Dawn of Egypt (Play’n GO): Overview

If there’s one studio that clearly enjoys the Ancient Egypt motif, it’s Play’n GO. How many Egyptian-themed titles have they released by now? It’s tough to pin down, but there’s certainly plenty for fans of the setting to choose from. Their newest release is Dawn of Egypt, a follow-up to Legacy of Egypt. The risk with producing lots of similar games is that they can start to blend together and lose their punch. So, how strongly does Dawn of Egypt land?

As players have come to expect from Play’n GO, the presentation is undeniably polished. The symbols look crisp in high definition, and the backdrop brings Ancient Egypt vividly to life. The 5×3 reels sit inside a temple at the foot of a pyramid, glowing in intense sunlight. Play’n GO has built plenty of slots in this style, and they’ve become very skilled at capturing the era’s atmosphere. After taking in the visuals, players can choose stakes from 10 p/c up to $/€100 per spin and get started. The reels run across 10 paylines, where wins are made by landing three or more matching symbols on a line.

Payout values are impressively strong across the symbol set. The lower tier consists of J – A royals, each designed to match the theme. Above them are the premium symbols: a lotus flower, Ankh, scorpion, snake, plus the gods Bastet and Horus. The falcon god Horus pays a hefty 100 times the stake for five on a payline. The regular wild is a gleaming scarab ornament, paying 100 times the stake for five of a kind and, as usual, substituting for any other standard pay symbol.

More experienced players will appreciate the high volatility rating (7/10), even if it doesn’t reach the level of Book of Dead, which scores 1o out of 10 for volatility. Also note the RTP, which is 96.23% by default, though it may differ depending on the market.

Dawn of Egypt (Play’n GO): Features

On top of respectable base-game payouts, the team at Play’n GO has assembled a packed set of features. It’s refreshing to see more effort put into the mechanics than into picking the theme. The main attraction, like uncovering hidden chambers, is a two-stage Free Spins setup. Free spins are triggered by landing three or more scatter symbols anywhere on the reels. The glowing blue pyramid scatter can also deliver excellent wins. Land four or five on a payline for 5x or 20x the stake. Better still, if you hit 5 scatters, you’ll score a 1,000x payout.

The free spins round starts with a spin of the Wheel of the Gods, which decides the number of spins awarded. The wheel can land on 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, or 20 free spins. On every free spin, one premium symbol is chosen at random. Any lower-value high pay symbols that appear on that spin are instantly upgraded into the selected high pay symbol.

There’s more: during free spins, the pyramid scatter transforms into a wild scatter. The wild scatter can act as a standard wild, substituting for any pay symbol. In addition, if 2 or more wild scatters land during a free spin, the action pauses and activates Pyramid Spins. Each wild scatter awards up to 4 Pyramid Spins. That allows for up to 20 Pyramid Spins, and they can be retriggered without limit. The twist is that Pyramid Spins keep the same chosen high pay symbol from the free spin that triggered the feature. This can result in spins dominated by the selected symbol, wilds, and royals. When Pyramid Spins end, play continues in the free spins round.

Dawn of Egypt (Play’n GO): Verdict

As noted earlier, Play’n GO clearly has a fondness for Ancient Egypt-style slots. For players, the upside is that they generally execute them well, which is no surprise given the experience they’ve built up. The downside is that the games are beginning to feel a bit similar. The symbols and scenery change from title to title, but there’s a recognizable “signature” to them. You can usually tell right away when you’re in a Play’n GO Egyptian themed slot.

Still, that familiarity isn’t necessarily a negative, since the overall standard is usually high. In Dawn of Egypt, the components come together into a reliably fun slot. The upside is also appealing, with the familiar 5,000 times the stake potential that Play’n GO often uses. With its high volatility, big swings can happen when the game hits, and that’s most likely during free spins. The way free spins can transition into Pyramid Spins is not only clever, but also adds another layer of tension as well as well as to winnings. That said, the game isn’t solely carried by its bonus round. Solid symbol values in the base game help keep it from feeling dull. Naturally, full lines of the top symbols won’t show up often, but they’re there waiting if Horus decides to reward his followers.

If you can live with a touch of sameness, Dawn of Egypt delivers a fun experience. It covers the essentials and doesn’t have any obvious flaws. Sure, it may fade into the background alongside countless other Ancient Egypt slots not long after you stop playing. But while the reels are in motion, Dawn of Egypt is fully capable of providing satisfying sessions.