Apollo Pays slot review
Apollo Pays is an Ancient Greece-themed Megaways slot by Big Time Gaming, a well-known provider within the Evolution Group. BTG released it in February 2022, and what sets it apart is its relatively high RTP of 96.56% and the Win Exchange feature that lets you trade your winnings for free spins. The game features wilds and scatters, a free spin round with multipliers, and respins. In essence, you get a simple yet well-rounded experience.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Read my detailed Apollo Pays review to learn the ins and outs of this game.
Highlights
RTP 96.56%
Volatility High
Stakes range 100
Max win 116030X
Number of reels 6
Number of paylines 117-
Jackpots Yes -
Slot type Video Slots -
Slot theme Mythology -
Software provider Big Time Gaming -
Launch date 23/02/2022
79/ 100
78% Playscore based on 4 critics
Apollo Pays slot review summary
This BTG release features a severely overused Ancient Greek theme and primarily relies on mechanics we’ve seen before. This would make many other slots boring; however, Apollo Pays manages to pull it off.
The RTP is high enough, and the respins add excitement to your wins. The Win Exchange feature amps up the fun, and on top of that, there’s a free spin round with multipliers that increase with each triggered respin.
Pros
Relatively high RTP of 96.56%
Max win of 116,030x
Rewarding free spins with multipliers
Cons
Regular payouts on the low side
Very narrow betting range
Unoriginal and overused theme
Apollo Pays comprehensive review
Now that we’ve covered the gist of the game, it’s time to dig deeper into each aspect, feature, and mechanic of Apollo Pays to see if this slot is worth your time and money.
RTP and volatility
Apollo Pays is a Megaways slot. As such, it lacks regular paylines and features up to 117,649 ways to win. The RTP is 96.56% and the volatility is high.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| RTP | 96.56% |
| Maximum win | 116,030x |
| Number of paylines | Up to 117,649 ways to win |
| Volatility | High |
With the industry’s average slot RTP being 96%, Apollo Pays comes in a bit higher, giving you a better chance at landing wins. Due to its high volatility, though, these wins don’t come that often, but when they do, they should be substantial.
I have to say that it didn’t feel that way to me, as the volatility seemed all over the place whenever I played. I had dry runs with as many as 10 to 15 spins, and I also had consecutive wins occur multiple times, with both very low and higher payouts. So, I’d advise you to start with lower bets until you get a feeling of how rewarding the game can actually be.
Apollo Pays is also a Megaways slot, so it lacks standard paylines but can offer up to 117,649 ways to win, depending on how many rows per reel are unlocked in a spin. If you’re curious about this, the current number of ways to win is always displayed above the grid.
Alexandra Manea
Bonus features
Apollo Pays shares several features with other BTG slots, including wilds, respins, a free spins round with multipliers, Bonus Buy, and Win Exchange.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Bonus features | Wilds, respins, free spins, multipliers, Bonus Buy |
| Top features | Win Exchange |
| Jackpot | N/A |
Wilds
The wilds in Apollo Pays don’t pay out. They just substitute for all other symbols, except scatters. They are also easy to spot, as they have WILD splattered across the bottom of the picture of the titular Apollo, the god of music and the sun.
Respins
Respins are triggered every time you win something, in both the base game and the free spins round. When you land one, the winning symbols are kept in place, and the remaining ones are respun, giving you the chance to land a better and more rewarding combination.
They get retriggered for as long as you keep winning two or more of the symbols that can connect to your existing combination. If only one appears, a respin won’t be triggered, but you’ll still get the win.
Also, if you land a scatter during this round, it will stay in place until you’ve run out of respins. This will give you the chance to trigger the free spins round as well while the respins are active.
Free spins with multipliers
When you land 3 scatter symbols, you will receive 10 free spins. However, 2 additional ones are awarded for each extra scatter: if you land 4, you’ll get 12 free spins; by landing 5, you’ll receive 14, and so on.
This round works much like the base game, but with added multipliers that are technically unlimited. The multiplier count increases by 1 every time you trigger a respin. However, keep in mind that it applies only to the win at the end of that particular spin.
You can also activate the free spin round through the Bonus Buy option. This will cost you 100x your stake for 10 free spins.
Win Exchange
Win Exchange is BTG’s signature mechanic featured in over 20 of its games, including Apollo Pays. It lets you trade your winnings for a chance to earn free spins instead. There are two ways to do this, and they depend on how many times your stake you’ve won in a spin:
- If you’ve scored 25x to 100x your stake, you can gamble your winnings for a chance to win 10 free spins.
- If you’ve won 100x your stake or more, you can exchange the winnings for 10 free spins outright.
The respins are likely the feature you’ll watch out for the most. Since they trigger every time you make a winning combo, there’s always the potential to boost your payout. The only downside is that they retrigger as long as you land at least two more symbols that fit into the winning combination, which can be a tall order. As a result, streaks can fizzle out quickly.
The free spin round might look rewarding on paper, but that’s not always the case. I once purchased it for $20 at the minimum bet of $0.20 and ended up winning only $8.42, even though the multiplier reached 10x. I watched more than half the grid fill up on several spins, which made me think I might win a lot, but I never did.
However, the next time I got the free spins on my own on the same bet setting, I won $28.20. This is certainly a lot from a single stake of only $0.20 (141x the bet, to be exact). So yeah, it can be a mixed bag, but the potential is clear.
