Ra’s Reckoning

Ra's Reckoning: Slot Overview

If there's a planetary spot software provider Play'n GO likes to visit, it's the desert, river, and sun-warmed scene of ancient Egypt. Slots like Book of Dead, Legacy of Dead, and Dawn of Egypt are but three prior occasions it's done so and what often unites them is a certain Play'n GO Egyptian slot look. Put that to the side for a moment, because the developer has made Ra's Reckoning, which, like Picasso moving from his Blue Period to the Rose Period, showcases a dramatic artistic shift, though the same originality can't be said about much of the gameplay.

There might be twelve million Egyptian slots, but none of them look quite like this, and artwork is one of Ra's Reckoning's most creative elements. It's like a peyote trip, or something, just guessing here, but instead of walking into a North American desert and meeting your spirit animal, players walk through the hot Egyptian sands where Ra greets them in a boldly lined, cartoon world. Many of the bits that usually show up in Egyptian-themed slots are there - pyramids, scarabs, blazing sun, it just looks different as if Play'n GO has not only peered back in time, it's peered through some weird door of perception, as well.

Ra's Reckoning is a cluster pays slot held on a 6x5 reelset. Connecting 5 or more matching symbols anywhere on the grid creates a win and triggers cascades. Bet selection goes from a minimum of $/€0.10 to a maximum of $/€100 per spin, and the RTP at its highest setting is 96.2%, with several lower return models also available. Rated 10 out of 10, Ra's Reckoning is a highly volatile machine.

Its lower value symbols are 10 to A card royals, while the higher values are lotus flowers, cats, Ankhs, scarabs, and Eyes of Horus. Five-of-a-kind clusters are worth 0.10x to 1x when they land, going up to 15x to 100x the bet for hitting 13+ OAK. The wild symbol replaces all regular paying symbols in the game.

Ra's Reckoning: Slot Features

Ra's Reckoning's features consist of Mega Drop cascades, Divine Frames, coin reveals, and two bonus rounds.

Mega Drop

When a winning combination forms, all matching regular pay symbols are removed from the grid, whether they were winners or not. New symbols cascade down to fill the gaps, and this continues as long as new wins are formed.

Divine Frames

After a winning combination forms, the positions behind the winning symbols are highlighted with frames. The frames progress from bronze to silver to gold, each offering increasing rewards. Progress through the tiers occurs by forming additional wins over frames during the Mega Drop. One win for bronze, two for silver, and three for gold.

A Ra's Blessing symbol may land on a regular spin or Mega Drop - one per spin. If a Ra's Blessing symbol is present after wins have been awarded, bronze, silver, and gold Divine Frames reveal bronze, silver, or gold coins, respectively. Bronze coins are worth 0.2x to 1x, silver coins from 2x to 5x, and gold coins 10x to 25x. There is a chance to reveal Jar or Clash symbols in each bronze, silver, and golden Divine Frame. When revealed, Clash symbols multiply all coins and full Jar symbols on adjacent squares. Clash symbols can have values of x2 to x10, and only one may appear per spin. Jar symbols collect the values of all coins and other Jars on the grid. After collecting, frames not holding the Jar reactivate to reveal new symbols till no new Jar lands.

Red Eclipse Free Spins

Landing 3 scatters awards 8 free spins. In this feature, all Divine Frames are sticky between spins until they are activated by a Ra's Blessing symbol. Once activated, they reset. Landing 2 scatters awards +2 free spins with a further +2 free spins for each additional scatter up to a maximum of 46.

Divine Red Eclipse Free Spins

Hitting 4, 5, or 6 scatters awards 8, 10, or 12 free spins, respectively. During Divine Red Eclipse free spins, all Divine Frames remain sticky throughout the entire feature. Extra free spins can be won in the same way as the Red Eclipse feature, up to a maximum of 54.

Ra's Reckoning: Slot Verdict

Perhaps because Play'n GO has already designed a ton of ancient Egyptian slots, the studio felt the need, desire, or compulsion to make something that looks like nothing they've done before. If so, they have succeeded, because Ra's Reckoning has a striking appearance which might not be to all tastes. If the studio's Egyptian classics, Book of Dead, etc, got you going, then Ra's Reckoning might look a bit too weird. Maybe not, though, it's not so abstract as to be unrecognisable, and there are no doubts as to what sort of game it is. And who knows? Maybe the software developer is set to launch a brand new art movement in the gambling world.

Passing on to the gaming side, this isn't so original. The reason why is that the highlighting of winning symbol positions, loading them with coins if a certain trigger symbol lands, and multiplying and collecting them with further special symbols come right from Hacksaw Gaming's 'Le' series: Le Bandit, Le Cowboy, and so on. Some may have accused Hacksaw Gaming itself of plagiarising its own work at times (Le Santa, for example), in which case witnessing a competitor do so is likely to leave an even stranger taste in the mouth.

On the skin side, Ra's Reckoning shows that it is still capable of surprise within a well-worn theme. The slot's psychedelic Egyptian world and cascading, frame-driven coin-creating action inject energy into the genre, even if the underlying mechanics follow recognisable blueprints. An imaginative art direction gives the game enough individuality to stand out from the crowd, even if the set of features is less than brand new. Viewed from a purely numerical standpoint for a moment, Ra's Reckoning's 50,000x win cap (realistic, or not so much) might help sway those sitting on the fence about the whole thing. To sum it up, Ra's Reckoning feels like a vivid aesthetic experiment grafted onto proven gameplay, which is fun to look at and play, though the copycat element loses it a few cool points.