Rumble Ratz Megaways

Rumble Ratz Megaways: Slot Overview

While software provider Kalamba Games was quick to the Megaways licensing party, the studio certainly hasn't gone hog wild with it. Quite the opposite, really, and since Machina Megaways was released, we haven't heard many peeps. That is until now, as Kalamba has dusted off BTG's engine for use in an online slot called Rumble Ratz Megaways. One thing Kalamba Games often does is make online slots which deviate from the norm. Rumble Ratz Megaways is one of these, which shuns the usual features adorning a typical Megaways game, instead offering devices like K-Cash collections and free spins with a K-Cash progressive multiplier.

K-Cash symbols appear in the form of cheese, and Rumble Ratz Megaways is a game based around rodents in the Middle Ages. Interestingly, rats apparently prefer a number of foods over cheese, with research revealing peanut butter to be their favourite. The cheese story is said to have originated in the Middle Ages when cheese was one of the few food types that could be stored outside of jars back then. When rats broke into storage spaces, they naturally went for the food left out in the open, which tended to be meat and cheese. Apparently, they don't actually like the smell; go figure.

Rumble Ratz Megaways is set in an olde kitchen full of hanging pans, glowing heat sources, barrels, pumpkins, and a curious cat poking its head around a six-reel game panel. It has a warm, candle-lit look, and a magically minded soundtrack, with further sound effects that integrate with the reels. Piles of K-Cash cheese line the top of the game grid and the scene is set to try and get some paws on them.

A highly volatile game, Rumble Ratz Megaways has a theoretical return value of 96.21%, which can increase when buying certain HyperBounses. Each of the 6 reels on the grid holds 4-6 symbols, providing anything from 4,096 to 46,656 ways to win. Regular wins are awarded when matching symbols land on adjacent reels, starting from the left-hand side. Any device can be used to play Rumble Ratz Megaways, which takes bets of 25 p/c to $/€37.50 per spin.

Onto the paytable, where low pays are card royals 9 to A and high pays are five cute rat character symbols. Landing six-of-a-kind wins are worth payouts of 2 to 2.6x the bet when made up of the low pays, or 3-5x the bet for six premiums. Helping link wins together is a cheesy-looking wild symbol, which substitutes any regular pay symbol. Wilds appear on reels 2-5 in the base game and reels 2-6 in free spins.

Rumble Ratz Megaways: Slot Features

In your regular Megaways game, the number of symbols on each reel randomly changes on each spin. Rumble Ratz Megaways isn't quite like that. Instead, at the start of a session or when changing bet sizes, positions on each reel are covered by blocker tiles that have no value – keeping in mind there will always be at least 4,096 ways to win. When K-Cash symbols land, they add their value to the specific K-Cash meter located above them, and there is a chance one blocked position on the reel is unlocked. When a reel is 6 symbols high and a K-Cash reset symbol lands, the cash is awarded, and the reel resets to four positions.

Free Spins

Landing 3, 4, 5, or 6 scatter symbols awards 2.5x, 6.25x, 12.5x, or 18.75x the bet, plus 3 free spins. For free spins, the reels are set to 4 positions high, and multiples of the bet are placed in each K-Cash meter. When K-Cash symbols land, their values are added to the respective meter, and if the reel is less than 6 symbols high, they remove one blocker. Each time a blocker is removed, free spins are reset to 3. Also, when a reel reaches 6 symbols high, it progresses the win multiplier. At the end of free spins, the K-Cash meters are added, and the multiplier is applied to the total.

HyperBonus

Players can choose from three HyperBonus options, where possible. Paying 60x, 100.4x, or 140.6x the bet buys you three free spins with K-Cash multipliers up to x4, x7, or x10, respectively.

Rumble Ratz Megaways: Slot Verdict

Well, it's hard to accuse Kalamba of being Megaways band waggoners, and like Machina, Rumble Ratz Megaways avoids any Bonanza-clone accusations. It's actually quite unique for a Megaways slot in just about every regard. It doesn't have varying symbols and ways on each spin, there's no reaction feature, and while there is a progressive multiplier, it is not tied to cascades or ways wins in any way. In fact, if Kalamba had left off the word 'Megaways' from the title, Rumble Ratz Megaways could easily pass for a slot unassociated with the popular game engine.

So Rumble Ratz Megaways is unique, is it any good? In the right hands, players may enjoy the cute Mediaeval atmosphere, avoiding cats, piling on cheese to increase K-Cash meters and opening up the game grid. It did feel quite restrictive, though, for want of a better word. K-Cash values tend to be low, as are symbol values, making it hard to gain major traction and build something remarkable. Even in free spins, when a multiplier is added to the mix, the results were rarely impressive. While the max win might be respectable enough at around 5,000x the bet, it's hard to see Rumble Ratz Megaways firing off enough cheese to get there. Not saying it's impossible, but inbuilt inhibitors like blocker tiles and free spin/multiplier limits would suggest doing so would be tough.

Perhaps if Ratatouille on the reels appeals, then it might be possible to get a few smiles out of Rumble Ratz Megaways. It does go about business in its own way, so good on Kalamba for being different and not following the Megaways herd. However, Rumble Ratz Megaways' rebellious spirit did seem like it was being held in check. So instead of feeling like the game could break loose and soar at any moment, it came off as restrained, a little boxed in, a bit like the caged cat during the free spins bonus round.