Midas Treasure

Midas Treasure (Kalamba Games): Overview

Kalamba Games is a developer that never really hit our radar until the studio launched its first, and so far only, Megaways slot - Machina Megaways. Whilst Machina did offer some originality, the mathematical design seemed a bit off, in particular the bonus buy feature which raised a few eyebrows by asking for 337 times your stake in return for an 18 spins bonus round. The releases that have followed since then have not been interesting enough to cover here, although we did make an exception by reviewing Hong Bao, a rather chaotic game that only managed to score a paltry 49%.

Waiting for Kalamba to release a second Megaways slot, we decided to give them another try. The name of the game this time is Midas Treasure, a 5 reel, 4 row slot with a total of 40 fixed paylines (ugh, you guys probably know how much we dislike this setup). Those of you who are familiar with Kalamba's creations will instantly recognise some of the recycled features here. For example, the Hyper Bet selector is still around, as is the Hyperbonus selector. If you're unsure of what we're talking about, don't worry we'll get to it.

Based on the greek legend of King Midas, you'll find yourself in a mountainous region with the reels set inside an ancient temple. The theme is as ancient in the world of slots as King Midas himself, and one that has been used countless of times before, most recently in Thunderkick's Midas Golden Touch. Either way, the artwork is undoubtedly well crafted and of excellent quality. Symbols on the reels include rather generic looking lower value 9 to A royals as well as more rewarding oak twigs, apples, harps and cups. The latter is the most lucrative giving you 6.25 times your stake for 5 of a kind. There are also two different wild symbols to benefit from - the regular wild and a multiplier wild which only appears on reels 2 and 4 — more on that further below.

Midas Treasure (Kalamba Games): Features

First thing that has to be mentioned is the Hyperbet Selector feature standing to the left of the reel set. On it, you'll see 4 different options that will allow you to play the game according to your wishes. These are the game settings on offer:

• Bet Level 1: MULTIPLIER WILD value is 1X, and each FREE SPINS BONUS begins with 6 initial spins (93.62%-94.09% RTP).
• Bet Level 2: MULTIPLIER WILD value is 2X, and each FREE SPINS BONUS begins with 8 initial spins (94.50%-94.97% RTP).
• Bet Level 3: MULTIPLIER WILD value is 3X, and each FREE SPINS BONUS begins with 9 initial spins (96.37%-96.84% RTP).
• Bet Level 4: MULTIPLIER WILD value is at 5X, and each FREE SPINS BONUS begins with 10 initial spins (96.48%-96.95% RTP).

As you can see, not only will the value of the Multiplier Wild increase with the bet level, but so will the free spins and even the RTP.

Look out for the King Midas throne scatter. When 3 of these appear, the game initiates the Free Spins bonus. The number of initial free spins depends on the selected Hyperbet as described previously. During the free spins, your aim is to collect accumulation symbols to transform regular symbols into wild symbols and win extra free spins, according to the list below:

• After 3 FREE SPINS ACCUMULATION symbols have been collected, 2 extra spins are awarded and CUP is an EXTRA WILD beginning from the next spin and for all remaining FREE SPINS.
• After 6 FREE SPINS ACCUMULATION symbols have been collected, 2 extra spins are awarded and HARP is an EXTRA WILD beginning from the next spin and for all remaining FREE SPINS.
• After 9 FREE SPINS ACCUMULATION symbols have been collected, 2 extra spins are awarded and APPLE is an EXTRA WILD beginning from the next spin and for all remaining FREE SPINS.
• After 12 FREE SPINS ACCUMULATION symbols have been collected, 2 extra spins are awarded and OAK TWIG is an EXTRA WILD beginning from the next spin and for all remaining FREE SPINS.
• For every 3 FREE SPINS ACCUMULATION symbols collected thereafter, 2 extra spins are awarded.

This means that, if you manage to turn all symbols wild you could potentially land a full-screen of wild symbols during the free spins round. With the minimum bet level activated, this would give you a max payout of 1000 times your stake per spin.

With the infamous Kalamba Hyperbonus Selector, you can also buy direct access to the free spins round. If you decide to take this route, you will get 4 options to choose from which are similar in setup to the Hyperbet Selector. The cost of the bonus depends on which of the options you choose (not available at the time of testing). These are your options:

• 6 free spins with 1x wild multiplier (96.69% RTP).
• 8 free spins with 2x wild multiplier (96.93% RTP).
• 9 free spins with 3x wild multiplier (96.96% RTP).
• 10 free spins with 5x wild multiplier (97.25% RTP).

Finally, there is also a Bonus Spins feature included in Midas Treasure which is activated when the player collects enough bonus collection symbols. Bonus Spins can be played at bronze, silver, gold or platinum level when enough symbols are accumulated in the main game:

• Bronze level: 50 symbols.
• Silver level: 75 symbols.
• Gold level: 125 symbols.
• Platinum level: 175 symbols.

At the bronze, silver or gold levels thresholds listed, you can choose to play the bonus at the respective level or continue playing to the next level. The Bonus Spins feature is automatically initiated when you reach the threshold for the platinum level. The game awards 3 initial Bonus spins. At the end of the round, a prize is awarded based on the number of Bonus Spins collection symbols accumulated during the feature, as shown below:

• 20 symbols - Bronze Level pays 12x, Silver Level pays 15x, Gold Level pays 40x, Platinum Level pays 60x
• 30 symbols - Bronze Level pays 25x, Silver Level pays 40x, Gold Level pays 60x, Platinum Level pays 80x
• 40 symbols - Bronze Level pays 40x, Silver Level pays 60x, Gold Level pays 75x, Platinum Level pays 100x
• 55 symbols - Bronze Level pays 50x, Silver Level pays 70x, Gold Level pays 140x, Platinum Level pays 200x
• 70 symbols - Bronze Level pays 80x, Silver Level pays 150x, Gold Level pays 250x, Platinum Level pays 300x
• 85 symbols – Bronze Level pays 100x, Silver Level pays 250x, Gold Level pays 500x, Platinum Level pays 1000x

Midas Treasure (Kalamba Games): Verdict

Though well designed and smooth to play, Midas Treasure is definitely not a game that anyone will salivate over or rush home to play after a long day at work. Due to all the technicalities that had to be explained, Midas Treasure turned out to be slightly more fun to play than to review. With that said, there are some aspects we find a bit disturbing. First of all, we're not big fans of Kalamba's feature buy option. It just seems quirky and not as well though through as what you see in Blueprint's or Big Time Gaming's slots.

What is worse is the fact that Kalamba is enticing you to raise your stakes by making the default level useless. Let's face it, an RTP of between 93.62% - 94.09% is a complete joke for any online slot and it's not until you move up to level 3 that the terms become more fair. In our opinion, this is reason enough to pass up on this game.