Return of the Dead review: introduction
Return of the Dead is one of the free pokies from Pragmatic Play available here at Online Pokies 4U. You will play on five reels and ten paylines in this retro-themed game in the hope of winning the maximum payout of 5,000x your original bet. In addition to the base game, you can trigger a few special features that include wild symbols, free spins and expanding symbols during the free spins round. These combine to really drive your wins and make for an exciting pokie experience.
Overall theme
There is no denying that the online pokie market is completely oversaturated with Egyptian-themed games; however, if you are not completely sick of them, the theme and graphics in Return of the Dead may appeal to you. Behind the reels are the pyramids of Giza, with well-designed animations as different characters appear on the screen.
Return of the Dead RTP and variance
The RTP of the Return of the Dead pokie has been set at 96.71 per centand it has high variance. This means there will be long dry spells between any wins but the payouts are likely to be pretty large when you manage to land a winning combination.
How to play Return of the Dead
Return of the Dead has a few simple controls you will need to use. Below is an overview of these controls and how you can use them to spin the reels:
1. Use the green plus and minus buttons to change the bet value and open the bet menu, where you can select the bet you want to use within the game.
2. The hamburger menu opens the settings that will affect the way the game is played.
3. The ‘i’ button opens the information page.
4. The credit and bet windows show your current balance and the value of your total bet.
5. The monkey spin button starts the game.
6. The autoplay button opens the autospin menu.
Bet sizes & paytable wins
There is a massive betting range in Return of the Dead, which makes it a perfect pokie for beginners and high rollers alike. You can start your bets at 0.10 per spin and go all the way up to 250 per spin, which is a massive amount for an online pokie.
All the symbols in the game are themed around the Egyptian motif that runs throughout the game. To win something from these symbols, you will need to match them in combinations of threes, fours and fives across a payline. Below are the multiplier payouts you can win by landing five matching symbols on the reels:
- Ten, jack, queen = 10x
- King, ace = 15x
- Golden scarab, Horus = 75x
- Pharaoh = 200x
- Explorer - 500x
Return of the Dead bonus features
- Wild and scatter symbols
The book symbol represents both the wild and scatter symbols for the game and can substitute for all the other icons in the game to potentially form more winning combinations. This symbol will also trigger the free spins round if you can land three or more on the reels with one spin.
- Free spins with expanding symbols
As with many Pragmatic Play pokies, there are free spins available if you can manage to land three or more book scatter symbols anywhere on the reels. They don’t have to be on adjacent paylines, which makes it slightly easier to trigger the round.
When you first land the scatter symbols, you will receive ten free spins. You will also receive a multiplier of 2x for landing three scatter symbols, 20x for four scatters, and a very generous 200x for landing five scatters.
Before your free spins begin, a symbol will be selected at random to become the special expanding symbol for the round. This means that if this symbol falls onto the reels during the free spins bonus, it will expand and fill the entire reel, paying out anywhere on the paylines.
If you can manage to land a further three book symbols on the reels during your initial free spins, you will go on to receive another ten free spins. These free spins will play out consecutively and there is no limit to how many times you can retrigger this feature.
Our verdict
While the Ancient Egyptian theme is a popular one for pokies, we feel the market is becoming oversaturated with games just like this. It would have been different if this pokie was packed with unique bonus features, but it isn’t. We love the RTP and volatility, which have the potential for higher payouts; however, with only ten paylines to play, this will be a bit of a disappointment for veteran players.