Return of the Dead: one symbol can take over the whole screen

Fans of the classic tomb-raiding format will recognise the shape of this one within a few spins. Return of the Dead is Pragmatic Play’s take on the expanding-symbol slot: five reels, three rows, a handful of paylines, an explorer working through an Egyptian burial chamber, and one feature that decides most sessions.

The scatter that also acts as a wild

The key symbol does two jobs. It substitutes for the regular symbols to finish a line, and it is also the scatter that opens the bonus. That double role means it is the symbol you notice landing, even on spins that pay nothing.

Free spins and the special expanding symbol

When enough scatters appear, the free spins begin with one regular symbol picked at random to be special for the round. Whenever that symbol lands on enough reels to form a win, it expands to fill each of those reels and pays across the lines, even if the positions are not next to each other. If the chosen symbol is one of the explorer or the high-value pieces, the round has real potential; if it is a card royal, it tends to pay more often but more modestly. More scatters during the round can award extra spins.

Whatever happens, the outcome is shaped almost entirely by that random pick and how often the special symbol turns up afterwards. The base game in between is fairly quiet, and that is part of the design.

Testing the Return of the Dead demo

The demo hands you 1,000 virtual credits and asks for no account. Because the bonus does so much of the work, the best test is patience: set a small stake, perhaps 10p a spin, and play until you have triggered the free spins two or three times. Compare what each special symbol produced. That tells you more than any single big hit would. On mobile, the game runs in portrait or landscape without a download.

Once you know how it behaves, the same game is offered for real money at the casinos below.