Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 Free Play in Demo Mode by Pragmatic Play

Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 review

Theme and Style

Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 blends Christian and ancient Greek mythology into the bizarre image of Zeus, clad in a Santa hat and cape, hovering before a snow-covered Greek ruin.

The combination may not make much sense, but it does bring a seasonal twist to one of the more popular slot settings.

Zeus may be dressed like a jolly old elf, but his eyes glow in fury and he wields his thunderbolts with a lot more threat than a mere Christmas light.

Graphics, Sounds and Animations

Despite its goofy premise, Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 takes itself seriously. The graphics are pretty good with a detailed and realistic set of artworks both filling in the background and appearing on the reels.

The animations on the reel are pretty simple, but the background is given some life by moving snowflakes falling and the animations of levitating Zeus beside the reels.

While the art is solid, the soundtrack is great. It has a powerful movie-like score combined with both church bells and jingle bells. It is a fitting soundscape for the bizarre world the team at Pragmatic Play has built.

Gameplay

Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 has a big play space with six reels of five rows each. Unusually, all the main symbols function as scatters. Wins are generated simply by landing eight or more symbols (or four or more in the case of the Bonus symbol).

Pay rates increase for ten and twelve symbols i.e. nine symbols pays out the same as eight, and eleven pay out the same as ten, and so on.

A cascade is triggered whenever the player hits a winning combination. This feature removes the winning symbols and a new set of symbols falls from above to fill the blank spaces. New wins are calculated (and new cascades triggered if there is a win) before the game moves on to the next spin.

The maximum win on any given round is capped at 15,000x of the player’s bet. This high number reflects the game’s high volatility.

Wilds, Bonuses and Free Spins

Because of its unusual system for calculating wins, the Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 slot does not use a Wild symbol.

It does have a Bonus symbol (with Zeus’s face and Santa’s hat on it) which triggers a Free Spin Bonus whenever the player lands four or more Bonus symbols on one spin.

The player starts the Free Spin Bonus with 15 free spins.

During the Free Spin Bonus, multiplier symbols can land and the multiplier is applied to any wins on that spin.

The player can earn an extra five spins by landing three or more Bonus symbols anywhere on the reels. This extends the bonus game and gives the player more chances to increase their winnings.

Bet Sizes, RTP and Variance

The return to player (RTP) of Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 is 96.50%, which is a good RTP that is a little above our yardstick for an average of roughly 96%.

The slot site we tested Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 on had a range of bets that started at $/£/€0.20 per spin and hit the maximum at $/£/€240 per spin. That’s a good spread that covers most bankroll sizes.

Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 is a very high volatility slot, resulting in bigger wins, less often on average. The high volatility also makes it a good match for our preferred slot machine strategies. Our slot strategies target the highest possible volatility.

Conclusion

Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 is a shockingly good game for something with such a goofy premise.

The gameplay is fun, slick, and easy to grasp. The graphics are excellent with the top-notch music.

The maths is good too with a decent RTP coupled up with high volatility.

Overall, we can strongly recommend this slot.