Pandora was the first lady, in Ancient Greek mythology, and when her jar was broken, horrors were released onto the world and only hope remained sealed inside. Contrary to popular belief, the evil that would have beenfalling humanity had the jar not been opened included benefits instead. In a further twist, the humanist Erasmus may have misinterpreted or mistranslated the original Greek, leading to the transformation of Pandora’s jar into the more well-known box in the 16th century. References are to the Britannica.
Play’n GO’s online slot Pandora’s Box of Evil is a retelling of the myth with a number of potential outcomes, almost all of which are positive. Probably more so than words like “Hope” or “Blessings,” “Evil” stands out in advertising. Cliffside temples serve as the backdrop for the game, which might be situated anywhere along the coasts of the Mediterranean, Aegean, or Ionian seas. Sunset (or sunrise) over an intriguing Ancient World environment is sure to captivate gamers with a penchant for evocative backgrounds. Pandora’s Box of Evil is not Play’n GO’s most impressive visual effort. When compared to the studio’s previous work, this feels generic and lackluster.
Played on a 5×3 game grid with 20 paylines, Pandora’s Box of Evil follows a pretty standard layout. It’s very volatile and comes in a range of RTP settings, the highest of which offers a return of 96.2%. It is a low-roller-friendly slot machine since it can be played on PCs, mobile devices, and tablets, and players may choose a stake from 5 p/c to £/€100 every spin to begin the ball rolling.
All wins from the first reel pay left to right, regardless of the number of symbols on a winning line. You may earn anywhere from 1.2 to 2 times your wager for a full house of 10s, Jacks, Queens, Kings, and Aces, and then 5x to 8x your wager for a full house of any of the five high-pay character symbols. When wild symbols show up, they might substitute for other non-wild symbols to help you form winning combinations.
Contents of the Slot Machine’s “Pandora’s Box”
There must be a mechanism akin to Pandora’s Box in a game like this, and it appears in the shape of Mystery Symbols. Whenever a Mystery symbol appears on any reel, it either transforms into a Mystery Wild or reveals a scatter, Spirit of Hope, or pay sign. The types of revealed pay symbols are consistent. There is a chance that, before Mystery symbols reveal themselves, they will be transformed into Mystery Wilds, which come with an additional multiplier of x2, x3, x4, or x5. When contributing to a win is more than one Mystery Wild, the multiplier values are combined together.
Inspirational Force
If the Scatter of Hope appears during the current spin, another spin will be awarded when this one ends. All Mystery symbols, scatters, and Mystery Wilds are held in place during the respin. During the respin, all locked Mystery symbols will unlock to show a brand new random symbol.
Bonus Turns
Three or more scatters anywhere in view trigger eight bonus spins. All Mystery symbols are fixed in position during free spins, and won’t move until the bonus expires. If you get 1, 3, or 3 scatters while in the feature, you’ll receive 2, 5, or 8 more free spins, accordingly.
The Slot Verdict: Pandora’s Box
When I played Pandora’s Box of Evil, I had the impression that it was just another Play’n GO slot with a nice design and a solid selection of features that didn’t really stand out. The studio’s mythological concepts team has devised a creative take on the classic tale of Pandora’s box, adapting it into a Mystery symbols feature that can have several outcomes rather than simply a straight pay symbol revelation. The addition of a Mystery Wild multiplier, or even better, multiple Mystery Wild multipliers, is a fun touch that, when combined with other paying symbols, may boost your winnings.
That leaves free spins, which get their appeal by making Mystery symbols sticky when they land, giving the game a tenuous connection to older slots like Net Gains. Nonetheless, this set of symbols has a little more variation than the Mystery set. The maximum victory in Pandora’s Box of Evil may have been the game-changer, but it wasn’t readily apparent at the time of writing, so we’ll have to hold judgment on that score for now. It’s not easy to uncover flaws in the operation of Pandora’s Box of Evil, but there are several. It could be interesting to find out what happens when you combine Mystery symbols with a twist or two.
Finally, as we indicated, Pandora’s Box of Evil is just another of Play’n GO’s regularly distributed, smooth-as-you-like-it releases. It’s simple to look at, has an intriguing backstory, and has well-integrated thematic components. If there is a single complaint to be made, it would be that the game wasn’t packed with a lot of unexpected fun. It had the right design and works well, but it seemed like Pandora’s Box in that it might be swept away with any of the other fine but not outstanding Play’n GO slots that the developer frequently releases.