Legacy of Dead Slot Review and Free Demo

What Legacy of Dead is

Play'n GO released Legacy of Dead on 2 January 2020 as part of its Dead series, four years after Book of Dead. The setting moves from Rich Wilde's expedition to the tomb of a greedy king whose spirit has escaped the Book of the Dead and wants his treasure back. The reels show Horus, Tutankhamun, Anubis, a mummy and the five card ranks from 10 to A.

Structurally, it is a classic book slot. Five reels, up to ten paylines that pay left to right, a scatter that doubles as wild, and a free spins round with an expanding symbol. The change that matters sits inside the bonus: every retrigger adds another special symbol, so a long round can have several of them working at once.

The provider lists the game as high volatility, 8 on its internal scale, one step above Book of Dead. The win cap is 5,000 times the stake, which Play'n GO also expresses as 250,000 coins.

How a spin works, step by step

1. Set lines and coins. Up to 10 lines can be activated, always in numerical order. You set coins per line (up to 5) and a coin value from 0.01 to 2.00. The provider gives 0.01 as the minimum bet and 100 as the standard maximum.
2. Spin. Five reels stop.
3. Line wins. Matching symbols pay left to right from the first reel on each active line.
4. Wild substitution. The tomb scatter acts as a wild and replaces all other symbols on a line.
5. Scatter check. Three or more tombs anywhere on the reels trigger 8 free spins.
6. Optional gamble. Play'n GO lists a gamble mode, so after a win you can usually collect or risk it. The operator can disable it.

At a 1.00 total stake on ten lines, each line carries 0.10. All paytable values are multiples of that line bet.

Symbols and paytable

These are the values from Play'n GO's official rules sheet:

The mummy is the top symbol and matches the wild line. Below it, the ladder is flatter than in Book of Dead: the second premium pays 1,600x instead of 2,000x for five, and the lower premiums 600x instead of 750x. Any separate scatter award for the tombs is listed in the in-game paytable.

The tomb: wild and scatter

The tomb does the same double duty as the book in the earlier game. On a line it substitutes for everything, which helps the premium symbols reach their two-of-a-kind pays. Anywhere on the screen, three or more tombs start the feature. A spin can therefore pay a line win with the tomb as wild and trigger free spins at the same time.

Free spins and stacking expanding symbols

Three or more tombs award 8 free spins. The rules then work like this:

• One regular symbol, never the tomb, is picked at random to become a special expanding symbol for the round.
• When enough of that symbol lands, it expands to cover all positions on its reels.
• Expanded symbols do not need to sit next to each other to form extra wins.
• Three or more tombs during the round retrigger another 8 free spins, and an additional special expanding symbol is chosen at random.

The provider describes the potential number of free spins as unlimited, because retriggers have no stated ceiling. Each retrigger both lengthens the round and adds another symbol that can expand, which is the main difference from Book of Dead, where the single special symbol never changes.

Worked example: one symbol, then two

Stake 1.00 on ten lines, so 0.10 per line. The round opens with Anubis as the special symbol.

• Anubis on three reels. It lands on reels 1, 3 and 5 and expands. Each of the ten lines shows three Anubis: 30 x 0.10 = 3.00 per line, 30.00 for the spin.
• After a retrigger. Three tombs land, you get 8 more spins, and Horus is added as a second special symbol. A later spin shows Anubis on reels 2, 3 and 4 and Horus on reels 1 and 5. Anubis pays 30 x 0.10 x 10 = 30.00. Horus pays from two of a kind, 5 x 0.10 x 10 = 5.00, if two symbols count as enough to expand in your build (check the rules screen). Together that is 35.00.
• The ceiling. Five reels of the mummy pay 5,000 x 0.10 on each of ten lines, 5,000.00, which is the 5,000x cap.

The example shows why retriggers carry so much weight here: every added symbol raises the chance that some special symbol lines up on three or more reels.

What changed versus Book of Dead

In short, Legacy of Dead trades two starting spins and some mid-tier pay for a bonus that grows as it retriggers. If you want the simpler, fixed-symbol version, stay with Book of Dead; if you prefer the older Novomatic take on the same idea, compare it with Book of Ra.

Why the symbol draw matters so much

Not every special symbol is worth the same. A card rank that expands on three reels pays 5 x 0.10 x 10 = 5.00 at a 1.00 stake, five times the bet. Anubis on the same three reels pays 30.00, and the mummy 100.00. On five reels the gap widens further: 80.00 for Q, J or 10, 600.00 for Horus or Tutankhamun, 1,600.00 for Anubis and 5,000.00 for the mummy.

In Book of Dead, a weak draw at the start of the round stays weak until the last spin. In Legacy of Dead, a retrigger gives you a second chance at a strong symbol while the first one keeps working. That does not change the long-run return, which is fixed by the RTP build, but it does change how rounds feel: a poor start is less final, and the rare rounds with two or three premium specials are where the big results come from.

Keep the base game in perspective too. Most spins resolve on short line wins, and the premium two-of-a-kind pays are what keep the balance ticking between features. At 0.10 per line, two Anubis on a line return 0.50, and two mummies 1.00.

RTP builds

Play'n GO lists five configurations: 96.58% (default), 94.51%, 91.51%, 87.56% and 84.55%. The operator picks one. Over the long run, the gap between the top and bottom builds is about 12 units per 100 staked, which is far larger than the difference between most competing slots. Our RTP guide explains how to find the figure in the rules screen.

Testing it in the demo

The demo on this page is Play'n GO's own practice mode with virtual credits. To get something useful out of it (more in our demo guide):

• Open the paytable and check the tomb scatter award and the two-of-a-kind pays at your stake.
• Track how many spins each feature takes to arrive; high volatility means gaps can be long.
• In the bonus, note which symbols are chosen and whether a retrigger adds a premium or a card rank.
• Read the rules screen for the RTP line and the stake range in that build.

Bankroll notes

With a high-volatility slot, size the stake so your balance covers several hundred spins. Playing fewer lines is cheaper per spin, but expansions only pay on active lines, so a reduced line count cuts the value of the feature more than it cuts the cost. Set a loss limit and a stop point before you start, and treat the gamble option as optional extra risk rather than part of the plan.

Where to play Legacy of Dead for real money

Welcome bonus up to 500% on the first deposits18+ · Terms apply · Check that the platform is available in your country

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PaylinePilot editorial team · Numbers on this page come from the in-game rules and paytable, not from press releases.