The retro-futuristic online slot Diamond Staxx Multipays from developer Stakelogic is a nod to Mark Twain’s famous quote, “The past doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” It’s the kind of game that would have been cutting edge in 1987 but now seems a little quaint and retro. However, transporting players back in time was probably not Stakelogic’s primary motivation when designing Diamond Staxx Multipays, which combines retro and futuristic (ish) elements in a basic and sparse package.
You can tell a lot about whether or not Diamond Staxx Multipays is a good fit with just a quick glance. Stakelogic’s aesthetics are a throwback to the classics, with a grid full of chunky gem icons. The throwback vibe is echoed in the backdrop visuals, which are a combination of wireframe hills and a glittering triangle-filled sky. It’s like that scene in The Thirteenth Floor where Hall goes to a location he would never go otherwise and learns that his usual ‘world’ is only a simulation and everything beyond it is incompletely represented. Although it was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film, the Matrix ultimately won the honor.
Gameplay takes place on a 5-reel, 3-row grid with 10 fixed paylines and an additional winning mechanism known as Multipays, which will be discussed in further detail below. The game has a default RTP of 96.24% and a medium to high volatility; this seems to hold true whether playing in standard mode with a stake of 10 p/c to £/€ 100 per spin or activating Super Stake. It’s unclear why you’d want to use Super Stake. Only the instruction to “Double your bet to activate a special Super Stake Mode for extra chances to hit insanely valuable winning combinations” is provided in the paytable.
That may be a bit nebulous, but the symbols in Diamond Staxx Multipays are straightforward. There are no special symbols, such as a scatter or bonus icon, and all of the fun comes from the standard pay symbols. Gems of various colors (red, pink, yellow, and green) are the highest-paying icons, with 15x to 30x the wager for a full-screen flush. Double Bars, bells, and diamonds come next, with payouts ranging from 80x to 500x the wager for a full house of five of a kind, respectively. To win, you need at least three successive reels on the same payline to be filled with the same symbol from the left side of the board.
Slot Functions and Multipays in Diamond Staxx
The Multipays mechanism is discussed in its entirety, as complexity should be avoided at all costs. The first payout is given for any three-of-a-kind wins on the first three reels, and a second payout is given if the hit becomes a four-of-a-kind after the fourth reel finishes spinning. If the hit transforms into a five-of-a-kind as the fifth reel finishes, the payment is increased once more. In some ways similar to ReelPlay’s Infinity Reels, but limited to just five reels instead of an endless number.
The Final Say on Diamond Staxx Multipays Slots
While it makes good financial sense to go for the nostalgic dollar, doing it successfully is like to walking a tightrope between two cliffs as the wind picks up and the rain begins to fall. Oh, and if you’re unlucky enough to fall, there’s no net below to catch you. The challenge is in striking a chord between a throwback aesthetic and an unattractive, dated tone. Diamond Staxx Multipays balances perilously on the edge of these two contrasting play styles. While the Tron element in the backdrop is cool, the remainder of the game is more hit or miss for me. That is to say, might it be that it’s just a tad dated? It’s possible that the ’80s-inspired soundtrack and Starburst-like icons would satisfy players’ need for a throwback experience. Diamonds Staxx Multipays might be like sand in the eyes for certain people.
Now, on to the game, which has its own share of highs and lows. If the ups are insistent on keeping things as basic as possible, then they need look no farther than this game. After seeing Multipays do its thing a few times, we concluded that it was a fascinating concept, but ultimately not very sustainable. Line winnings in Diamond Staxx Multipays might cascade into more line wins based on the positions of the fourth and fifth reels. There is no promise of an extra round or any other overt changes. Maybe if Stakelogic had added something to balance the simplicity, like the Multipays feature, it may have helped pull it out of the rut it had dug for itself. There’s a Super Stake option, but it’s so poorly written that it’s impossible to know what it accomplishes.
By the conclusion of Diamond Staxx Multipays, I was left with a sense of unfinished business, as though the game had been released in its beta form. The Multipays mechanism was interesting enough to warrant further implementation; nevertheless, it may have more of an impact in a more complex game.
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