Opinion: Bonus buys and Megaways games are ruining slots

[Luckii]

First of all, this is all my personal opinion, and should be taken as only that, an opinion. I understand that different people like different things, and I respect that.

Ever since BTG started licensing their Megaways concept the market has been flooded with uninspired, repetitive games that just tack on the Megaways label, without bringing anything new to the table. Just think how many different Megaways games Blueprint has released this year, where most of them follow the "Megaways-4 scatter bonus-Unlimited multiplier-Mystery symbols" formula. It's been done to death, where every new game is just a reskin of the old one. I admit there are some exceptions (Return of Kong, Primal Megaways) but most of them feel exactly the same.

These Megaways games just keep coming, and they are taking away from the innovative slots, that providers put time and effort into. One of my favorite slots, Reactoonz, is a good example of a provider putting actual effort and thought in to making an exciting and unique game. Some providers have put the Megaways formula into good use, and made interesting (maybe not good, but still) games, like Flower Fortunes Megaways and Temple Tumble Megaways. It's good to still see that providers like Play N Go and Thunderkick haven't jumped on the bandwagon, and keep releasing new games.

Then to the other thing: Bonus buys. I'd like to think that it was White Rabbit that really put the bonus buy feature on the map, since most of the bonus buys or Big Bets on old WMS games just gave you chance to win the feature, and not to trigger it automatically. In my opinon a game having a bonus buy automatically takes all the fun away from playing it normally. What is the point of playing a game for a bonus, when you can just click a button and get it right away? Again, there are exceptions (Extra Chilli and Vikings Unleashed, where buying the bonus and gambling for spins/multiplier can actually be a viable and fun strategy), but just paying 100x your stake just to get the same bonus you could pay for makes no sense.

I really hope that we could start to moveaway from these kinds of slots and go back in to making games where the fun comes from playing it, not paying money for an instabonus and hope you make your money back. I'd really like to hear other peoples opinion on this matter.

[Slotspinner]

Guess what, BTG isnt making bonus buys anymore because they feel the sameabout bonus buys

[onlinelooser]

Every time a new megaways slot is released i think: there's only 1 megaways slot... and it's bonanza !

Only relax gaming made something different! MACHINA, TEMPLE TUMBLE and i don't know why seems no-one play those.

Btw, i agree also for the bonus buy, i really dont like it

[pausefisk]

If you dont like it, dont buy the bonuses, play normal My experiences is that buying bonuses usually gives you lower wins than if you get them normal. Im 99,9% sure you choose from another pot of bonuses when buying them, so the chance of hitting a better paying bonus in normal spin is better than buying.

What i do find ironic, is the "bonus hunt" sessions from streamers where they end up with buying a bonus... doh!

[Slotspinner]

7 minutes ago, pausefisk said:

If you dont like it, dont buy the bonuses, play normal My experiences is that buying bonuses usually gives you lower wins than if you get them normal. Im 99,9% sure you choose from another pot of bonuses when buying them, so the chance of hitting a better paying bonus in normal spin is better than buying.

What i do find ironic, is the "bonus hunt" sessions from streamers where they end up with buying a bonus... doh!

its not the same gameplay feeling if you grind the basegame knowing theres a button to simply get the bonus.
Also bonus buy is usually higher RTP but megamuchmore volatile

[Luckii]

17 minutes ago, pausefisk said:

If you dont like it, dont buy the bonuses, play normal My experiences is that buying bonuses usually gives you lower wins than if you get them normal. Im 99,9% sure you choose from another pot of bonuses when buying them, so the chance of hitting a better paying bonus in normal spin is better than buying.

What i do find ironic, is the "bonus hunt" sessions from streamers where they end up with buying a bonus... doh!

As Slotspinner said, it has more to do with the option to bonus buy that ruins the basegame where I might do hundreds of spins without a bonus where all I could do is take the easy way out and just press a button and be rewarded with the bonus right away.

