Medusa's Madness

Medusa's Madness Review

With Medusa’s Madness, developer Play’n Go expands its collection of Cluster Pays slots. The studio has forayed into the genre quite a few times over the years, delivering some of its most popular titles with this mechanic, including Reactoonz and Tome of Madness. The latter, as the name might suggest, serves as the main inspiration behind Medusa’s Madness.

And when I say inspiration, I mean, well… we basically got Tome of Madness in a new Greek mythology wrapping. That’s what's up. A straight-up reskin, featuring the exact same gameplay and math. Still, let’s take a closer look…

Medusa's Madness Slot - Base Game

At its core, the Medusa’s Madness slot machine plays out on a 5x5 grid, using the familiar system where at least four matching symbols form a winning combination. Bets range from €0.10 to €100 per spin, catering to both casual players and high rollers. The volatility is in the medium range, and five different RTP values are available, from 84.5% to 96.59%. 

Medusa's Madness Features

Helping you to achieve wins are Wild symbols. There are a bunch, though, the one that is able to appear naturally and not only through the features is the Multiplier Wild symbol. What it does is doubles the payouts of combinations it takes part in.

Each win you achieve triggers a cascade. Participating symbols are removed from the grid and then new ones are added from above to fill the gaps. The process goes on as long as you keep hitting new winning combinations.

The cascading mechanic is strongly linked to other features in the Medusa's Madness online slot gameplay. These are covered in detail further below:

Eye Marks

On each spin, a random position on the grid is highlighted with a special mark. If a winning combination is achieved on that position, the Eye Mark unclocks and adds two Special Wilds to the reels after the cascading sequence finishes.

Stone Gateway

Medusa's Madness Slot - Petrify Modifier

Each win charges the special meter, called Stone Gateway. Winning symbols are collected and each fills up the trail by one point. When a certain number is achieved, a feature is unleashed.

• 7 symbols collected – adds 2 Special Wilds to the reels.
• 14 symbols collected – adds 2 Special Wilds to the reels. Winning with one of them triggers the Petrify modifier, which removes an entire row or a column.
• 27 symbols collected – adds 2 Special Wilds to the reels. Winning with one of them triggers the Gaze modifier, which removes all instances of a randomly selected symbol from the reels.
• 42 symbols collected – triggers the Other World Free Round.

Other World Free Round

As alluded to above, achieving 42 steps on the meter activates the bonus round. It’s a single free spin that comes with 3 Stone Gateway effects, triggered one by one at the end of the cascading sequence. However, for every 3 additional symbols collected to the meter, an extra Stone Gateway effect is awarded, up to 7.

During the Medusa's Madness free spin, there are 11 to 12 Eye Marks on the grid. If you manage to open all of them, a Mega Wild will appear, an enlarged symbol of 2x2 in size. On every cascade, it nudges down by one position.

Theme & Graphics

As expected from Play’n Go, Medusa’s Madness is a visual treat. The game has gorgeous, polished graphics with a detailed ancient Greek backdrop and equally sharp symbols. It’s a well-crafted game, exactly what you’d expect from a studio of such caliber.

Pros And Cons Of Medusa's Madness Slot

Our Verdict

Yeah, Play’n Go rarely misses when it comes to design, and Medusa’s Madness is no exception – visually, it’s a stunner. But once we get past the polished exterior, the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired. Cluster Pays and cascading wins are always fun, but the rest of the features? Weird, to say the least. Take Reactoonz, for example – it follows a similar formula but is loaded with bonuses and modifiers that actually do something interesting. Here, we get two modifiers, and all they do is remove symbols. Why? What’s the point?

Then there’s the free spins. Or rather, the free spin – singular. One spin. That’s it. In true Play’n Go fashion, there’s no bonus buy, and triggering the bonus round is a grind that can take hundreds of spins. And when you finally get there, you’re rewarded with… one spin. Sure, there’s potential – if you manage to activate all the Eye Marks and load up the meter with additional symbols for extra modifiers, of course, – but even then, the win cap is 2,000x. Hardly worth the wait.

And let’s not ignore the fact it’s a straight-up reskin. No new mechanics, no nothing, just ol’ Tome of Madness in a different outfit. Nice graphics, sure, but everything else? A complete letdown.