Book of Ra Deluxe review

Theme and Storyline

Book of Ra Deluxe is an updated and polished remake of Novomatic Slots’ classic Egyptian exploration themed slot machine.

Thematically, the game is more or less the same as the old one, with a hieroglyphic inspired ace to ten symbols, scarab beetles, sarcophaguses, ka statues and a knock-off version of Indiana Jones.

Book of Ra is a bit of a classic but was definitely feeling its age so a revamp is certainly welcome.

Graphics, Sounds and Animations

This is where the update really shows, the background art is a little more convincing and professional, the symbols higher def and far more artistically drawn. Everything represents a general increase in quality from the original.

The sound is still a little out of kilter with the setting sounding very much like the brick and mortar slot machine that the original was adapted from. The reels go round to electronic bleeps and squeaks but that all contributes to its slightly old fashioned charm.

Gameplay

The gameplay is what you would expect from an old style slot.

The main game is a simple five reel, ten win line slot machine that allows you to chose one, three, five, seven, nine or ten lines to bet on.

There is a simple black and red gamble feature and free spins as the main bonus (more details below).

Overall the gameplay is pretty simple but in a familiar way. If you enjoy classic style slots, the lack of features won’t bug you.

Wilds, Bonuses and Free Spins

There are two special symbols – a Wild symbol and a Scatter.

If you manage to hit three or more Scatters you trigger ten free spins to go with your Scatter payout. During those spins, one symbol is randomly chosen to be an "Expanding Symbol". Each spin, after payouts are initially calculated, the Expanding symbol then expands across the whole reel and calculates any additional wins.

The Wild plays as any symbol except the scatter symbol.

Bet Sizes, RTP and Variance

The return to player on this game is 95.10%. This is lower than we normally like. The average of around 96% tends to be as low as we will go without counting it against the slot machine.

The game enjoys a medium to high level of variance. This can be adjusted up by playing fewer lines and down by playing more lines.

The website we tested allowed a minimum bet of $/£/€0.10 to a maximum bet of $/£/€50.00 per spin. This will only disappoint very high rollers. The formatting allows for plenty of granularity in picking your bet size.

Conclusion

Book of Ra Deluxe is a solid update of a much beloved classic and although the result is still somewhat basic it remains an ever-popular slot machine.

It is mostly the low return to player of 95.10% that excludes it from getting a recommendation from us.