Ancient Egypt, an endless source of inspiration for more slot games than we can count, had many different deities that represented various aspects of nature, society and everyday life. There is, however, only one god who eventually became the rightful ruler of them all and encompassed all principles, concepts and phenomena imaginable. We're talking about Amun, the King of Gods, Creator of the Universe and the invisible force that drives everything there is. This is why Atomic Slot Lab from Bragg Studios came up with Amun Ascension and built a fascinating game around such a magnificent and omnipotent deity: his epic rise to the top inspired hope, motivation and ambition to his ancient followers - and continues to do so to players of this spellbinding slot title.
General Overview
Amun Ascension is a medium volatility game with a 5x3 initial grid and 243 ways to win. The low-paying royal symbols are easily distinguishable, color-coded and royally trimmed in gold, while mid-paying symbols, such as the ankh, eye of Horus and other typical Ancient Egyptian imagery, are jewellery-style elaborate and eye-catching.
Special symbols, however, surpass all others with their heavy gilded decoration that represents their practical, if not nominal, high value for the gameplay. They are the ones that generate the main appeal of the game because they serve many useful purposes. As opposed to many other games in which symbols usually have one specific role, Amun Ascension employs special symbols that have several different roles. Let us explain: the scarab is one of the main symbols as it can start the attractive pick feature, and in free games, it has the power to award up to 200 free games, instant credits or golden arrowheads that function as reel expansion symbols. Similarly, the golden door symbol lands on inner reels only and reveals multiplier wilds, scarabs and, in free games only, arrowheads as well. On the other hand, the golden arrowhead symbol serves only one purpose: when it lands, it expands the reel one position upwards to up to 6 positions. Needless to say, this boosts the number of winways to up to 7776 and heavily contributes both to the frequency and power of win-awarding combos. Figuring out what exactly each symbol does may be confusing at first, but you quickly get a grasp on their functions and from then on, it's just smooth sailing and unbridled slot satisfaction as you're chasing these special symbols in anticipation of the many features the game offers.
Artwork and Appearance When it comes to the visual aspect of the game, there can be no big surprises here: the theme heavily dictates the appearance of the game, especially the choice of colors. The Nile and the heavens above where gods reside can't be other than Egyptian blue, while the pyramids and the desert obviously come in shades of yellow, and this duality is repeated in the famous pharaonic burial masks and ceremonial costumes which also come in plenty of blue and yellow/gold. Luckily, the artwork looks like work of experienced illustrators and sports a bright and brand-new shine like it wasn't depicting thousands of years old motives. All this results in appealing imagery that attracts attention and holds it for a long time. Speaking of audio, this veteran studio constantly delivers games with top-notch sounds, be it clicks from reel spins or tinkles that follow payouts, and the musical score in the background feels both fitting and regally distinguished with a hint of oriental scales that reinforce the exotic experience of Ancient Egypt.
Features and Mechanics
Golden doors are always a welcome sight in the game: they reveal wilds and scarabs in the base game, and in free games, reel-expanding golden arrowheads as well. However, the most useful symbols are holy scarabs. In the base game, they reveal wilds with random multipliers of up to 25x, while in free games, they can reveal up to 200 free games, massive bet multiplier wins, and precious reel expansion symbols. The best thing about multipliers on revealed wilds is that they apply to all wins from that same spin: not just to the win from their own winway but to all wins from other winways too. This can lead to some hefty wins in the base game and pave the way to godly payouts in the free games phase.
Furthermore, just one holy scarab may be enough to trigger the coveted pick feature at any time. You get to choose one among three identical scarabs, each representing one feature you could start this way: ten free games, the credits feature, or the in-game jackpot feature. If you're lucky enough to pick the latter, a match-three game begins with twelve positions. You pick scarabs until you reveal three matching ones and win the corresponding prize: one of the four in-game jackpots that could be worth up to 5000x your bet. You could also reveal jackpot value-boosting symbols in the process: they will add their value to all potential jackpot prizes. What's more and even better, your in-game jackpot may be randomly boosted to the next higher one for even richer payouts.
The second pick option is the credits feature: simple but powerful and hassle-free: Amun, the generous king among gods, will send a random number of randomly-valued gems straight into your treasure for quick instant payouts. The third option is the free games feature. In free games, like we mentioned earlier, reveals from scarabs and golden doors include not just payout-boosting multipliers but also golden arrowhead symbols. Each will add another position on top of the reel it is been revealed on, and with some luck, you could fully expand the grid to up to 6x5, which means a massive 7776 winways!
And that's not all, for Amun is a generous royal deity: scarabs may award additional free games, extend the most lucrative game phase and give you this way even more chances at substantial wins. If you seem to be going through a dry spell when it comes to landing these handy scarabs, you have a way out of the curse: buy the bonus for 120x your bet. The price may seem high but in this case, you can receive 10, 12 or 15 free games and get to start the feature on a 5x4 grid instead of the initial 5x3 for a more than helpful kickstart to the free games phase. Gods are proverbially fickle and luck is often volatile and fleeting, so make sure you strike the iron while it's hot. In any case, at least you have a way out, thank Amun Almighty and Atomic Slot Lab.
Our Final Verdict
Golden doors and scarabs provide the lion's share of variety in the game, and no less than three lucrative feature mechanics add to the dynamism that keeps the game fresh, unpredictable and therefore interesting. There are always many things that can happen and this fact alone is sure to hold the attention of players for quite some spins. The Atomic Slot Lab studio may be sitting on a gold mine here, an enduring top-performer that doesn't look it could ever fail: an evergreen and picturesque setting provides an incentive to try out the game in the first place, the expanding reels offer plenty of opportunities for powerful payouts by themselves, while a plethora of other features and mechanics in combination with variety in gameplay can keep players immersed while they're chasing those special symbols and royally lavish wins.
Who would've thought that a heavily milked-out theme like this one can still attract and entertain? Apparently, it can, but it needs to be applied in a skillful manner, as the studio has proven with this thoroughly engaging game. This is how modern slot hits are made: perfect execution, thought-out features that reinforce one another, and an impressive artistic style can do wonders for the players and operators alike. And if wonders are something only gods are capable of, there must be something divine about a studio that churns out hits just like this one is bound to become. And speaking of wonders, we wonder what else wondrous and wonderful they have in stock for us. With games from Atomic Slot Lab and their divinely delightful games, it's good to be a slot player.
Here's more information about the game.
