When some players see a slot name such as Pharaoh’s Reign, they usually think, ‘OMG, not another Egyptian slot again!’. I fully understand that. The Egyptian niche is resilient, which is great, but at the same time, many of these slots are boring. Pharaoh’s Reign by Kalamba Games aims to shake things up, upgrading a classic Egyptian slot with simple yet effective wild features for big prizes.

The slot’s action occurs on a 5x3 grid with standard ancient Egypt slots. You’ll see scarab wilds, the pharaoh himself, and an ankh. Volatility is extremely high, but I’ll cover more of that below. For now, I can say that it’s a slot you should play responsibly to get the most out of your sessions.

Most of the action revolves around the wild features. Wilds can double any win they’re part of and morph into special symbols when the bonus round comes. Read more in my Pharaoh’s Reign slot review below and give the slot a spin or two at the top casinos with Kalamba Games.

Pharaoh’s Reign is quite the looker. The slot has sharp graphics and animations, relying on a classic 5x3 setup. What impresses me the most are the symbol animations. The wild’s animations play whenever it lands, while the other symbols do their little dance when they’re part of a win.

The action is accompanied by excellent audio, including a great soundtrack and sound effects. Those doubled wild wins are the sounds you want to hear, so from an audio-visual perspective, Kalamba Games has nailed things down. There are no surprises with the layout, too – Pharaoh’s Reign is easy to read and play on the go at the best slot sites.

Before you set your foot into the depths of the Egyptian underworld, you should check the betting range. Place bets from 20c to $100 per spin and hit the spin button to begin. Right next to it are the turbo speed button and the autoplay if you prefer auto spins.

Wins in the Pharaoh’s Reign slot are created for three or more matching symbols on one of the 20 paylines. Symbols pay from left to right. The wild can substitute for other symbols in winning combinations. What it does extra is double each win it’s part of in both the base game and the bonus round. There’s an extra wild feature in the bonus, which I’ll cover more of below. The only exceptions to this rule are wins involving wild symbols.

Unfortunately, that’s it when it comes to specials in the base game. You’ll see a few locked prizes above the reels, but they can only be won in the bonus round.

Three or more scatters trigger the Pharaoh’s Reign free spins round. You always receive ten free spins for any number of triggering scatters and a payout that’s as high as 20x for five. During the free spins bonus, any extra scatters award ten additional spins.

Wilds now gain the ability to morph into cash pot symbols. Whenever they do, they contribute to the K-Pot prizes above the reels. At the end of the free spins round, the slot evaluates all K-Pot prizes and pays the amount to the player. The Wilds still double any win they’re part of.

If you don’t want to wait for the bonus round to occur, you can buy your way into it. Ten free spins cost 146.50x the bet, 15 free spins cost 248x the bet, and 20 free spins cost 376.50x the total bet.

I don’t usually like Egyptian slots, as they can be boring. Too many developers stick to familiar territory with these slots, mostly using the "Book of…" mechanics. Pharaoh’s Reign does things differently, even if it doesn’t reinvent the wheel.

I started my session with spins of $1 to see how often and how much the slot pays. The extreme volatility, as stated by the developer, is softened by the wilds that land regularly. During my session, I hit decent wins in the base game thanks to the doubling wild multipliers, even hitting a 12x win on one occasion.

Getting to the bonus round was a challenge, so I ended up paying a steep price. It only returned 48.20x in real money, which is less than a third of the investment. I only had a few morphed wild for the duration of the bonus – you might get luckier.

Pharaoh’s Reign is a highly volatile slot game with an RTP of 96.58%. Its maximum win is 3,000x the bet.

Ancient Egypt is full of uncovered wonders, which makes it a perfect thematic choice for many developers. While most studios stick to the "Book of…" slots niche, Kalamba Games takes a different approach. Instead of books of dead, this slot relies on wild features for a refreshing experience that also pays decent prizes.

If you prefer something a bit more familiar, Play’n GO’s Book of Dead is a great pick. Yggdrasil’s Valley of the Gods 2 is my recommendation, featuring more rewarding and fun gameplay. You can find all these slots and other Egyptian tales at the top casino sites with Kalamba slots.