Bandit Megaways™ Game Review (New Slot Demo)
Introduction to Bandit Megaways™🎰
Just spent a good chunk of my day checking out Pragmatic Play's newest Wild West slot, Bandit Megaways™, and lemme tell ya – it's basically Gates of Olympus with cowboys🤠 and Megaways! Not that I'm complaining… I've dropped enough cash into Gates to nearly fund a Porsche (don't tell the wife, lol).
Released on April 3rd, 2025, this dusty frontier-themed game brings the Megaways™ mechanic to the saloon, with those classic wooden buildings and tumbleweeds you'd expect from any half-decent Western slot. The main character is this brooding, mysterious bandit fella who looks like he'd steal your wallet AND your girlfriend without breaking a sweat.
First impression? Nothing groundbreaking in the looks department – if you've played ANY Western slot in the last few years, you'll recognize the dusty town vibes and wooden buildings. But honestly, I wasn't here for the pretty pictures – I wanted to see if those multipliers could hit as hard as they do in Gates of Olympus!
You can now play the free slot by simply clicking the demo game here on this page.
SPECIFICATIONS
Release Date
- 3 April, 2025
Game Type
- Video Slot
Minimum Total Bet
- 0.20
Maximum Total Bet
- $/£/€ 240
Rows
- 6
Reels
- 7
Lines
- Megaways 117,649
Bet Multiplier
- 20
Max Multiplier Win
- 5000x bet
RTPs
- 96.55, 95.55%, 94.56%
Hit Frequency
- Base game hit frequency 1 in 3.88 spins
Volatility
- High
Screenshot 1
🎮Gameplay and Special Features of Bandit Megaways™
The setup is your standard Megaways™ affair – 6 reels that can show anywhere from 2 to 7 symbols each, plus that extra horizontal reel across the top that covers reels 2-5. At max capacity, you're looking at a whopping 117,649 ways to win! The symbols drop in from above rather than spin, and when you hit a winning combo, those symbols disappear and new ones tumble down to replace em – potentially creating chain reactions of wins.
The pay symbols include your usual suspects – the lower-value 10-A card royals that nobody gets excited about, and six different character symbols that pay considerably better. The highest-paying character (looks like the main bandit dude) will get you 7.5x your bet for a six-of-a-kind combo. Not exactly life-changing, but those multipliers can beef things up real quick.
Speaking of multipliers so this is where the game actually gets interesting! During any spin or tumble sequence, special multiplier symbols with values ranging from x2 all the way up to x500 can land on the reels. They stick around until the tumbles end, and then ALL multiplier values get added together and applied to your total win for that sequence.
So picture this: You hit a modest win worth maybe 5x your bet, but then three multiplier symbols land with values of x5, x10, and x25. That's a combined multiplier of x40, turning your measly 5x win into a much more respectable 200x! This happened to me during my testing session I actually also hit the 500x multipliers as you can see on above screenshot.
One weird thing I noticed is there are no wild symbols in this game. That threw me off at first since most Megaways™ slots are crawling with wilds, but the multipliers more than make up for it.
Free Spins and Bonus Features
- The real money maker here is the free spins round, which you trigger by landing 4 or more scatter symbols anywhere on the reels. You'll get:
4 scatters = 15 free spins
– 5 scatters = 20 free spins
– 6 scatters = 25 free spins
I managed to trigger it with 4 scatters after about 150 spins or so – pretty much bang on the Pragmatic Play stated frequency of 1 in 426.21 spins if you average it out with retriggers.
Once you're in the bonus round, the action moves inside the saloon (nice little visual change), and the multiplier mechanic gets a serious upgrade. Instead of just applying to the current tumble sequence, any multiplier value that lands during a winning spin gets added to a GLOBAL MULTIPLIER that sticks around for the entire bonus! This is exactly how Gates of Olympus works, and it's what gives the game its massive potential.
For example, on my bonus round, I started with a few small wins, but by spin 6, I'd collected multipliers of x2, x5, and x3, giving me a persistent x10 multiplier. Then a bigger win hit worth about 20x, which got pumped up to 200x thanks to that global multiplier. By the end of my bonus, I'd built up to a x40 multiplier and walked away with a 880x total win. Not too shabby!
The bonus can retrigger too – landing 3 to 6 more scatters during free spins awards an extra 15 to 30 free spins. I didn't manage to retrigger during my testing session, but came tantalizingly close with 2 scatters on one spin.
If you're the impatient type (guilty as charged), you can buy your way into the bonus round with two different options:
– Regular Bonus Buy: 100x your bet
– Enhanced Bonus Buy: 500x your bet, which guarantees all multiplier symbols will be at least x10 ( I got the 500x in one of my buy bonus games)
I splurged on the regular bonus buy once during my session, which sadly only returned about 60x my bet. Ya win some, ya lose some!
What Other Websites Say About Bandit Megaways™
No available yet
Useful Information About Bandit Megaways™
One thing worth noting – that 5,000x max win semes low for a Megaways™ slot. Most games with this engine offer potential in the 10,000x-50,000x range, so Pragmatic is definitely capping things here. That said, hitting 5,000x is still a great result, and the game states the probability of hitting max win is 1 in 992,851 spins, so… don't hold your breath!
During my session (about 500 spins total), my best base game hit was around 120x, and my best bonus round hit was 860x. I'd say the sweet spot for betting is probably around $1-2 per spin if you can afford it, which would make those multiplier hits feel worthwhile without breaking the bank.
My Thoughts About This Demo Game™ 🎯
After putting Bandit Megaways™ through its paces, I've got mixed feelings. On one hand, it's basically a reskinned Gates of Olympus with a Megaways™ engine instead of the 5×6 grid and scatter pays. The multiplier mechanics are practically identical, just in a cowboy hat.
On the other hand… Gates of Olympus is crazy popular for a reason – it's a damn fun game with massive potential! So taking that winning formula and giving it the Megaways™ treatment isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Would I play it again? Absolutely. Despite being basically “Gates of the Wild West,” it's still a solid slot with enough potential to keep things interesting. I doubt it'll reach the legendary status of Gates of Olympus, but if you enjoy high volatility Megaways™ games with multiplier mechanics, you'll probably have a good time with this one.
⭐Final verdict: 8.9/10 – It loses points for originality but gains them back with solid gameplay and win potential. Not Pragmatic's most innovative release, but definitely not their worst either! Just be prepared for some serious ups and downs with this bandit – he can be generous one minute and rob you blind the next!
