The ‘Book of’ gameplay mechanic and style is one of the longest-enduring trends in the iGaming industry. The enduring popularity of titles like Book of Dead has ensured developers, especially Play’n Go, revisit the concept time and time again. The developer has done that once again with Scales of Dead. The title takes players back to Ancient Egypt once again to discover more expanding symbols, free spins, and, in this instance, a 10,000x maximum win. Does the game do anything to differentiate itself from similar online slots, though? Let’s take it for a spin and find out in this Scales of Dead slot review. 

Scales of Dead was released by Play’n Go in 2023, but it definitely has the feel of a slot that came out much earlier than that. The game's design is reminiscent of Egyptian-themed titles like Book of Dead, which were extremely popular in the late 2010s/early 2020s. 

The design is simple, with a desert and the pyramids in the background, a golden border around the reels, and Anubis, Ra, and a tomb appearing on the reels. The slot feels like very ‘Egyptian slot 101,’ but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as fans of the genre will no doubt be more than happy to revisit this setting once again. 

The Scales of Dead online slot has been developed with mobile users in mind. Play’n Go has designed the slot using HTML5 technology, ensuring it runs smoothly on all devices or operating systems. It will also run smoothly on the best mobile casino apps if they are available. 

Scales of Dead keeps things very conventional in its base game. The slot uses five reels and three rows, with ten fixed paylines on every spin. Winning combinations are formed by landing three or more matching symbols across a payline, starting on the leftmost reel. 

The stake is adjusted using the +/- buttons on the control panel beneath the reels. All stakes are displayed as a bet level and a stake per line, with the paytable displaying winnings per payline stake. This slightly old-school approach for a slot released in 2023 doesn’t impact the gameplay in any way, with the minimum stake being $0.10 and the maximum being $100. 

As we’ve mentioned throughout this Scales of Dead slot review, the game is another to use the popular ‘Book of’ style set-up and mechanics. This becomes apparent in the bonus rounds, with the free spins round featuring an expanding symbol bonus like the ones seen in other ‘Book of’ games like Book of Ra or Book of Shadows.

To trigger the Scales of Dead free spins, players will need to trigger three or more scatter symbols. This awards eight spins. At the start of the round, a symbol is selected as the expanding symbol. Every time it lands on the reels, it will expand to cover it and count as multiple versions of that symbol. 

If you land two scatters during the bonus, you will trigger the Sandstorm free spins. During this round, a multiplier value of either 2x, 3x, or 4x is randomly applied to the expanding symbol. If you land two more scatters during the round, you will get two extra spins. 

As well as this, the slot also has an old-school gamble feature. This is triggered whenever you land a win in the game. Players are presented with a face-down card and must guess the color of it to double their money. If they are wrong, they will lose their winnings. You can win up to five times in a row. Of course, you are free to skip the gamble round and just keep your initial winnings. 

Play’n Go has stuck closely to math models seen in similarly themed titles. The maximum win here is a solid 10,000x your stake, with the game being given a 9/10 volatility rating by the developer. The highest RTP version of the game you will find sits at 96.21%, which puts it higher than the industry average. However, Play’n Go has released several versions of the game, so check the paytable before you play for real money. 

The blueprint for Egyptian-themed ‘Book of’ slots is fairly well-established at this point, and Scales of Dead does not make a lot of effort to stray too far from this. The game knows its audience, and if you are a fan of expanding symbols, Egyptian mythology, and a late 2010s style, then Scales of Dead is the title for you. For those that are new to the ‘Book of’ style from Play'n GO, this is a good introduction, with the game’s higher-than-average RTP and 10,000x maximum win both being attractive.