Introduction to Scarab Ascension
Scarab Ascension is a casino slot from NowNow Gaming with a pretty standard Egyptian theme and setting. Set out in the warm deserts, we find an ancient playing grid hidden underneath the sand dunes between the tall pyramids, which is the same setup that we’ve seen for Egyptian-themed releases for over a decade when it comes to slot releases. Ignoring the rather boring theme, NowNow Gaming delivers on a pretty simple game focused around its Scarab Gold Jackpot Prize Meter and Scarab Rise bonus game. These are the only two features that the game comes with, and while straightforward, they can be plenty volatile in their own right. The Jackpot Prize Meter is a pretty standard Prize Meter that requires a set number of Special Symbols to pay out the corresponding prize, with 8 different Jackpots available. The bonus game is here to help make it a bit easier by expanding the playing grid from 5x3 up to 5x10 through 8 different levels. So if you’re looking for something simple to kick back and spin away at, Scarab Ascension offers a Jackpot-centric gameplay with its final prize being worth the max win of 10,000X the bet.
Scarab Ascension is a simple, Egyptian-themed release centered around stacking Jackpot Prizes and growing your playing grid during its bonus game.
Theme, Gameplay, & Payouts
Scarab Ascension is a video slot from NowNow Gaming with 5 Reels, 3 to 10 Rows, and 9 to 44 paylines. You can choose between making a Min.bet of 0.1 and a Max.bet of 100. Scarab Ascension comes with a higher-than-average RTP of 96.3%, medium volatility, and a solid max win of 10,000X the bet.
As mentioned earlier, the game is set in an Egyptian desert, where various emblems and icons of the gods fill the playing grid. Next to the reels is the shiny Scarab Jackpot Meter, which shows all 8 different prizes and their payouts. You can play the game on most notepads, mobiles, and desktops.
The lower-paying symbols are gems in various colors, including purple, green, blue, and pink. Creating a win with 5 of the same symbols will pay out 1X the bet. The higher-paying symbols are emblems of various gods, including the Eye of Horus, Bastet, Anubis, and Ra. Landing a win with 5 of the same symbols pays out 4X to 15X the bet. The Special Symbols are Wilds, Scarab Gold, and Scatter Symbols, but more on these in the next section.
Special Features & Mechanics
What is the max win in the slot Scarab Ascension?
You can win up to 10,000X the bet.
What features are available in the slot Scarab Ascension?
The features are Wild Symbols, Scarab Gold Jackpots, Scarab Rise, and Feature Buy.
Wild Symbols
Wild Symbols help form winning combinations by being able to substitute for all regular paying symbols.
Scarab Gold Jackpots
A Jackpot meter sits next to the playing grid with 8 different Jackpot prizes, ranging from 5X to 10,000X the bet. The prizes can only be won by landing the required number of Scarab Gold Symbols during the same spin, with the lowest prize needing 5 Symbols, and each prize after increasing the required number of Symbols by +1.
Scarab Rise
By landing 3 Scatter Symbols, you will be awarded the Scarab Rise Free Spins feature. The bonus game starts with 3 spins on a 5x3 playing grid and comes with 8 levels. Starting at level 1, you need to land 5 Scarab Symbols to level up to the next tier, and for each new level, the bonus game grows with +1 row, up to a maximum of 5x10, and in the process resets the spin counter. When the bonus game ends, you will be awarded the Jackpot Prize equal to the level of the bonus game you ended the feature on.
Feature Buy
Through the Feature Buy, you can instantly start various bonuses for a price based on the current bet.
3X = Triggers the BonusHunt FeatureSpins, making each spin 7 times more likely to trigger a bonus game.
50X = Triggers the Scarab Gold FeatureSpins, making each spin guarantee to award at least one Jackpot Prize.
100X = Awards the Scarab Rise bonus game.
Final Thoughts on Scarab Ascension
In the iGaming market, there’s almost an endless amount of content for players to spin away at, meaning that for studios to really stand out, they need to deliver on something that leaves an impression on players. While we usually commend NowNow Gaming for their interesting takes on themes, settings, and sometimes gameplay, Scarab Ascension feels like quite the opposite. Starting off, the first thing we noticed is its rather boring, basic theme. While we enjoy the occasional take on an otherwise oversaturated theme, this is arguably one of the most forgettable ones we’ve seen in recent times. Visually, just about everything feels like a game that could’ve been released nearly a decade ago, meaning that it can have a hard time landing with a more modern audience.
The Scarab Gold Jackpots is a fun way to chase high payouts, and the Scarab Rise feature is a fun bonus game just for that goal. However, we do wish there were some more features to really make spins feel a bit different from each other, as the regular paytable isn’t very exciting while waiting for features to land. But, even with these complaints, we think that Scarab Ascension can find an audience thanks to its simple gameplay, as we’ve seen with studios like Pocket Games Soft and their mobile-first approach. All in all, Scarab Ascension isn’t a bad game, just one that we feel is a bit too straightforward and lacks any sort of personality.
Scarab Ascension is a slot all about chasing Jackpots through its Scarab Gold meter, but lacks interesting base game spins, which does get a bit offset with the help of the titular Free Spins bonus game and its growing playing grid.
