engine, making mega numbers of win lines. There is a maximum of 200,704 ways to win on this machine, which is the most we have seen. Pragmatic Play does this via a unique 7-8-8-8-8-7 layout that changes with every spin.
The Madame Destiny Megaways base game has a 96.56% RTP, or 3.64% house edge. The RTP slightly increases to 96.67% when using the ante bet and bonus buy features; more on those later.
This average RTP and the masses of win lines are combined with a highly volatile algorithm. Pragmatic ranks the variance of this pokie as very high. This means it is more likely to pay out big wins in quick succession but less frequently.
Highly volatile machines require shrewd bankroll management to avoid going bust. The min-bet is $0.10 and there is a range of options until you hit the $100 maximum bet.
One statistic that stands out, and not in a positive way, is the max win per spin. This stands at 5,000x which is low considering the average RTP and high variance.
Madame Destiny Megaways Symbols
All the high-value Madame Destiny Megaways symbols are based on clairvoyance, as you expect. Tarot cards, candles, potions, and cats pay out for landing between three and six matching symbols. The owl is the highest paying standard symbol, awarding 20x for landing six. You only need two owls to trigger a win, every other symbol requires at least three, however.
| Symbol | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owl | 1.00x | 2.00x | 4.00x | 10.00x | 20.00x |
| Cat | 1.00x | 2.00x | 2.50x | 3.75x | |
| Potion | 0.30x | 0.50x | 1.00x | 2.00x | |
| Candles | 0.30x | 0.50x | 0.80x | 1.50x | |
| Tarot | 0.20x | 0.40 | 0.50x | 1.25x | |
| Aces | 0.20x | 0.40 | 0.50x | 1.25x | |
| Kings | 0.20x | 0.40 | 0.50x | 1.00x | |
| Queens | 0.10x | 0.10 | 0.40x | 1.00x | |
| Tens | 0.10x | 0.20 | 0.40x | 1.00x |
Madame Destiny herself sometimes lands on the board. She acts as a wild symbol and doubles any win made with her skills.
Look out for the crystal ball scatters too. These are highly lucrative because they pay 5x, 10x, 20x, or 100x for landing 3, 4, 5, or 6. Land at least three scatters to start the free spins bonus round.
What Are The Bonuses and Features?
Most pokie lovers argue the Megaways engine is a feature in itself and we are not one to argue. The sheer number of win lines is a novel feature, as are the cascading wins that come with such a machine. Winning symbols disappear and new symbols take their place, making it possible to string several wins together.
Everything revolves around the free spins round when you play Madame Destiny Megaways. Triggering free spins opens two wheels that continually spins. They eventually stop and reveal the number of free spins awarded and a prize multiplier. The multiplier is fixed and not progressive like many other online pokies.
It is possible to purchase the free spins round for 100x your bet. This feature is only available in certain countries and jurisdictions, however. We tried this five times on the demo platform with mixed results. We won 25x, 45x, 50x, 105x, and 275x and broke even.
The Ante bet is another feature you rarely see. It costs 25% of your spin cost but promises to double your chances of triggering the free spins organically. What this means is anyone’s guess because there is nothing to show you the chances of hitting the free spins without it.
Conclusion
Madame Destiny is a strange choice when it comes to revamping pokies. The visuals are decent, as are the sounds, but we felt there was something missing throughout our play. Big wins are as rare as hen’s teeth and the odd 2x wild multiplier doesn’t keep you in the game. The 5,000x max payout is less than other Megaways machines, too.
It is the kind of poker machine you set to autoplay and hope to return to a decent win. There is nothing there to entertain, thrill, or wow you. We would play again, but only if it was part of a bonus from one of our online casino partners. Make of that what you will.
