Beat the Beast: Mighty Sphinx: Overview

Thunderkick is back with the second release in its Beat the Beast series. There are five titles planned, each designed for what Thunderkick calls “brave players”. The first entry sent those daring players under the waves to face the legendary Kraken in Kraken’s Lair. This follow-up goes the other way entirely, swapping ocean depths for the heat and sand of Egypt and the familiar iconography that comes with the theme. So, after battling a many-tentacled nightmare from the deep, players return to the well-known setting of Ancient Egypt.

One of the first things you’re likely to notice is how closely Mighty Sphinx resembles Kraken’s Lair—aside from the backdrop and a handful of symbol and colour tweaks, naturally. The core setup is identical too: 5 reels, 3 rows, and 9 paylines for making winning lines. The betting range is also unchanged, as is typical for Thunderkick slots, letting you spin from 10 p/c per spin, or as high as $/€100. It’s worth noting that while Thunderkick positioned the series as classic slots with modern twists, the sequel doesn’t appear to have added much extra “twist”.

The pleasantly traditional-but-updated visuals that worked well in Kraken’s Lair feel a little less fresh the second time around due to the strong similarity, though it’s not a deal-breaker. The paytable follows the same approach as before, using comparable symbol styling and dividing them into low, medium, and high pay tiles. Low pays are the 10-A royals, while medium pays are the Sphinx statuette, the scarab, Ankh, and Khopesh Sword. The top symbol is the winged Sphinx, paying 250 times the stake for five on a line—around half the value the Kraken carried, for comparison.

For winning combinations, the low pays require at least three matching symbols, while the mid and high pays need only two. The last symbol is the Sphinx Emblem, serving as both scatter and wild. In its wild role, it substitutes for any other symbol.

Since it’s part of the Beast series, the game runs on a highly volatile math model. Another key number is the RTP, which comes in at 96.14%—a 0.02% increase over Kraken’s Lair for anyone keeping track.

Beat the Beast: Mighty Sphinx: Features

With its focus on a more old-school slot feel, the game doesn’t pack in a huge number of features, though that doesn’t stop it from being enjoyable. In the base game, the Mystery feature can trigger at random on any spin. When it does, up to 3 Sphinx Emblems wilds/scatters are placed randomly on any reel at the start of the spin. Also note that Sphinx Emblems pay 2x, 20x, and 200x for 2, 3, and 5 of a kind.

The main attraction is the Free Spins feature, which begins with 10 spins when 3 golden Sphinx Emblems land anywhere in view on the reels. At the start of each free spin, 1-3 golden Emblems are randomly added to the reels. If 3 Emblems are visible, they award 5 extra spins—half of what Kraken offered, if you were curious. When free spins are retriggered, they also enable the Wild Upgrade feature. This feature turns one mid pay symbol into a wild symbol.

Beat the Beast: Mighty Sphinx: Verdict

To start the verdict, it’s fair to say that as a standalone title, Mighty Sphinx is perfectly solid, without any glaring negatives. As the next step in the Beat the Beast series, however, it may leave some players underwhelmed. Sequels are usually expected to expand on the original, as creators often feel the need to raise the bar. That’s true across movies, games, books, and slots alike. Mighty Sphinx is one of the rarer follow-ups that opts to scale things back. Kraken’s Lair launched the Beat the Beast Series strongly, with an intimidating foe, some engaging features, and good potential. By comparison, the sequel feels lighter, with many elements either repeated or reduced. That includes the visuals, the feature set, and—crucially for many players—the max payout.

With a top win of 4,444 times the stake, the ceiling is notably lower than Kraken’s Lair. There’s no big reason to avoid Mighty Sphinx, but there also isn’t a standout hook unless the whole beast-beating idea really clicks with you.

Thunderkick generally delivers well-crafted, entertaining games, yet it feels like something limited them with Mighty Sphinx. That’s unfortunate, because the much-hyped Beast series is an ideal chance to go all-in, challenge the bigger studios, and make a statement. Hopefully, Mighty Sphinx is simply a brief moment of easing off before the series ramps up again. Maybe the Beast series is about to take players somewhere genuinely strange and exciting that gets everyone talking. Here’s hoping.