Scarab Ascension Slot
Scarab Ascension keeps things simple. Hacksaw partner NowNow Gaming has built the game almost entirely around one objective: collect Scarab Gold symbols, climb through a series of jackpot prizes and, in the bonus, make the grid progressively larger. There isn't much else competing for attention, which makes the slot easy to understand but also leaves the base game feeling rather bare when the Scarabs aren't showing up.
The game begins on a conventional 5x3 grid with 9 paylines, but the jackpot meter sitting beside the reels is where most of the interest lies. Eight fixed prizes range from 5x all the way to the 10,000x max win, with each requiring a specific number of Scarab Gold symbols on the same spin. Five Scarabs award the lowest prize, with progressively larger collections moving further up the meter.
Scarab Rise turns that same idea into the main bonus feature. Landing 3 Scatters starts the round with 3 spins on the original 5x3 grid. Collecting 5 Scarab symbols advances the feature by one level, adds another row to the grid and resets the spin counter. There are eight levels in total, meaning the board can eventually grow as far as 5x10 with 44 paylines. When the feature ends, the jackpot corresponding to the level reached is awarded. It's straightforward, but the expanding grid at least gives the bonus a clear sense of progression and makes every level visibly more valuable than the last.
There are also three enhanced play options. BonusHunt FeatureSpins cost 3x the bet and make the bonus seven times more likely to trigger, while 50x Scarab Gold FeatureSpins guarantee at least one jackpot prize on each purchased spin. The Scarab Rise feature itself can be bought directly for 100x the bet where feature purchases are available.
A 96.3% RTP is a good number, and the 10,000x top prize gives the jackpot ladder a worthwhile destination. The issue is everything surrounding it. Outside the Scarab collection mechanic, there simply isn't much happening, and the regular spins can become repetitive while waiting for something meaningful to land. The Egyptian setting doesn't help distinguish it either, relying on the same pyramids, gods, gems and desert scenery that have appeared in countless slots before it.
Scarab Ascension therefore lives or dies on how appealing its jackpot progression sounds. Scarab Rise is easily the better part of the game, since growing the board while moving through increasingly valuable jackpot levels provides an obvious target to chase. Unfortunately, the base game offers very little to support that idea between feature hits.
With an extremely familiar theme and a feature set that barely extends beyond collecting Scarabs, this feels functional rather than memorable. The RTP and 10,000x ceiling are respectable, but there isn't enough personality or variety here to make Scarab Ascension stand out in an already crowded market.
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