Hacksaw Gaming's Petrifying Cascade Slot
When Medusa Wild activates with winning symbols, they turn to stone and stick to the bottom of the grid. These petrified symbols reveal multipliers at the end of each spin, creating escalating win potential across three tiers: Bronze, Silver, and Gold.
Unlike standard cascades, Eye of Medusa removes ALL matching symbols from the grid when a winning combination hits. This aggressive cascade system clears entire symbol types at once, allowing for massive chain reactions and multiple consecutive wins.
The Medusa Wild substitutes for all regular symbols and comes in Silver and Gold variants. When activated, it drops to the bottom of the grid and becomes a petrified symbol, maintaining its position for the remainder of the spin sequence.
Triggered by 3 or more FS Scatter symbols, awarding 10-25 free spins. The key mechanic: when a Medusa Wild activates during free spins, its multiplier becomes the minimum value for all future Medusa symbols in that bonus round.
An interactive 5x5 pick game where you navigate using arrow keys to collect gold stones whilst avoiding snakes. Green cells indicate safe picks, whilst red cells warn of danger. Strategic navigation yields multiplier prizes.
Bronze tier: 0.5x to 4x. Silver tier: 5x to 20x. Gold tier: 25x to 500x. Petrified symbols reveal these multipliers at spin end, with Gold tier offering the path to the maximum 10,000x bet win.
Substitutes all regular symbols, triggers petrification
Highest paying character symbol
Bronze shield with Medusa emblem
Golden sandals with white wings
Silver blade with gold handle
Highest card symbol
Royal card with crown
Golden Medusa head with sun rays, triggers Gorgon's Gold bonus
Eye of Medusa represents Hacksaw Gaming's innovative approach to cascade mechanics, introducing a petrification system that fundamentally changes how multipliers accumulate during gameplay. Rather than applying multipliers instantly, this slot transforms winning symbols into stone, holding them at the bottom of the grid until the spin sequence completes.
The core innovation lies in how Medusa Wild interacts with winning combinations. When low-paying symbols (10, J, Q, K, A) form a win whilst a Medusa Wild is present on the grid, the Medusa drops to the bottom position and becomes petrified. For high-paying symbols (Sword, Winged Sandals, Shield, Perseus), the winning symbols themselves petrify and drop to the bottom alongside Medusa.
These petrified symbols remain locked in place throughout the cascade sequence. Only when all cascades complete do they reveal their multiplier values, which then apply to the total win. This delayed gratification system creates anticipation as petrified symbols accumulate across multiple cascade wins.
Entry-level petrified symbols
Medium volatility multipliers
Maximum win potential
Eye of Medusa employs Super Cascades rather than traditional cascade mechanics. When a winning combination forms, the game removes ALL instances of that symbol type from the grid, not just the winning symbols. This aggressive removal creates larger gaps and increases the probability of subsequent wins as new symbols drop down.
For example, if three Shield symbols form a winning line on reels 1-3, the game removes every Shield symbol visible on all five reels. This can clear six, eight, or even ten positions simultaneously, dramatically altering the grid layout and enabling chain reactions that would be impossible with standard cascades.
The free spins bonus introduces a progressive multiplier floor system. When triggered by three or more FS Scatter symbols, you receive 10-25 free spins depending on the number of scatters. The critical mechanic: whenever a Medusa Wild activates and reveals its multiplier, that value becomes the minimum for all future Medusa symbols in that bonus round.
This creates an escalating multiplier environment. If the first Medusa reveals 5x, all subsequent Medusas guarantee at least 5x. If another then reveals 15x, the floor raises to 15x. This progressive system means later spins in the bonus round carry significantly higher win potential than early spins.
| Return to Player | 96.3% (calculated over 10 billion simulated rounds) |
| Grid Structure | 5 reels, 3 rows, 15 symbol positions |
| Win Formation | Left to right on adjacent reels |
| Maximum Win | 10,000x total bet |
| Hit Frequency | Variable due to cascade mechanics |
| Bonus Buy Options | 4 options ranging from 0.30 to 20.00 currency units |
This secondary bonus game presents a 5x5 grid where you navigate using keyboard arrow keys. The objective is collecting gold stone multipliers whilst avoiding snake symbols that end the bonus. The game provides visual cues: green highlighting indicates safe cells, whilst red highlighting warns of danger.
Strategic navigation is key. The bonus doesn't operate on pure chance—your movement choices directly impact the outcome. Conservative play focusing on green-highlighted cells yields smaller but safer multipliers, whilst aggressive navigation risks hitting snakes for potentially larger rewards.
Eye of Medusa offers four bonus buy options with slightly varying RTP values:
The Snakes & Stones bonus offers marginally higher RTP at 96.32%, though the difference is statistically negligible. The pricing reflects volatility and maximum win potential, with Gorgon's Gold commanding the highest price due to its progressive multiplier system.
An important mechanical detail: only one Medusa symbol can land during any single spin. Additionally, FS Scatter symbols cannot land whilst Medusa symbols are present on the grid. These restrictions prevent certain combinations that could create unbalanced win potential.
This design choice maintains mathematical balance whilst preserving the petrification mechanic's integrity. Without these restrictions, multiple Medusa symbols could petrify simultaneously, creating multiplier stacking scenarios that would skew the RTP calculation.
Whilst Hacksaw Gaming doesn't publish an official volatility rating, the game's mechanics suggest high volatility. The petrification system concentrates wins into fewer but larger payouts, particularly when Gold tier multipliers (25x-500x) appear. The 10,000x maximum win relative to the 96.3% RTP indicates significant variance between sessions.
Base game wins tend to be modest, with the slot's potential realised primarily through extended cascade sequences that accumulate multiple petrified symbols, or through free spins where the progressive multiplier floor creates exponential growth.
The Greek mythology theme manifests through character positioning: Perseus stands guard on the left side of the grid in silver armour with green tunic and red cape, whilst Medusa occupies the right side in blue dress with gold ornaments and glowing green eyes. The grid frame mimics ancient temple architecture with dark brown wood texture and gold Greek ornamental patterns.
The petrification visual feedback is immediate—symbols transform with stone texture and metallic frames (bronze, silver, or gold) before dropping to the bottom of the grid. This clear visual communication helps players track multiplier accumulation during complex cascade sequences.
Eye of Medusa employs responsive design principles, with the 5x3 grid scaling appropriately for mobile screens. The keyboard shortcuts available in desktop versions (SHIFT + S for sound, SHIFT + Arrow keys for bet adjustment) translate to touch controls on mobile devices. The Super Turbo and Turbo speed settings allow mobile players to adjust game pace according to their connection quality.
The autoplay system includes comprehensive stop conditions: loss limits, win limits, single win limits, and automatic stopping on bonus features. These tools allow players to set boundaries before automated play begins. The game also displays balance and bet size prominently, maintaining transparency about stake levels throughout gameplay.
The demo mode provides 5,000 currency units, allowing extensive testing of mechanics and features before committing real funds. This demo balance is sufficient to trigger bonus features naturally and experience the full range of game mechanics.