Yggdrasil Gaming are one of the best developers around when it comes to design and Valley of the Gods is another beauty. The reels are set within an ancient temple and flanked by statues of the gods Anubis and Horus. The reels are made up of a selection of Egyptian hieroglyphs and animal gods and are superbly done. There’s a haunting backing track to complement your spins too. It all works very well.
On your first spin, you’ll notice that the 3 reel spaces in each corner are blocked. If you land a winning spin, a number of the blockers are removed and the number of ways to win increases from 45. You’ll also be awarded a re-spin. More blockers are removed with each successive re-spin win. Unblock them all and you’ll play with a 3,125 ways to win game engine. A losing spin resets the reels back to their original state. This is known as the Re-Spins feature.
More extras are on offer if you manage to clear the screen of blockers. Look out here for the blue and red scarab beetle overlay symbols which open up the Scarab Collections. Spin on a clear board and the payout is doubled. Fill the blue meter with 5 blue beetles and the multiplier increases by 1 – the Win Multiplier feature. Fill the red meter with red beetles and you’ll be awarded an extra life which keeps the full board open, even after a losing spin – the Extra Lives feature.
The gameplay here is a little unusual. The key to success is getting on a roll with the re-spins and clearing the board. If the beetles work their magic, the multipliers and extra lives can quickly get the coins flowing. Clearing the board isn’t the easiest thing to do though so expect plenty of spells that are seemingly dry as the Sahara.
Breathing new life into a slots staple like ancient Egypt is a tricky business. It’s not perfect but Yggdrasil Gaming has given it a pretty good go in Valley of the Gods. I recommend you take a look at some of their other titles such as Vikings Go Berzerk and Rainbow Ryan.