Oh, great, another casino slot game set in ancient Egypt. We can hardly contain our excitement. Sarcasm aside, it just seems this Ra god won’t die. So, what new and exciting elements will feature in this game called Sanctuary? Our review will likely discuss the pyramids, the scarab beetles, and the eye of Horus. All the usual stuff that is guaranteed within such games. Plus, we will let you in on how the game performs and what special bonus features have been woven into the fabric of this game. So, is Sanctuary a haven of entertainment at the best slot sites, or are the gods mocking us once more? Let’s tell you what we really… sphinxs!

The love between slot gaming design and ancient Egypt is bordering on obsession. You’d think every idea was run into the ground, but no, you are guaranteed a few hundred more new Egypt slots each year for good measure.

Sanctuary does not escape any of the traditional themes that come with all other Egyptian slot games. The backdrop is dark and lit only by the glowing aura of the mighty golden pyramid. The symbols are, as you would expect, covering traditional Egyptian iconography. 

One random difference is that Big Time Gaming got the music license to use She Sells Sanctuary by the 80s new romantic pop band The Cult—a bit of pop trivia for you there.

The layout sees Sanctuary play on a grid that is 6x4 in reel-to-row ratio. Reels 2, 3, 4, and 5 are enlarged because this is where the Full Reel Wilds will land. More on this later. The game's control panel allows you to access the paytable so you can see the features of the bonuses and the values of the symbols. There are no paylines with this game. Instead, you have 4,096 ways to win. This means no payline patterns and wins are formed by just having adjacent symbols.

You can play the Sanctuary slot game with an autoplay option, to which you can assign the number of spins, including a loss limit and single win limit. You can see all this yourself by pressing on the free-to-play demo game. If you enjoy the experience, you’ll know just how the real money version performs.

You can play Sanctuary by Big Time Gaming from either your mobile Android smartphone or any iOS device. Because of the embedded HTML 5, there is nothing to download. Just tap on the demo and play as often as you want with no restrictions. If played as a real money game in an online casino, you don’t even have to download the casino app if one is provided. The game will instantly stream via the web browser you use. 

Remember to adjust default presets before playing the demo or the real money version of Sanctuary. The demo gives you 5,000 coins to play with for fun only. Don’t go crazy with them — use them as you would your own money and analyze how the game performs. The cost of play begins at $0.10 and, at the other end, maxes out at $12 per spin.

Once you have set the cost per spin, press the large play button to begin spinning those reels. Besides the highest-paying symbol (purple skull pharaoh), all other symbols need to be matched three or more times to count as a win. This higher-paying symbol needs two or more. 

During play, Full Reel Wilds can land on the central four reels. These help to bolster wins, and the purple wild can multiply wins by a factor of eight. No real money is won with the demo slot. So, should you want to be in with a chance of making some serious moolah, then head to the top-rated casinos online that we have reviewed to help you play this game for real payouts.  

Sanctuary comes with a free spins bonus round. This is triggered when landing three or more scatter symbols (glowing pyramids). A total of 7 free spins is granted, and after you receive them, the Free Spin Gamble Wheel unlocks. Now, this is something new. No other Egyptian-theme slot game comes with this. The wheel allows you to play the awarded free spins on four other video slots. This doesn’t mean four other games made by Big Time Gaming. It means that up to four other slot grids will open on the screen to help expand the opportunities and potential. 

During the free spins bonus, sticky wilds will feature. Sticky wilds remain throughout all free spins to help capture wins. Four sticky wilds on one reel become a full wild symbol with a 4x multiplier. It will also add three extra free spins to your counter.

The game comes with Big Time Gaming’s new slot feature, the Win Exchange. This allows you to swap your wins for free spins if you have won more than 80 times your stake. If you win less than 80x the value, you can gamble the offer of swapping wins for spins. 

Sanctuary also comes with a Bonus Buy slots option. This feature allows players to skip the base game and play within the bonus round at a cost. This cost is relative to how much they wish to wager but comes in at 80x the wagering amount. The Bonus Buy initially gives you seven free spins to start with.

The base game RTP score is 96.38%, with the Bonus Buy coming in at 96.39%.

The maximum win is 44,070 times the amount you bet per spin. If you were to bet at the maximum rate of $12 per spin, then the possible maximum payout would be $528,840.

The volatility of Sanctuary is set to high. This means that it is tough to land big wins. In turn, it makes it a costly game to pursue such glory. It's one to avoid if you cannot afford to land more misses than hits. High-volatility games are played because the potential wins can be substantially greater than the games with decreased volatility settings.

Like us, you might be sick to the back teeth of seeing constant Egyptian-themed games being churned out. However, you might love them, in which case, you’re going to be playing this anyway at top online casinos. As far as the gameplay goes, there is nothing inherently bad about the game. It’s just a shame the volatility is going to put some players off. The bonus round is really good, as the free spins can be played with sticky wilds and multipliers.

The Bonus Buy option is always favored. However, when we tested the game, we paid $80 for seven spins at a play cost of $1 per spin. At the end of the round, we won a total of $42.90. Worth it? Well, winning is measured by luck alone. You might fare better.