Moriarty Megaways™ Review
A New Twist on the Classic Detective Theme from iSoftBet
What Is Moriarty Megaways™?
The Moriarty Megaways™ slot is the most recent addition to iSoftBet’s exciting games catalogue, having been launched on the 19th of May 2021 as part of the “Twisted Tale” series.
Unlike other game providers who have made the detective himself the main focus – most notably IGT in Sherlock Holmes: The Hunt For Blackwood – iSoftBet decided to flip the narrative and put the main focus on Professor Moriarty instead.
Thus the Moriarty Megaways™ slot came to be, showcasing Big Time Gaming’s popular Megaways™ mechanic. The title boasts tons of great features, bonus rounds and two modifiers in the base game: Watson’s Mystery Symbols and Sherlock’s Max Megaways™.
Find out all the reasons why you should put this game on your list in our Moriarty Megaways™ review!
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+ 300 Free Spins
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Moriarty Megaways™ Facts
- Return To Player: 95.98%
- Reels: 6
- Bets: £/$/€0.20 – £/$/€20
- Ways of winning: Up to 117,649
- Theme: Detectives, Mystery, Crime, Investigation
- Symbols: Wild, Scatter, Mystery Symbol
- Wild: Yes
- Scatter: Yes
- Free spins: Yes
- Bonus Games: Yes
- Devices: Desktop, tablet, smartphone
Moriarty Megaways™ Mobile Play
Because it is such a new launch, and being that iSoftBet understands the industry’s move towards mobile gambling, Moriarty Megaways™ was designed to play well on all devices.
The game’s elements shrink automatically to fit the size of your screen, from the menu to the symbols. It plays just as smoothly on Android or iOS phones on landscape mode or on tablets. All key elements, including the Megaways™ mechanic, remain intact, providing the same experience no matter how you choose to play.
Moriarty Megaways™ Top Features
The first aspect that caught our attention when trying out Moriarty Megaways™ is the atypical reel structure – the slot has 6 main reels, as well as a horizontal one stretching on top of the 2nd to 5th columns, along with 2-7 rows.
Because it’s a Megaways™ slot, the number of symbols on each reel changes randomly every round. It starts at 324 and, if you’re lucky, it can go up to a maximum of 117,649 in the base game and 352,947 in the free spins feature.
Cascading Wins
A hallmark of the best Megaways™ slots, this feature can also be found in Moriarty Megaways™.
If you can get consecutive matching symbols and form winning combinations with them, the Cascading Reels mechanic gets triggered. Winning symbols will get removed to be replaced with new ones that can trigger even more payouts. The mechanic will continue until there are no more winning combinations formed.
You will be awarded with a win for 2-6 matching symbols on adjacent reels, starting from left to right.
Free Spins
Free spins are triggered by at least 3 scatter symbols anywhere on the reels. You can unlock between 15-30 extra spins, like so:
- 3 scatter symbols – 15 bonus spins
- 4 scatter symbols – 20 bonus spins
- 5 scatter symbols – 25 bonus spins
- 6 scatter symbols – 30 bonus spins
The free spins round in this slot is incredibly lucrative, as both the cascading reels and the increasing multiplier remain active. In fact, the latter has no limit in value.
During the free spins feature, there are 3 sets of reels to pay attention to – the main one stays active by default, whereas the Holmes and Watson Reels need to be activated by finding at least 3 Holmes and Watson symbols, respectively.
Sherlock Max Megaways™
This is a randomly triggered feature that unlocks the slot’s maximum number of ways to win (117,649). The game has various modifiers that can come into play during any spin in the base game, expanding the reels to their maximum size. During the Sherlock Max Megaways™ feature, cascading wins and increasing multipliers are also active. The multiplier starts at 1x.
Watson Mystery Symbols
Mystery symbols are a staple of the best dark-themed detective video slots, and we’re happy to report you can find them here, too.
The Watson Mystery symbols feature does exactly what its name suggests – it adds mystery symbols randomly on the reel. As a result, you’re guaranteed at least a winning spin and an increasing multiplier.
Buy the Bonus Feature
Also called the “Moriarty Bet”, this feature essentially gives you a paid ticket to the free spins round.
If you pay 150x your total stake, at least 3 scatters will land on your next spin. Moreover, as opposed to other slots we’ve analysed on our website, the RTP score will increase, not decrease, from 95.98% to 96.46% if you buy the bonus. This is a nice touch from iSoftBet, and an incentive to allocate some of your budget in order to try this feature out.
At the time of writing, however, the bonus buy feature is not available in the UK.
