Fortunium Gold Mega Moolah by StormCraft Studios - Online Slot Review

Fortunium Gold Mega Moolah is a nicely designed slot, carrying a steampunk vibe and a couple of solid features that seem to work together as effortlessly as well-adjusted and oiled gears of an intricate mechanism. The abundance of machinery created for unknown purposes only intensifies the feeling of mystery. Two main characters - Victoria and Maximillian - are the brains and brawn standing strong behind these inventions. They will happily reveal their most profound secrets to those who have fortune on their side. Let's cross the city gates, grab that dusty magnifying glass, and look closer at what makes it a sought-after destination for adventurers and fortune-seekers worldwide.

How To Win The Mega Moolah Jackpot

Contrary to the original Mega Moolah slot, in Fortunium Gold jackpot wheel does not trigger randomly out of the blue. Here it's tied to a particular symbol called Jackpot Wild, which appears only as one of the outcomes of the Mystery Symbol. Furthermore, the slot can activate the bonus wheel from the base game and free spins - another improvement on the African-themed classic.

The number of Jackpot Wild symbols on the screen is not essential, as even one will give you a chance to win the life-changing pool. However, the more, the merrier because, as the name itself suggests, this symbol also acts as Wild. If you happen to score a whole bunch of them, there's often a nice payout before giving the wheel a shot.

Onto the most exciting element now. Like in all other Mega Moolah slots, the wheel always has identical composition and contains four progressive pots:

• Mini starts at €10
• Minor starts at €100
• Major starts at €1000
• Mega starts at €1 000 000

It's divided into 20 segments, each corresponding to one of the four prizes:

• 1 Mega Jackpot (golden area with multiple gears)
• 3 Major Jackpot (golden area with a single gear)
• 6 Minor Jackpot (red area)
• 10 Mini Jackpot (brown area)

The wheel will spin, and the selector at the top will indicate which jackpot wins. There's nothing more to it than hoping for the one golden segment to align at the top. But even if that doesn't happen, there are still three other jackpots to be won, and this bonus has no losers. At the very least, you'll walk away with the Mini that can often reach hundreds or even thousands. The highest hit on the lowest of the four pots equalled to €8524.32.

Fortunium Gold Features and Mechanics

If you're not here exclusively for the Mega Moolah jackpot, other interesting functionalities await within the golden city.

Stacked symbols

Both top-value symbols depicting main characters can appear as single images or stacked up to 5 symbols high. The same goes for Mystery Symbols which may fill the entire reel.

Mystery Symbols & Win Booster

Aside from being stacked and a triggering possibility for the jackpot feature, Mystery Symbols can be a great source of big wins. Regardless of how many you land in view, each one will reveal the same symbol. For that same reason, they can also be massively annoying.

Imagine landing fully-stacked Mystery Symbols on reels 3, 4, and 5 and nothing that connects on 1 and 2. Before the secret image is even revealed, you know this is a losing situation. Your only hope is the Jackpot Wild which will take you to the wheel even if you don't score any wins on it.

Win Booster in Fortunium Gold is a form of ante bet which brings you extra chances. For an additional 50% added to your active bet, Mystery Symbols will reveal only high-payers, Wilds, and Jackpot Wilds.

Fortunium Gold Mega Moolah Free Spins

It's possible to enter the bonus round by landing 3, 4, or 5 Scatters. Each option awards 10 free spins, but depending on how many triggering symbols you hit, a respective number of Mystery Reels will be active - 1, 2, or 3.

Mystery Reels can be active only within reels 2, 3, and 4. All they contain throughout the free spins are Mystery Symbols.

If you triggered the bonus with Win Booster active, you'd benefit from the absence of low-paying symbols when the secret icons are revealed.

Lastly, a small reminder that you can also activate the Jackpot Wheel during free spins.

Graphics & Audio

There's something I adore when looking at the visual design of a slot (or any other game, for that matter) - consistency. And Fortunium Gold is passing the consistency test with flying colors. Everything fits together and creates a concise atmosphere of a mysterious yet friendly city where everyone has a role and commits to it. From clean low-payers, through themed mid-value symbols, to top-paying character images and specific jackpot UI, finishing on the classy jackpot wheel itself. Animations are fitting and nicely synchronized, especially the Mystery Symbols being revealed with a subtle burst of steam.

The audio track adequately completes the setting with a pleasant mix of mystery and adventure. Individual sound effects are toned, and they never reach a point when they could become annoying, even during the really long spinning sessions.

Fortunium Gold On Mobile

Like in most slots, the landscape view is identical to the desktop one, with UI situated on the right and jackpot tickers sitting on the left.

The mobile portrait variant is where Fortunium Gold shines. The 5x5 squarish reel setup perfectly fits the small screen, and the stacked top-paying symbols emphasize the vertical orientation. UI stretches across the view at the bottom, and all the jackpot information occupies the area above the reels.

Final Thoughts

Joining the Mega Moolah network is, without a doubt, an excellent achievement for any slot and its provider. Fortunium Gold has nicely incorporated the jackpot mechanism into its main feature. Still, I can't shake the feeling that Stormcraft Studios eventually built the rest of this game around it, which makes it look a bit forced.

Mystery Symbols are my second most hated feature due to their uncanny ability to tease massive wins and leave me with nothing in the end. But I don't judge on my personal preference, and such opinions will never affect any slot's total score. I'm fully aware of its potential, and I appreciate they were put into stacks to make them visible frequently.

The thing is, there's only so much else to look for in this game. Mystery Symbols in the base game, Mystery Symbols in the free spins. The Jackpot Wild will be the only thing you'll be waiting for soon enough. It isn't easy to get excited about the stacked top-paying symbols since a 5-of-a-kind on those pays merely 8 times the bet. I would maybe let it slide on a ways game, but on 40 pay lines, that's quite stingy.

Visually, there's nothing to complain about. Fortunium Gold presents itself as you'd expect from a wealthy, steampunk city. A lot of brass and gold, a subtle discharge of electricity around the reels from time to time (when the Win Booster is active), and the Jackpot Wheel turning lazily in the background. Symbols are distinguishable and the anticipation effect showing as a pillar of light when the rest of the screen gets dimmed truly spices up the excitement.

As a pinch of variety when choosing between the slots from the Mega Moolah network, Fortunium Gold earns its place in the fold. However, if we remove the jackpot functionality, the game seems empty from a mechanical standpoint. The audiovisual angle becomes a more attractive part of the production, which may not be enough to grasp players' attention for long.