Apache Way

We're past the halfway mark of the year, and the onslaught of top online slot games coming out of casino software studios hasn't shown any sign of slowing down. In fact, things seem to be ramping up, and the latest effort comes from the Red Tiger production floor titled Apache Way. This Native American-themed slot makes use of 2 bonus features, in the form of a free spins bonus as well as the Ritual of the Sun feature where respins see cash symbols fall as cash prizes. On the face of it, most would think this game falls very much into the theme of what the majority of studios have been adopting, but let's take a closer look.

Apache Way takes on the theme of the Native American Apache tribe. However, there's more imagery of North American wildlife than American Indians. Things are quite standard in that the grid consists of 5 reels and 3 rows, with only 25 paylines to land winning symbol combinations. What is now also becoming standard is the use of a hold and win style bonus feature, which is a trend that has taken off this year throughout the whole industry. Microgaming, in particular, has utilised this feature in almost all its releases this year, such as Mask of Amun and Sonic Links. We’ll explain the bonus in more detail a little later in the review, along with the free spins.

This isn't one of the slots online you can play here that carries stratospheric paying potential, in that the maximum amount all players will be able to land is a modest 2,571x your stake. Definitely not in the same cash prize bracket as progressive jackpot slots. However, the returns will be higher due to the largely volatile grid, unlike lower returns in slots with medium-lower volatility. The level of risk you want to take always depends on how much you're willing to stake. In Apache Way, you'll have wagering options starting as low as 0.10 all the way to a maximum stake limit of 100.00.

This is the area where the theme of Apache Way comes through, although, as we mentioned, you might be forgiven for thinking it was another North American wildlife-themed release like Wolf Strike by Iron Dog Studios. The lower paying icons are playing cards 10 through to A, while the symbols that give you higher returns for 3, 4 and 5 of a kind are a rattlesnake, a cougar, a bear and an Eagle.

We do have an Apache tribeswoman as a symbol, which represents the wild. The wild symbol acts as all regular symbols, which comes in handy by completing winning combos. You'll also have Free Spins symbols, as well as sun, scatter symbols falling.

The sun scatter is the symbol that can trigger the Ritual of the Sun feature. To trigger this, you'll need at least six suns falling on the same spin, at which point all icons are removed from the grid, leaving it blank. Three respins then commence, with only suns and blanks falling. If a sun falls, it stays in place for the remainder of the feature and also resets the respins to 3. Every sun will carry a multiplier, and at the end of the game, either because respins run out or you fill the grid, the values are added together and applied to the stake that you wagered when the feature was triggered.

Landing a Free Spins icon on reels 1, 3 and 5 on the same spin will reward you with five free spins. This might seem a bit stingy, but Apache Way sees the middle three reels adjoin so that one huge 3x3 icon always falls. This makes wins much easier to come by, to an extent justifying the low number of free spins awarded.

All the online slot machines we see these days do tend to mirror each other, even though they seem to be packaged differently with different names applied to the bonus features. Apache Way is no different. However, in saying this, if you trigger the bonus features on a regular basis, then a very good return will almost certainly be heading your way. High rollers will likely be underwhelmed, but thanks to the wide wagering window, there's a stake size for all players, and the bonuses are effective in providing plenty of added value.