Rise of Dead (Play’n GO): Review

In Rise of Dead, we return to the valley of the kings to hunt for riches in what’s essentially a nod to the 2016 Play’n GO blockbuster Book of Dead, itself an unabashed imitation of Novomatic’s headline game Book of Ra. That’s the thing with this studio – while celebrated for plenty of original, highly entertaining, top-tier slots, the Swedes also tend to put out a fair number of clones (as do many other providers we shall add).

So what are we getting at? We’ll come to that, but first let’s cover the fundamentals. Rise of Dead uses a 5-reel, 20-payline format and packs 3 core features. First up is the Mega Stacks feature, which runs on every spin in the base game. Next is the randomly triggered Gift of Gods feature, also in the main game, where 3 fully stacked reels lock in place while the other 2 reels re-spin. Finally, and most importantly, there’s the Ancient Free Spins feature offering a range of helpful mechanics. Rise of Dead comes with an industry standard default RTP of 96.53% and allows stakes from 0.20 and 100 Eur per spin.

On the visual side, it’s a dimmer, moodier spin on its sibling. The atmosphere is dark and apocalyptic, with cool elemental tones and a bluish cast. In addition, hieroglyphs, including the ancient Egyptian Ankh, sit on either side of the info bar as a nod to eternal life. The reels show A to 10 royals along with 3 premium walking dead pharaohs. Tutankhamun, the ruler of the New Kingdom and pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, is the most valuable – landing 5 across a payline pays 25 times your stake. The scarab beetle acts as the wild. It does the standard job of substituting for all symbols except the scatter and is also the top-paying icon, awarding 125 times your stake for 5 across a payline.

Rise of Dead (Play’n GO): Features

Most of your sessions will naturally revolve around chasing the bonus, so it’s good that the base game includes plenty of solid features to keep things lively. Rise of Dead includes the Mega Stacks feature, which triggers on every spin in the main game. A symbol is chosen at random and then fills each reel in stacks that are 12 symbols tall. This, unsurprisingly, greatly boosts the odds of forming wins with that selected symbol.

Still in the base game, the Gift of Gods feature can also activate at random. When it hits, reels 1, 3 and 5 become full stacks of the same symbol and stay locked while reels 2 and 4 keep spinning with the regular symbol set, which can potentially deliver a 500x win if you manage to land a full screen of the highest-paying symbol.

That said, the real focus is the Ancient Free Spins if you’re aiming for the biggest payouts. To enter the tomb of the dead kings, 3 scroll scatters must land on reels 1, 3 and 5. You begin with 10 free spins, and during the bonus, landing 1, 2 or 3 scatters adds 2, 4 or 10 extra free spins respectively. There is no cap on how many times the feature can be retriggered. The free spins round is essentially Mega Stacks turned up a notch with extra perks. Not only are all regular symbols stacked on the reels, but the wild symbol can also appear stacked. On top of that, premium pharaoh symbols that form a win will expand to cover the entire reels. A full-screen wilds pays 2500 times your stake, and with extreme luck, there’s even a chance to reach the 5000x roof during the bonus.

Rise of Dead (Play’n GO): Verdict

Unfortunately, Rise of Dead ends up feeling like little more than a clone of another Play’n GO slot released last year, Gold King. With such a strong chance to build further on the legacy of one of its most successful games, Play’n GO somehow fails to capitalise on a clear opportunity.

It’s not that Gold King is a poor slot; it’s just that the heavy Book of Dead references pushed our expectations much higher – a game that, whether we want to admit it or not, many of us gamblers have a strong emotional connection to. Even without being an official sequel, the artwork makes it difficult not to view it that way. After all, Play’n GO is a developer forever interlinked with Book of Dead.