It’s Hacksaw Gaming taking a backseat for this release, as while the latest slot to hit my inbox is developed using the developer’s OpenRGS™ development platform, that is about it regarding the provider’s input into Desert Temple. The slot is actually the work of Backseat Gaming, a fledging slot developer that’s previously released titles including Old Gun, The Cursed King, and Lord Venom. Each of those titles has received a decent score from our team, so I’m interested to see if Desert Temple will follow in that trend or perhaps leave an even better impression. Desert Temple is a 7×7 cluster pays slots with a 96.24% RTP and a 15,000x the stake maximum win.
The Ancient Egyptian theme doesn’t fill me with confidence, as I’d expect a young and ambitious slot developer to think a bit more outside the box. Saying that, I guess they’d have to tick off all the most common themes at one time or another, so hopefully, it’s the first and last we’ll see of this one. What inspires some hope is the feature set. There is a cluster pays mechanic and cascading reels, which you might think we’ve seen before. We have, but Desert Temple gives all instances of the type of symbols in winning combos a 4x multiplier and then doubles each successive win they form, up to a maximum of 1,024x. During the base game, those multipliers reset for a new spin, but not in the free spins bonus games. They remain persistent until the end. Furthermore, in the second of the two free spins bonus games, all symbols hold a 4x win multiplier from the start.
Are you excited to see if Backseat Gaming can improve on its solid start in the iGaming industry? If so, I would recommend you take the Desert Temple slot demo below for a test drive to see if it ticks the boxes you are looking for from a modern slot.
| Provider | Hacksaw Gaming |
| Reels | 7 |
| Rows | 7 |
| Paylines | Cluster Pays |
| Bonus Rounds | 2 |
| Bet Range | 0.10 - 100 |
| Volatility | High |
| Max Win | 15,000x |
| Bonus Buy | Yes |
| RTP | 96.24% |
| Our Rating | 7.0 |
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Desert Temple demo slot
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Desert Temple slot theme, stakes, pays & symbols
While the Ancient Egyptian theme can feel tired, especially for slot reviewers like myself who’ve reviewed dozens upon dozens of games using it, it’s clear it’s successful. You cannot really blame developers for returning to it when some of the most popular slots over the years have used it. I could reel off a massive list of Egyptian slots at this point, but not many have proved as successful as the OGs, such as Play’n Go’s Book of Dead and Greentube’s Book of Ra.
Desert Temple is nothing like either of those titles, mainly because it uses a massive 7×7 cluster pays grid. However, for that reason, the symbol payouts are smaller in comparison. The best you can expect is a 25x return for a 15-sized cluster of the Pharoah symbol. The Scarab, Eye of Horus, and Ankh symbols all share a 15x maximum reward, and the Ace has a 10x return for 15+. As for the King, Queen, Jack, and Ten, these all have a max win of 6x.
Before you attempt to spin in some of the wins above, you’ll first have to decide on the bet size that best suits your bankroll. You can choose from stakes between €0.10 and €100.00 per spin.
Desert Temple slot base game
As with most cluster pays slots, Desert Temple is played across a grid format. There are 7 reels and 7 rows, and wins are paid when five or more matching symbols are connected horizontally or vertically anywhere on the playing grid. All winning clusters are removed from the reels, and new symbols join the action from above.
Symbol Multipliers
After each winning cascade, all instances of the type of symbol involved will receive a 4x win multiplier. Should the same symbol create a winning combo on the same spin, its payout is multiplied by that value, and the win multiplier then doubles to 8x. The doubling continues for each successive combo created by the symbol up to a maximum of 1,024x.
Mystery Symbols
A cluster of 5 or more mystery symbols can appear on any random spin. They will reveal the same type of regular symbol, and if that symbol already has a multiplier value, these will, too.
Desert Temple slot bonus features
Two versions of the bonus round can trigger on any spin base game spin, and below you can see what each of these variations has to offer
Free Spins Feature
- Temple of Temptation Free Spins (Four Scatters): You receive 10 free spins. During this bonus, the multipliers remain persistent throughout.
- Fortune of Pharaohs Free Spins (Five Scatters): You receive 10 free spins with the multipliers remaining persistent, and the bonus starts with all symbols holding a 4x multiplier.
In both variations, landing three bonus scatter symbols will reward an additional 10 free spins.
Bonus Buy
You can choose from four bonus buy options on Desert Temple:
- BonusHunt FeatureSpins: You can spin with three times more chance of triggering the free spins bonus games for 3x the stake.
- Sphinx Mystery FeatureSpins: For a cost of 60x the stake per spin, you can spin with the guarantee of between 5 and 15 Mystery Symbols landing with multiplier values of between 2x and 256x.
- Temple of Temptation Bonus Game: 100x buys the standard free spins bonus.
- Fortune of Pharaohs Bonus Game: For 500x the stake, you’ll trigger the Fortune of Pharaohs free spins bonus on the next spin.
Pros
- Those doubling cascading multipliers can provide quite the payouts should luck shine down.
Cons
- The theme is lazy, although it is Backseat's first Egyptian sot.
Desert Temple Slot Review Final Thoughts
I’ve been impressed with most of Backseat Gaming’s releases, and Desert Temple is another that left a good impression. I like how the developer is mixing up the reel mechanics and features across its titles rather than staying within its comfort zone. The graphics are not the best I’ve seen from the studio, but I have no complaints about the gameplay and features.
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Backseat Gaming seems to be a new studio Hacksaw is hosting on its platform. Production quality looks OK, nothing out of the ordinary although the win animations are well done. Gameplay is less volatile than a real Hacksaw slot but still rather volatile overall. The 60x bonus buy for a mystery symbol spin seems easy to spend if one has sufficient balance and it produces the odd 250x to 400x win. The smaller BB with 4 scatters can be quite disappointing while the big BB is out of the league for most players. 7.5/10