The love story between ancient Egypt and online slots is not one that needs introduction. We have seen it play out repeatedly across countless different games! It is easy to understand why. Ancient Egypt is ingrained in people’s memories, and has many notable designs that make great symbols. Add the mystery of the pyramids as well as what their culture was like, and you have a winning theme! You can unlock a free spins round with a special expanding icon in this Pragmatic Play release. There are no other special features.
We want to clarify that we do not mind the chosen theme in the slightest. It is a bit overrepresented in the grand scheme of things, but it goes to show just how popular the setting is. The developers do their best to cram as much of what makes ancient Egypt so appealing inside Return of the Dead’s background image. We see multiple pyramids, a setting sun and a lone camel wandering the sandy dunes between them. It looks all right, but we would have appreciated it more if the software provider gave us some more details. Check out our list of slot sites to see where you can try it out!
Return of the Dead Slot Features
- RTP: 96.71%
- Betting Range: £0.10 – £250.00
- Max Win: £1,250,000.00
- Similar Slots: Book of Ra, Book of Dead, Book of Oz
How it Works
You play this slot on a five-reel board with ten paylines. Said paylines are fixed, meaning we cannot turn them on or off to adjust our wager. Wins are granted by finding three or more identical symbols next to one another, starting with the leftmost reel. All winning combinations must follow an active payline, or else they will not grant a cash prize. The layout is clean and easy to navigate, which is a major plus for Pragmatic Play. We can spin the reels, change our bet, and set up Auto Play on the right side of the screen. On the left, players can adjust volume, look at the paytable and open the setting tab. Players can change their bet by using plus and minus keys, or by adjusting their coins per line and coin value. Either way, you can bet between £0.10 and £250.00 on each spin.
Icon designs are a mix of stylised playing card royals and symbols that are fully matched with the given theme. We appreciate the effort the developers put it with the playing card royals, but it is a rather minor effort. An Egyptian icon was added to them, but they remain just as colourful as always. Pragmatic Play can do much better in that aspect. Other symbols are much better in terms of design: scarabs, Ra, a sarcophagus and a handsome explorer. A book icon serves as both a Wild and a Scatter, making it the most important symbol in the game.
Return of the Dead Bonus Rounds
Land three or more Wild-Scatter books to activate a free spins round. At the same time, the book also grants its own cash prizes, assuming it does not substitute for any other icons. It can pay as both a Scatter and a Wild, and the rewards granted are separate. As a Scatter, the maximum payout is 200x your total stake. In this case, the win would have to occur so that there is no active payline that the five Wild-Scatter symbols followed. However, if you get a five-of-a-kind book win that follows an active payline, it will be paid out as a Wild. That means the cash prize you get will be 500x your total bet!
Either way, you need to get at least three Wild-Scatters to win ten free spins. Before this bonus even starts, this release selects a special expanding icon. The symbol is chosen from the paytable, and is selected randomly. After the icon is chosen, it will have several new powerful effects. First, it will be able to expand vertically to cover all three positions of a single column. It can also grant a payout on all reels, and no longer needs to follow active paylines to do so. In order to win with the special expanded symbol, you just need to land three of them on the playing field! Expansion only occurs if enough icons for a win are present.
Verdict
Return of the Dead is a familiar formula to anyone who has played Book of Dead. The slot makes no effort to change the bonus or add its own spin to things. Everything from the Egyptian theme to the bonuses has been done before. That said, this does not discount this Pragmatic Play game from being enjoyable. It uses a formula that has been proven to work! If you want something simple, rewarding and highly volatile, you should definitely consider this title! Check out our list of slot sites to see where you can try it out!
