Athena Ascending (Play’n GO) – Review & Demo Play

Athena Ascending - Slot Overview

Athena Ascending by Play'n GO brings the Greek goddess back on a 5-reel, 3-row grid with 20 paylines. It's a follow-up to Rise of Athena and keeps the clean-lined, airy feel, now backed by a dramatic vocal soundtrack. Stakes run from 0.05 to 100 per spin, and you can play on any device. The action is straightforward, yet punchier, with wild multipliers and a short, high-tempo bonus. I warmed to the sharper pace after a few sessions.

Maths-wise, Athena Ascending pumps the volatility into a high classification, roughly 7 out of 10. The RTP is variable, topping out at 96.2% with alternative profiles at 94.2%, 91.2%, 87.2%, and 84.2%, so I always check the info panel. Potential has been doubled from the earlier outing, with a max win of 10000x the bet. Fewer free spins are handed out, but the wild multipliers now grow between spins rather than shrink, which changes the flow without complicating the session.

Athena Ascending Slot Information

The setting shifts to a temple-like backdrop you can picture on the Acropolis, with smoky braziers, neat shrubbery and a hazy sky showing through a partially transparent grid. Wins hit by landing three or more of a kind on adjacent reels from the leftmost side. I found the layout clean and quick on desktop, tablet, and mobile. The overall atmosphere mirrors the earlier game, though the soundtrack and pacing lend this one a slightly more down-to-earth, dramatic tone.

Symbols and Paytable in Athena Ascending

The lower paying symbols are 10, J, Q, K and A in a tidy SPQR style, paying 1x the bet for five of a kind. Higher paying symbols are a scroll, an urn, a helmet, Pegasus and Athena herself. Five premiums pay between 2x and 50x the stake. Two Athena symbols can constitute a win too, paying 0.6x the bet, which helps balance the base game. I rate the paytable clear and easy to read during quicker sessions.

The golden coin is the wild symbol and the white owl is the scatter. Scatters pay 1x, 20x, or 500x the bet for 3, 4, or 5 and trigger 5 free spins. Wilds link features, so I keep an eye on them more than anything else. The split between low royals and themed premiums keeps the maths lean, with values trimmed from the earlier outing but headroom moved into multipliers and the top-end hit.

Athena Ascending Symbols and Paytable

Symbol	Quantity	Payout
	Scatter
	5	x500
	4	x20
	3	x1
	5	x50
	4	x4
	3	x2
	2	x0.6
	5	x5
	4	x2
	3	x1
	5	x4
	4	x1.6
	3	x0.8
	5	x3
	4	x1.2
	3	x0.6
	5	x2
	4	x0.8
	3	x0.4
	5	x1
	4	x0.4
	3	x0.2
	5	x1
	4	x0.4
	3	x0.2
	5	x1
	4	x0.4
	3	x0.2
	5	x1
	4	x0.4
	3	x0.2
	5	x1
	4	x0.4
	3	x0.2
	Multiplier
	Wild

Athena Ascending - Slot Features

As in the previous game, Athena Ascending's features aren't hugely complicated. The core is Random Wild Multipliers that stack together up to 64x, a Free Spins round with 5 spins, and Sticky Wilds that keep growing until they hit 4x. When free spins finish, a residual respins element can kick in while any sticky wilds remain. The shift from decreasing to increasing wild values between spins gives the bonus a different rhythm without drowning the base game in add-ons.

Wild Symbol in Athena Ascending

Wild symbols appear only on reels 2, 3, and 4 and always land with a random win multiplier of x1, x2, x3, or x4. They substitute for pay symbols to help create combinations. In regular play I'm always watching those centre reels, as a well-placed coin can swing a line win far higher than the flat paytable suggests, especially when premiums sit across the screen ready to connect during steady spells and sudden bursts.

When more than one wild forms part of a win, their multiplier values are multiplied together, capped at x64. That stacking is where the slot finds its bite. I've had base hits climb from modest to memorable when two or three coins lined up across the middle. It's simple, quick-to-read maths, and it pairs neatly with the short free spins package that follows when the owls show up on cue.

Free Spins in Athena Ascending

Land 3, 4, or 5 owl scatters anywhere to trigger 5 free spins and a payout of 1x, 20x, or 500x the bet. That upfront hit can set the tone, especially when five owls land clean. It's a lean allocation compared to the earlier outing, yet the feature builds pace fast because of the way the wild multipliers behave once they stick. Scatters don't appear during the round, so you're banking on position and growth.

In free spins, wild symbols stick to the reels and their multiplier increases by +1 on each subsequent spin. When a stuck wild reaches x4, it falls off the grid before the next spin. That rise keeps the board dynamic while still keeping the cap sensible. I've had rounds where two coins crept up in tandem, then dropped away just as a third landed, keeping the screen in motion nicely.

When your five spins finish, any sticky wilds in view award respins until no wild remains. There's no retrigger, but these tail-end respins can push out a few extra wins and stretch the feature beyond the initial five. The change from decreasing to increasing multipliers between spins is the key tweak here; it mixes things up while staying faithful to the simple, semi-sticky wild play that defined the earlier slot.

Athena Ascending - Slot Verdict

Seen as a follow-up, Athena Ascending feels astute in how it kneads the original dough. Volatility is up and the max winning potential reaches 10000x, yet the feature set stays lean. The graphics are fine, the soundtrack helps deepen the ambience, and the base can feel a bit empty many times until coins show. I spin it when I want quick, high-risk shots with multipliers that can climb fast rather than long bonus marathons.