Theme, Slot Design & User Experience
Moriarty Megaways™ showcases a few connecting themes within the same slot, such as crime & mystery, detective work, fiction and history. The latter is suggested by Baker Street in the background of the reels, depicted with a Victorian-era feel and the warm, but slightly faded colours that create a noir atmosphere, even during daylight.
The special symbols are crafted with visual excellence, from the grim outline of professor Moriarty himself, in tune with his role as the villain, to the secondary elements – his golden ring with a precious stone and the A to 9 royals.
The background is reminiscent of 19th century London down to the last detail, including the architecture of the buildings and the vintage street lights. Lastly, the haunting, eerie soundtrack further enhances the overall theme, nicely tying everything together.
Moriarty Megaways™ RTP, Volatility and Win Potential
Moriarty Megaways™ has an RTP of 95.98%, which can be considered medium to slightly above industry average. The level of volatility is high, so we advise you to tread with caution and be patient when waiting for that big payout to occur.
If you play at the maximum bet level, you can win as much as 10,000x or $200,000 your stake. However, if you also unlock the detective symbols (Watson and Holmes), you can win up to 42,553x your stake.
Moriarty Megaways™ Stakes and Betting Range
The betting range for this title is more on the lower end, starting at $0.20 and going up to a maximum of $20 per spin. Although it fits most players’ needs, this range might not be enough for high rollers.
The player objective is very simple and straightforward – you’ll need to land matching symbols on adjacent reels to create winning combinations, starting from reel 1. You can use the ”+” and ”-” options to adjust your bets at any time. The slot also has the popular ”Autospin” feature that you can use if you want to let the game run on its own, allowing you to trigger between 5-1000 automatic spins.
Paytable and Special Symbols
- Pocket watch – This is the wild symbol, and only appears on top of reels 2,3,4 and 5, substituting all the other symbols.
- Scatter – The scatter symbol has the phrase “free spins” written on a golden-framed icon. You need at least 3 of them to trigger the free spins feature.
- Sherlock and Dr. Watson – These symbols only make a surprise appearance during the free spins round.
- Moriarty – The main character of the slot is also the highest-paying symbol. Six Moriarty icons across the reels will award you with 25x your stake!
- Dr. Moriarty’s golden ring – Six golden rings will pay out at 5x your stake.
- Chess pieces (pawn and king) – Six pawn symbols pay 1.5x your stake, whereas 6 king chess pieces pay 1x-2x your stake.
- 10, J, Q, K and A Royals – These are the lowest-value symbols. Six of each pay between 0.4 – 0.8x your stake.
- Newspaper mystery – Only unlocked during the Watson Reels feature, this symbol depicts an old newspaper with the word “mystery” written on top.
Moriarty Megaways™ – Pros & Cons
Should you or should you not take a trip down Baker Street in Moriarty Megaways™? Here’s our answer summed up below using this title’s biggest pros and cons:
Pros
- Original take on the Sherlock Holmes story
- Plenty of special symbols
- Character-driven bonus features (e.g. Watson Reels, Sherlock Max)
- Cascading wins
- Solid graphics & visuals
- Fitting soundtrack
Cons
- Average RTP
- High level of volatility makes big wins harder to come by
Moriarty Megaways™ Slot Verdict
Moriarty Megaways™ slot is a unique spin on the murder mystery/detective genre. It draws inspiration from both Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels and the TV adaptation of the iconic investigator’s adventures, “Sherlock”.
Although this slot also features Sherlock Holmes himself and his trusted associate, Doctor Watson, the focus remains on the titular antagonist they are trying to defeat. Turned star of the show in Moriarty Megaways™, he rewards players with an authentic and highly profitable journey!
Other Popular iSoftBet Megaways™ Slots
If you’ve enjoyed Moriarty Megaways™ and are looking for something similar to play, we strongly recommend other iSoftBet gems from their ”Twisted Tale” series, such as Queen of Wonderland Megaways™.
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FAQs
Moriarty Megaways™ has an RTP of 95.98% and a hit frequency of 34.3%, meaning that at least a third of your overall spins have the potential to be winning spins.
The Moriarty Megaways™ demo version is available across all devices on iSoftBet’s website. You can also try it for free at top licensed casinos in the UK and the EU, including William Hill, Casino Joy and Wildz.
The maximum possible win is 10,000x your stake or $/£/€200,000 at the highest bet level. It gets better – if you unlock the detective symbols (Professor Watson and Sherlock Holmes), you’re looking at a whopping potential win of 42,553x your stake!
Yes, it does. You’ll need to shell out 150x your total stake to pay for the bonus. If you do, you also get a higher RTP of 96.46%. However, this feature is not yet available to UK players.
