Gorilla Mayhem Slot Review

How a spin pays

The game uses ways instead of lines. A win needs matching symbols on adjacent reels, counted from the left. With 1,024 ways on a 5x4 board, several copies of the same symbol on one reel multiply the number of winning routes, which is why a single spin can pay more than one combination at once.

The wild substitutes for the other symbols, with the exception of the scatter. According to the rules, it appears only on reels 2, 3, 4 and 5, never on the first reel. That means it can help to complete a combination, but it cannot start one on its own. The studio also mentions wild multipliers in its description, although the rules text we have does not spell out their values, so we leave them there.

Free spins that level up

Three, four or five scatters, landing anywhere on the screen, open the free spins round. They award 10, 15 or 20 spins respectively. The scatter can appear on every reel, so it does not depend on a particular position.

The round has a progressive feature. Every gorilla symbol that lands, including its golden version, is collected. After every 40 gorilla heads, the level goes up. The round starts at level 1, where golden gorilla symbols can land as x1, x2 or x3 at random. The rules extract in our pack is cut off after that point, so we cannot tell you the values at the higher levels. What the design does show is the direction: the more gorillas arrive, the better the golden symbols get, and the round can be retriggered.

Two RTP figures, one volatility gap

Our catalogue lists a single RTP of 96.5%, a house edge of 3.5%. Over a long run that means about $35 lost per $1,000 wagered. The official rules document, however, states a theoretical RTP of 94.5%. Pragmatic Play operators can offer different RTP versions, so treat 94.5% as another published figure that a casino may run, and check the information screen in the game itself. The lower figure would mean a larger house edge and a higher cost per $1,000 wagered.

No volatility rating is published for this game, either in our catalogue or in the studio's text, so we do not assign one. The maximum win is 5,000x the bet. At a $0.20 bet that is $1,000, at $1 it is $5,000 and at $5 it is $25,000.

What a session costs

On the 96.5% version, 100 spins at $0.20 cost about $0.70 on average. 100 spins at $1 cost $3.50, and 100 spins at $5, which is $500 wagered, cost $17.50. These are long-run averages, and any single session can land far from them. Slots are paid entertainment with a built-in edge for the operator.

There is no bonus buy and no ante bet in this game, so the only way into the free spins is the scatters. That keeps the cost of a spin equal to the bet.

Comparable games

Gorilla Mayhem has no sequels in the catalogue. Games with similar numbers include Elemental Gems Megaways at 96.51% and 5,000x, Candy Stars at 96.47% and 5,000x, and Extra Juicy Megaways at 96.42%, rated High, also with a 5,000x cap. All of them come from 2022 as well.