Dawn of Kings Review

Being one of those ceremonial, powerless kings these days might seem like a cushy job, right? You wave, cut ribbons, you’re wealthy, people show respect; it’s a life of luxury, comfort, and admiration. Well, it might be more challenging than it appears. Anyway, it wasn’t always this way. In the past, kings might have struggled to identify their true allies, faced threats of overthrow, assassination, or even betrayal from their own kin. Then along came this thing called parliament, attempting to siphon power away and distribute it among the, well, common masses. Among the various forms of governance we’ve devised, monarchies, concentrating so much authority in one individual while elevating them to an almost divine status and demanding fealty from everyone else, is quite peculiar.

After that detour, we arrive at Hacksaw Gaming’s online slot, Dawn of Kings. If you’re thinking of titles like Book of Dead or Book of Ra… yes, you’re on the right track. This is indeed an Egyptian-themed slot where special symbols expand to cover reels and pay from anywhere. It also features a brave young female protagonist embarking on an adventure, much like Lara Croft, Play’n GO’s Cat Wilde, or Pragmatic Play’s Jane Hunter. You know the type: Fedora hat, satchel, map, burning torch, a female Indiana Jones-type, but without the whip. Her name is Amy Dawn, and she finds herself in a cool blue-lit Ancient Egyptian-inspired room for the base game, which is somewhat plain to look at, though stylishly executed.

For the most part, Dawn of Kings’ features are familiar, but Hacksaw has made a few tweaks here and there. For instance, the standard 5×3 gaming grid boasts 13 paylines rather than the usual 10. You might assume the studio has reduced symbol values to compensate, but no, they’ve actually introduced a much higher one. The volatility isn’t too high, as its 3 out of 5 rating places it in the medium range, while the default RTP stands at 96.24%. This is the value when betting 10 cents to $/€100 per spin, which changes when utilizing features from the feature buy menu.

The low-paying symbols in Dawn of Kings are 10-A card ranks, while its high-paying symbols include a scarab and what presumably are representations of Bastet, Anubis, Horus, and Amy the explorer. A line of 5 royals is worth 5 to 10 times the bet, while a premium win pays 75 to 1,000 times the bet. Books act as wilds, substituting for any regular pay symbol, and also serve as the game’s scatters.

Dawn of Kings – Book of Dawn Bonus

Expanding symbols and a host of features are in store in this section, including a Base Game Book Mechanic, Best of Bonuses, and various feature buys.

Dawn of Kings – Base Game Book Mechanic

Randomly in the base game, there’s a chance to trigger the Book mechanic. When activated, a random symbol becomes the special symbol, and 3-5 instances of this symbol land. These special symbols expand to cover the reels they land on after any normal wins have been paid. Once expanded, special symbols pay anywhere on all lines, even if there are other symbols between them.

Dawn of Kings – Book of Dawn Bonus

Landing 3 Book scatters in the base game awards 10 free Book of Dawn Bonus spins. At the start of the round, one pay symbol is randomly chosen to be the special symbol. When the special symbol lands on at least three reels, it expands to cover its reels after any regular wins have been paid. Once expanded, it pays on all lines from any position. Landing 2 Book scatters awards +2 free spins, while 3 Book scatters grant +4 free spins. Landing 4 Book scatters upgrades the feature to the Triple Book of Dawn bonus, awarding 4 free spins.

Dawn of Kings – Triple Book of Dawn Bonus

Landing 4 or 5 Book scatters in the base game awards 12 free spins in the Triple Book of Dawn Bonus. When triggered by 5 Books, players receive a payout of 1,000x on top. This feature has the same rules as the Book of Dawn Bonus, except 3 pay symbols are randomly chosen to be special expanding symbols. At least one of them will be a random high-paying symbol. If more than one special symbol lands on at least 3 reels, they expand and award wins one at a time. Landing 2 Book scatters awards +2 free spins, while 3 Book scatters grant +4 free spins.

Dawn of Kings – Best of Book of Dawn Bonus

When 3 Book scatters land simultaneously with the Best of Bonus symbol in the base game, the Best of Book of Dawn Bonus is activated. This feature awards 3 Book of Dawn Bonus features in a row, and at the end, the bonus with the best result is awarded.

Dawn of Kings – Best of Triple Book of Dawn Bonus

When 4 or 5 Book scatters land simultaneously with the Best of Triple Book of Dawn Bonus symbol in the base game, the Best of Book of Dawn Bonus is activated. When triggered by 5 Books, players receive a payout of 1,000x on top. This feature awards 3 Triple Book of Dawn Bonus features in a row, and at the end, the bonus with the best result is awarded.

Dawn of Kings – Buy Bonus

The feature buy menu in Dawn of Kings offers various options, all highly volatile.

Hacksaw Gaming has ventured into Ancient Egypt before, but Dawn of Kings sets itself apart from previous releases like Temple of Torment and Hand of Anubis. While those titles leaned heavily into horror, Dawn of Kings embraces a more lighthearted, action-adventure B-movie vibe. Despite occasionally appearing a bit plain, as mentioned, the game is visually appealing. Nevertheless, it treads familiar ground with its Ancient Egyptian theme, and the female adventurer trope is becoming quite common now; while Amy may have once been a symbol of gender equality and breaking barriers, characters like her are now a dime a dozen.

Dawn of Kings Slot Information

Title: Dawn of Kings
Developer: Hacksaw Gaming
Reels: 5
Rows: 3
Paylines: 13
RTP: 96.24% | 94.25% | 92.21% | 88.07%
Hit Freq: 33%
Max Win: 10,000x
Volatility: Medium (3/5)
Min/Max Bet: 0.10/100
Release Date: March 7, 2024