I agree with the bonus hunt point

51 minutes ago, Slotspinner said:

Guess what, BTG isnt making bonus buys anymore because they feel the sameabout bonus buys

Really? I did not know, but it makes sense why BTG hasn't made bonus buys in ages

[pausefisk]

56 minutes ago, Slotspinner said:

its not the same gameplay feeling if you grind the basegame knowing theres a button to simply get the bonus.
Also bonus buy is usually higher RTP but megamuchmore volatile

Agreed, the "YES!!" feeling you get when you finally get a bonus it's hard to get, cant compare to just buying one. My problem, and many others i guess, ending up buying the bonus in the end, becasue i have done tons of spins without getting the bonus in normal play. I belive my rtp had been much better if that buy options wasnt there

[pausefisk]

I dont know if my signature is visible for all readers (i think its a setting?) but i have a list of all my 1000x+ wins, and only one (29 in total) of them comes from a bonus buy, and that was a 1289x win in Buffalo Rising. The rest comes from normal gameplay. And yes, i've done a lot of bonus buys, and so far for me that hast not paid of at all. I dont have any numbers to prove it, but after slots came with bonus buy, i've lost way more than i used to. If i manage to get lucky and get a decent balance, instead of cashing out, i switched to buying bonuses instead, but those sessions alwasy end with RIP. It didnt happened before. So, good for the casinos and the providers, but for the players (at least low rollers) i think the bonus buy feature is just a faster way to a gambling problem.

[BoracicLint]

I think the megaways slots are actually improving but its BTGs games that are not as good as they once were. I think Blueprint megaways are excellent games but highly volatile in the same way their non megaways slots have always been. The licenced  megaways slots outside of BTG and Blueprint are quite poor in my opinion and are just a way for games companies to get on the gravy train and make more money. I think its made them a bit lazy,in my personal view. Ironically,probably the best game of recent times,DOA 2,has come from netent and a reworking of a classic slot. Maybe others will repeat this idea in the future?

[Luckii]

11 minutes ago, BoracicLint said:

I think the megaways slots are actually improving but its BTGs games that are not as good as they once were. I think Blueprint megaways are excellent games but highly volatile in the same way their non megaways slots have always been. The licenced  megaways slots outside of BTG and Blueprint are quite poor in my opinion and are just a way for games companies to get on the gravy train and make more money. I think its made them a bit lazy,in my personal view. Ironically,probably the best game of recent times,DOA 2,has come from netent and a reworking of a classic slot. Maybe others will repeat this idea in the future?

Fingers crossed for Reactoonz 2

[gjerken]

I hate that you can't buy bonuses, when you have a bonus balance. I think the bonus buy, is dangerous too, so easy to tilt away alot of  money. I remember when white rabbit and chilli came out, i lost alot, and had to take a break from gambling. 

[Tussilago87]

1 hour ago, Luckii said:

Fingers crossed for Reactoonz 2

fingers crossed for reactoonz Megaways

[Skylined87]

Nice thread  

Personally I think that Megaways slots have brought a new experience to the players, but with few dangerous points:

- It's kind of harder to get the bonuses, prepare for potentially tons of empty spins
- Buying a bonus is a really dangerous thing - one of the most dangerous ones I'd say is Extra Chilli

Being player myself for a long time, it feels like that these days balance gets wiped much faster in comparison with 5-10 years in the past. Granted, most of the slots in that period had much lower potential, but was much more fun to play  (good old days of Montezuma, Rhino, Ruby Slippers, Lost Island etc).

The trend seems to be going towards the potential while not realizing how much more money a player spends. Of course, you will get some insane hits on the way too...

So I guess it's up to the player what he wants - fun / long lasting session or potential / shorter session  

[slotsproducer]

I'm not a fan of bonus buys, but i can understand why some players might want the option to Bonus Buy... no one is forced to use it...

That said, i cannot in any way condone the Bonus Buy on Extra Chilli... at least if i'm buying the bonus, give me a bonus that i can't just lose! And yes, i know no one is forced to gamble it, but the 8 Spins bonus was so rubbish, you had no choice but to risk it!