Zeus II is a video slot centred around the main man of Olympus, and the head of the Greek pantheon! Placed in the unenviable position to follow up on the original Zeus, this sequel had many eyes on it. For the longest time, it remained exclusive as a physical machine until very recently.

WMS has decided it is finally time for number two to join one and three online. Today, we will take a look and see if this game lives up to its predecessor.

Introduction, including RTP and variance

This WMS release is played on a 5×4 board with 50 fixed paylines. Wins are paid if you collect three or more identical symbols in consecutive positions, from left to right only. Furthermore, they have to follow one of the active paylines; otherwise, the win does not count.

The theoretical payout (RTP) for this Zeus II is 96.77%, which is above the current industry average. With its medium variance, the slot does a careful balancing act. It appears to both casual players and high rollers, tempting both with the promise of a fun time. And just maybe a nice jackpot or two for the luckiest few!

Gameplay and Pay Table

When we first opened the paytable, we were unpleasantly surprised. A glance through the icons will make something incredibly obvious – the fact most symbols don’t go above 150 coins. There are eleven paying icons, and eight of them do not go above 150 coins for a five-of-a-kind win. This is such a bafflingly bad decision; we do not know what to say.

Zeus holding a lightning bolt is a Scatter, while a beautiful Greek temple is a Wild. Neither of these symbols has a cash value attached to them.

Bonus Features

Collect three Scatters in the first, second, and third reel to win ten free spins. During this bonus, more Zeus and Wild icons will appear on the playing field. You can retrigger the bonus feature by collecting three more Scatters, which nets you ten more extra turns. During our testing sessions, it seemed quite prone to retrigger often. Not that it ever paid a decent sum.

If a fully stacked Zeus appears on the first reel, the Hot Hot Super Re-spin bonus is activated. We will overlook the bizarre special feature name and how it does not suit a game about a Greek god. Reel one is held in place, and any Zeus or Wild icons are locked in place. All other positions are re-spun two more times.

CasinoWizard’s verdict: 2 out 5 stars

For the longest time, we heard from friends that this slot was the red-headed stepchild of the series. And after playing it for ourselves, we can certainly see why. The bonuses are not bad. They fire often and can be quite engaging under the right circumstances. The re-spins often came close to landing a full-screen win with only Zeus and Wild symbols.

And free spins, with so many retriggers, are a godsend to keeping your balance in the green. Its god-awful paytable sabotages Zeus II. There is no good reason for the most valuable icon to reward 3.75x your total stake for a five-of-a-kind win.

We were quite impressed since the developers polished it a little bit before re-releasing it. The game has cool animations, and the lightning effect looks quite cool. It holds out quite well against some modern releases, and that’s saying something!

Zeus II offers an above-average RTP. Its medium volatility makes it attractive for many types of gamblers to enjoy what it has to offer. But the paytable continues to be the biggest stumbling block for this WMS release. When the largest win you can muster is only 187x your total wager, there’s nothing more to say.

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