Legacy of Ra is, surprise, surprise, an Egyptian-themed Megaways slot by Blueprint Gaming. But apart from that, it's not quite what I was expecting; I'm happy to say. Blueprint has taken a completely different direction with this game when you compare it to its other Megaways slots, and the change is refreshing.
For a start, the megaways mechanic only produces up to 15,625 ways to win across the six reels instead of the usual 117,649. This is down to the absence of the top horizontal reel that's become a standard feature on most Megaways slots.
It also has none of the bonus features we've come to expect from Blueprint Megaways slots. But don't be disappointed. Legacy of Ra is a high volatility game that can award players up to 50,000 x their stake once the fantastic Free Spins round kicks in. And with a betting range of 0.10 all the way up to 100, that would be a pretty big win, whatever the stake level.
Overall, the gameplay is more like a slot from Novomatic’s Book of series, and the combination of special expanding symbols in the Free Spins with the Megaways mechanic gives a fresh twist to both of these genres. This is something I haven’t found yet in other slots, and I have to say, the combination is excellent.
When it comes to design, Legacy of Ra Megaways is just what you'd expect from a slot with this theme. There are hieroglyph-covered walls and pillars, camels, pyramids, the works. Almost as if the designers made a special effort to include as many Egyptian cliches as possible.
The design doesn't look bad. It's just not particularly memorable or original, either in the background or on the reels, which feature the usual selection of card ranks, 9 - Ace, Scarabs, Anubis and Horus symbols.
Only the highest paying symbol is a little different, a female explorer who doesn't look anything like Lara Croft. She's also pretty generous and will award 25 x the stake for a combo of six. But we can easily forgive Blueprint Gaming for this lack of originality in the design department, because the gameplay is a whole other story.
With the Free Spins round being the main and only bonus round in this game, Legacy of Ra is pretty sparse on the Feature Symbols as well.
There’s a Wild, of course, which is a picture of the sun rising over pyramids. This will stand in for all other symbols except the Scatter to form wins.
The Scatter is the game’s logo in front of the entrance to a temple or tomb. Landing just three of these on adjacent reels will trigger ten Free Spins. The more that land, the more Free Spins are awarded, with an extremely generous fifty going to any player who lands a combination of six.
At the start of the Free Spins, one symbol is chosen at random to become a special symbol, which I will tell you all about below.
While it's possible to win some decent prizes in the base game, Legacy of Ra's full win potential really kicks in in the Free Spins. This bonus round starts out with ten Free Spins for three Scatters, fifteen for four, twenty-five for five, or fifty if it's triggered with a line of six Scatters.
To make things even more interesting, three or more Scatters landing anywhere in view during the Free Spins will add more to the total, without limit. And the Scatters don’t even need to be on adjacent reels.
At the start of the Free Spins, one symbol is chosen as an expanding symbol. Suppose enough of these land; the lucky player could end up with the whole grid covered in one symbol. And I don't need to explain what that means, especially if it is one of the premiums!
This is a great game for the casual player and the serious gambler alike. Simple gameplay with the focus on one bonus round with huge win potential makes for a nice change from the usual bonus packed Megaways monsters. Just remember, that's only win potential, and nothing is guaranteed, so never stake more than you can afford to lose. You can try this out at Gala Bingo, as well as some other online slots from Blueprint like Wolf Legend Megaways and Eye of Horus Megaways. Good Luck!