Parthenon: Quest for Immortality

Parthenon: Quest for Immortality Review

Parthenon: Quest for Immortality from NetEnt is the second game in the ‘Quest for Immortality’ family following Pyramid: Quest for Immortality from 2015. The journey continues across ancient civilisations, now paying homage to the gods of Ancient Greece atop Mount Olympus.

Read on for the full review.

SLOT FEATURES	Avalanche feature, Wild Generation Zone feature, Free Spins with a Progressive Multiplier
RELEASE DATE	3rd June 2021
GAME PROVIDER	NETENT
SLOT TYPE	Video Slot
THEME	Mythology
REELS, ROWS, PAYLINES	6 Reels, 5 Rows, 10,000 Ways
BET LEVELS	0.20 – 200.00
MAXIMUM WIN	Not Available
SCATTER SYMBOL	Yes – FREE SPINS
WILD SYMBOL	Yes – WILD
BONUS GAME	No
FREE SPINS	Yes
RESPINS	No
MULTIPLIERS	Yes
JACKPOT	No
RETURN TO PLAYER	96.03%
VOLATILITY	Medium (estimated)

Features

Wild Generation Zone Feature

• In the main game and in Free Spins, the top row is the Wild Generation Zone.
• Any symbol in the Wild Generation Zone becoming a part of a winning combination transforms into a Wild symbol. Wild symbols then remain on the reels until they disappear as a part of a winning combination or until the next spin.

Avalanche™ Feature

• A winning combination starts an Avalanche. Symbols in winning combinations disappear, leaving space for a new Avalanche of symbols.
• During an Avalanche, symbols fall into positions on the reels, instead of spinning.

Free Spins with a Progressive Multiplier

• 3 Free Spins symbols appearing anywhere on reels in the main game award 8 Free Spins. Each additional Free Spins symbol activating Free Spins awards 4 additional Free Spins.
• At the end of each Free Spin, one point is added to the Scatter meter for each Scatter symbol appearing on the reels. When the number of points on the Scatter meter reaches 3, it is reset to 0, and 2 additional Free Spins are awarded.
• During Free Spins, all bet way wins are multiplied by the current Multiplier. The Multiplier starts at x1, and each symbol transforming into a Wild symbol in Free Spins increases the Multiplier by 1 up to a maximum of x20.

Playability

Playability is excellent. NetEnt is known to release some less-developed fillers between planned epics, but this is no filler.

There are some considerable differences between Parthenon and Pyramid, but the core game focus has remained. The Wild Generation Zone atop the reels which made Pyramid so unique continues to impress in Parthenon. Any win with a symbol in the top row activates Wild Generation. When a win Avalanches, any winning symbols in the top row change to Wilds to potentially help the next win; this continues until no more wins are available. As an added surprise in Free Games, the Wild Generation also generates win multipliers. Each added Wild from Wild Generation Zone adds 1 multiplier up to x20!

Wilds play a significant role in gameplay. It is possible to keep generating wilds in the Wild Generation Zone depending on what’s below them in the reel. If the symbols beneath the Wild at the top are not used in the win, the next Wild to appear in the top row does not drop down in an Avalanche. Expect repeating Avalanches with Wilds above reels 2 and 3 matching symbols on reel 1.

The Wild Generation feature in the Base Game acts as a mini feature to keep the action alive while you play for the Free Games feature.

• WIN HIT: 1 in 4.41 spins (96.03% version)
• FEATURE HIT: 1 in 559 spins (96.03% version)

The RTP split heavily favours the Base Game at 80.13% providing solid and entertaining Base Game play. Expect many repeating Avalanches and coinciding wins from the Wild Generation Zone with relatively high number of big win appearances. Although the Base Game RTP is higher than most, its figure is naturally augmented due to the very high feature hit rate of 1 in 559 spins considering it takes so many spins to trigger the feature.

RTP

• Base Game: 80.13%
• Free Games: 15.90%
• Total: 96.03%

Paytable Review

10 Symbols consisting of 1 top tier, 4 mid tier and 5 Royals. Medusa sits atop the hierarchy winning 40x for 6 of a kind. The lower end of the paytable is nothing special but not too noticeable due to the potential of so many repeating wins from Avalanches and Wild Generation. The mid-tier is where your sought-after wins will come from, while Medusa, whose divine pays become the rare beauty her legend is known for, rewards generously when she pays. Perhaps her rarity is why NetEnt has added a 2 of-a-kind pay to the Medusa symbol.

There are 76% or prizes at-or-below bet which resembles a game of lower volatility.

The Glory Spin

The maximum win is not available from NetEnt but, a win of 5,000x or more occurred once in 63.5 million spins in one of their simulated runs.

Audio

Audio is epic as you would expect in any epic-themed game. It’s well balanced, ambient audio is not overpowering, game FX and events are well audible, and nothing overwhelms or interferes with your senses. Well, almost nothing… NetEnt has added a small metallic ‘dink’ to all Medusa symbols hitting regardless of where they land. Medusa is the top award and should be alerted IF a win is possible. But, 99 times out of 100, the sound draws my attention to a non-winning occurrence.

Delights and Surprizes

• The Free Game win multiplier accumulates per new Wild in the Wild Generation Zone
• Retriggers are collectible meaning they don’t need to be in one spin
• Highly entertaining gameplay
• High salivation and suspense from the Wild Generation Zone
• When the triggering Free Spins symbol drops in via Avalanches

Shortcomings

• The ridiculously high feature hit rate.
• The infrequent occurrence of Hi Tier wins
• The sound on the Medusa symbol hitting

Conclusion

This is an excellent sequel to the Quest for Immortality family, so thank you NetEnt. Not only does it deliver an expansion of the original, but its differences are also not likely to cannibalise the attraction of the original game. Many developers like to reuse the host game’s assets (yes Dazzle Me Megaways is one of those) when creating a sequel to generate recognition but the only similarity in Parthenon is the core focus of the game. In effect both Pyramid and Parthenon could be marketed as Game 1 and Game 2 in the family of Wild Generation Zone games. Is NetEnt looking for a brand to license like Big Time Gaming and Reel Play?

The only major shortcoming is the high feature hit rate as it does take a while to trigger, but, the Wild Generation provides plenty of entertainment and thrills in-between features.

Parthenon: Quest for Immortality from NetEnt gets 88 Spins out of 100 based on the following ratings:

PLAYABILITY	95
ORIGINALITY	85
BUILD QUALITY	90
MARRIAGE	85
IMMERSION	90
RUN FOR MONEY	75
INTEGRITY	95
TOTAL	88