Regardless of all this, I like that the multipliers can increase substantially during the free spins round, as it keeps things exciting, especially if you manage to pull this off early on.
The Win Exchange is definitely a nice addition. It’s more interesting than the standard Gamble feature since it rewards free spins rather than just doubling the money, but it’s relatively rare, so don’t expect to see it often.
Alexandra Manea
Symbols and paytable
You might think that the symbols in a slot titled Apollo Pays revolve around Apollo and other Ancient Greek gods, but that’s actually not the case. Only the wild features the image of Apollo, and the scatter is a harp. The lower-paying symbols are standard letters and numbers, of which there are 6, while the 4 higher-paying ones are precious stones of different colors.
However, the good thing is that this makes them easy to separate. You’ll primarily be focusing on the special symbols for their bonus features and the gems for somewhat higher payouts they yield.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Theme | Ancient Greece |
| Reel layout | 6 reels, 2–7 rows |
| Highest paying symbol | Purple gem |
| Adjustable paylines | N/A |
| Visuals | Standard for an Ancient Greece-themed slot |
| Sound | Calming melodies and strong sound effects |
| Mobile quality | Very good |
Wins get progressively bigger, so the difference between lower and higher paying symbols is not too significant, which is something you’d expect from a Megaways slot. All symbols start paying when you land at least 3 on consecutive reels, always starting from reel 1. The only exception is the highest-paying symbol, the purple gem, which starts rewarding when you land 2 of them.
Payouts are multiplied by the stake, but you get awarded for all the ways the symbols can connect on the grid. Let’s say 1 symbol appears multiple times on the grid; that will create a greater number of winning combinations for that symbol.
Even though the max win is worth 116,030x the stake, the payouts are typically low. The max bet is only $20, which is modest but standard for a Megaways slot.
Symbols themselves tend to pay very little. The highest win comes from the purple gem, and it’s 5x your stake when you land 6 of them: so, $100, at most. However, with the Megaways system and the number of ways to win, the amount you land also depends on how many symbols have appeared on the reels.
This leads to lots of possibilities, but since this is a highly volatile game, it’s incredibly hard to hit the big wins, at least in my experience. And even though that’s expected in this type of slot, it seems to me that the payouts I hit rarely exceeded 5% of the theoretical max win. That’s definitely my biggest pet peeve about Apollo Pays.
Alexandra Manea
How to play Apollo Pays
Much like many other slots, playing Apollo Pays is straightforward. The bet range is $0.20 to $20, with several amounts to choose from.
Once you pick the bet, you can start spinning the reels either manually or through the Autoplay function. Autoplay lets you set the number of spins, a loss limit, and a single win limit.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Min bet | $0.20 |
| Max bet | $20 |
| Autoplay | Available |
| Turbo mode | N/A |
| Game history | N/A |
There are only a handful of buttons in the game, and they are all neatly organized to the right of the grid. The spin button is at the bottom, followed by Autoplay and the one that opens the game’s menu, where you can find the paytable and help section. Above these, you’ll find the buttons for adjusting the stake, and at the very top is the button for purchasing the free spin mode.
Casinos where to play the Apollo Pays slot
BTG games are traditionally popular, so you’re likely to find Apollo Pays in many casinos, as long as they host titles by this provider. To save you the hassle of choosing the right site, I’ve prepared a list of online casinos I recommend, all of which let you play this slot:
| Casino Logo | Rating | Bonus | Go-to-casino button | Show more | T&C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
88/100
Expert rating
by Paul P.
96%
Playscore
based on
|
250,000 Gold Coins + $25 Stake Cash
|
Play now |
|
|
2
|
94/100
Expert rating
by Paul P.
91%
Playscore
based on
|
1.5 million WOW Coins + 35 free Sweepstakes Coins
|
Play now |
|
|
3
|
94/100
Expert rating
by Sophie P.
85%
Playscore
based on
|
50,000 Gold Coins + 1 Sweepstakes Coin
|
Play now |
|
Expert verdict
Apollo Pays is an engaging slot with lots of potential, thanks to its Megaways mechanic and a high max win of 116,030x. It also boasts an above-average RTP of 96.56% and the popular respin feature. However, it suffers from a very narrow betting range and a lack of originality, particularly in terms of theme and visuals, which feel very familiar.
It’s best suited for patient players who appreciate high-volatility games. Casual gamers looking for a steady, consistently rewarding experience that only low-volatility slots can provide should look elsewhere.
FAQs
What is the RTP of Apollo Pays?
The RTP of Apollo Pays is 96.56%, which is somewhat higher than the industry’s average of 96%. Mind you, there are slight variations to this RTP, so the figure might not be the same at the casino you’re playing in.
What’s the maximum I can win in Apollo Pays?
The maximum you can land is 116,030x your stake. You can win this much only in the free spins round, thanks to the unlimited win multiplier.
Can I buy the bonus round in Apollo Pays?
Yes, Apollo Pays features the standard buy bonus mechanic that lets you purchase the free spins round with 10 spins for 100x your stake.
How volatile is Apollo Pays?
Apollo Pays is a highly volatile slot. This means it rewards infrequently, but the wins tend to be larger.
Does the multiplier reset in Apollo Pays’ free spins round?
No, the multiplier doesn’t reset. Every time you trigger a respin, the multiplier is increased by 1. It keeps rising on every respin for as long as the round lasts. However, it doesn’t multiply all your winnings at the end of the bonus round, as it applies to the current win only.
