Scepter of Anubis: Slot Overview

Editor’s note: The game is still under development and the soundtrack is still being worked on. We plan on reviewing Scepter of Anubis again once it gets a full release.

Quickspin may be headquartered in Stockholm, yet the studio has put out plenty of popular slots themed around far-off parts of Asia. Eastern Emeralds and Eastern Emeralds Megaways are among the standouts, along with the trio of Sakura Fortune titles. The most recent one we covered, Sakura Fortune Epic Bloom, has effectively been repurposed, acting as the foundation for Scepter of Anubis—an Egyptian reskin that keeps the full reel wild and respin pairing the cherry-blossom series is known for.

While Sakura Fortune Epic Bloom burst with vibrant pink petals, Scepter of Anubis initially delivered a more restrained take on its setting. The base game visuals are perfectly fine, but they mostly amount to subtle pyramids and palm trees in the backdrop. That’s acceptable, though also a little flat, and it can feel like Scepter of Anubis wasn’t a project Quickspin poured a huge amount of passion into. It’s pleasant enough on the eyes, just not especially distinctive—although it did come across better the longer we spent with it.

On the maths side, there’s little in the way of change; the best RTP is 96.06% with stakes from 10 c to $/€100 per spin, or 96.34% if Extra Bet is switched on. When enabled, Extra Bet costs 2x the base bet and provides an increased chance of landing Anubis Wilds and activating free spins or super free spins. Set on a 5×4 gaming grid, this is a highly volatile online slot featuring 40 paylines that pay left to right.

Scepter of Anubis has 4 low symbols made up of winged scarabs in different colours, while the mid-tier icons are a bird statue, a sphinx statue, Horus and Sobek, and the lone premium symbol is a golden pharaoh. A 5-of-a-kind line of low pays returns 1x the bet, 5 mediums pay 2x-3x, and the high pay symbol delivers 10 times the bet for a 5 OAK win.

Scepter of Anubis: Slot Features

Much like its floral counterpart, Scepter of Anubis includes full reel nudging wilds, respins, free spins, super free spins with potential multipliers, plus two bonus buy options.

Anubis Wild & Respins

The Anubis Wild is a fully stacked symbol that replaces all symbols except the scatter and can appear on every reel. Five wilds across a payline award 20 times the bet. A full reel Anubis Wild also acts as a scatter symbol. Whenever an Anubis Wild lands, it has a chance to nudge to cover the whole reel. Getting a full Anubis Wild on the screen activates the respins feature. One full Anubis Wild awards 1 respin. Landing or nudging in more Anubis Wilds adds +1 respin each time. The feature finishes once no additional Anubis Wilds appear.

Free Spins

Hitting 3, 4, or 5 scatter symbols or Anubis Wilds anywhere on the reels grants 8, 12, or 16 free spins, respectively. In free spins, any Anubis Wild on the grid expands to cover the whole reel and remains sticky until the feature ends. It also triggers the respin feature and awards +1 free spin.

Super Free Spins

When a super scatter symbol lands on the rightmost reel alongside at least 2, 3, or 4 scatters or Anubis Wilds on the triggering spin, players receive 8, 12, or 16 super free spins instead of standard free spins, respectively. In super free spins, whenever one or more Anubis Wilds fills an entire reel, a multiplier of x2, x3, x5, or x100 is selected to apply to that spin and its respin. If a new Anubis Wild arrives during a respin, a new multiplier is chosen that is equal to or higher than the previous one.

Gamble & Feature Buy

If free spins or super free spins are triggered with less than 5 triggering symbols, players may gamble for a shot at winning up to 16 free spins or super free spins. Failed gambles mean the entire bonus round is lost. Free spins can’t be gambled into super free spins, and super free spins can’t be gambled into free spins. Both bonus rounds can also be purchased from the base game. Regular free spins cost 80x the bet and have an RTP of 96.74%, while super free spins cost 160x the bet and have an RTP of 96.65%.

Scepter of Anubis: Slot Verdict

In the end, Scepter of Anubis left us feeling positive, though not blown away. The audiovisual side improved after a first look at the base game didn’t exactly impress, and the presentation started to feel more complete. Quickspin has plenty of experience, and its artists generally know how to craft attractive scenes. The audio, however, didn’t hit the same standard here, as during testing the Scepter of Anubis demo seemed to use the same soundtrack as Sakura Fortune Epic Bloom. Hopefully, the studio will address that before Scepter of Anubis fully rolls off the production line.

“Reused” also applies to the gameplay, given that this is a reskin. As with the Sakura Fortune entries, the core objective is to land as many full reel wilds as possible to keep respins coming and potentially fill the screen with wilds. Just like before, the highlight is reaching—or buying into—super free spins, where multipliers can come into play. As in Epic Blossom, it didn’t come across as a huge step forward from Sakura Fortune 2, which offered far greater win potential alongside its quirky off-balance grid and locking wild antics. Still, it’s difficult to complain about Scepter of Anubis’ 10,000x win cap, and its super free spins round can easily turn into a tense, edge-of-your-seat ride if luck swings your way.

Of course, Scepter of Anubis doesn’t really bring much—if anything—that players haven’t already seen. That said, anyone who enjoyed the cherry-blossom appeal of Sakura Fortunes Epic Bloom may be just as satisfied with how Scepter of Anubis has landed, perhaps even more so depending on whether they prefer the Egyptian theme.