Age of Seth

Age of Seth Review

With more than 20 slot games under their belt by now, Bullshark Games has tried their hand at many different themes already. However, Age of Seth is their first venture into the popular and crowded ancient Egypt genre, playing out on a 6x5 stone grid placed in a dimly lit underground temple. Apparently, Seth is the ancient Egyptian god of chaos, deserts, storms, and, of all things, foreigners, a complex figure often seen as both a protector and a force of destructive disorder. Whatever he is, he’s by your side all the way in the Age of Seth slot.

You start by choosing your preferred bet level between €0.10 and €100 per spin, catering to anything from risk-averse penny punters to serious, hardcore gamblers. You win by landing 5 to 15+ matching symbols in a cluster anywhere on the grid, and clusters connect vertically and/or horizontally. The premium symbols, consisting of a sphinx, an ankh, a ring, and a book, award 50x to 100x your stake for 15+ in a cluster (and 1x to 2.5x for 5 in a cluster).

Age of Seth Slot - Reels Screen

Winning symbols are removed and replaced thanks to the Cascading Reels feature, keeping you going as the symbols are collected in the meter above the reels. Every 10 winning symbols collected activates a grid booster modifier, with up to 3 being stored in escrow until you hit a non-winning cascade. These boosters can add multiplier wilds of up to x100, big symbols for larger clusters, and turn random symbols into matching symbols. Collecting 40 winning symbols in the same round triggers the bonus round.

This is a ‘Hail Mary’ feature with a single free spin and 3 base game grid boosters already in escrow. In addition, a 4th Surge booster is guaranteed, adding multipliers to random symbols. The main aim is to collect 100 winning symbols, as this unleashes the power of Seth in the form of a 3x3 Wild that absorbs multipliers and turns into smaller multiplier wilds. The bonus round can be randomly retriggered at the end, and Age of Seth boasts an RTP of 96.29 %, high volatility (4/5), and a max win of 10,000x your stake.

Age of Seth Features

Age of Seth Bullshark Games is all about collecting winning symbols to unlock grid booster modifiers, which keep your cascading winning streaks going towards the bonus round threshold. The main attraction has more than one divine surprise up its sleeve, and we’ll take a closer look at how everything works below.

Cascading Wins & Grid Boosters

Winning symbols are removed and replaced via the Cascading mechanic, allowing new and existing symbols to drop down to fill the gaps. This process repeats indefinitely as long as you keep forming new cluster wins, and all winning symbols are collected in the bar above the reels after being removed. Collecting 10, 20, or 30 winning symbols adds the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Grid Boosters to Seth’s arsenal, and one of these is randomly chosen to be activated each time you hit a non-winning cascade. Here’s an overview of the Grid Boosters:

• Wilds - adds 3 to 6 wild symbols to random positions, and these may have multipliers ranging from x2 to x100. The wild multipliers are added together if more than one multiplier wild is part of the same win.
• Replace - converts 6 to 10 randomly chosen symbols into a randomly chosen matching symbol.
• Colossal - adds 1 to 3 pay symbols of size 2x2 to random positions on the grid.

Seth's Blessing Free Spins Bonus

Collecting 40 winning symbols in a single cascading sequence triggers the Seth’s Blessing Bonus Round, which gives you a single free spin. The good news is that Seth is loaded with 4 guaranteed Grid Boosters, and one of these is unleashed randomly when you hit a non-winning cascade. These 4 boosters are the same as the 3 you can get in the base game, in addition to a Surge booster that’s exclusive to the bonus round. This Surge booster randomly adds 5 to 10 multipliers ranging from x2 to x100 to random symbols, and multiplier symbols and multiplier wilds are not removed. When the bonus round ends, you have a chance to win one extra free spin with the 4 boosters playing out once again.

Winning symbols are also collected during the bonus round, and you need to collect 100 symbols before the feature ends to trigger the Seth booster. After you have spent all 4 boosters and you hit a non-winning cascade, the Seth booster is unleashed as a 3x3-sized Big Wild symbol placed in a random position. All multiplier symbols beneath this 3x3 Wild are summed up and added to the wild, and the 3x3 Wild splits into 5 single wilds with the same multiplier after it has taken part in a win. These 5 multiplier wilds are then spread randomly across the grid.

Age of Seth Slot - Free Spins

Age of Seth Bonus Buy (not UK)

The Bonus Buy menu is pulled up when you click the circular ‘Buy Bonus’ button down to the left, allowing eligible players to purchase different features spins and bonus round tiers in the Age of Seth slot. Here is an overview of what you can get:

• BonusHunt FeatureSpins - pay 5x your regular stake per spin to boost your bonus round chances by 5x.
• Seth's Favour FeatureSpins - pay 50x your stake to start the symbol collection with 10 symbols collected, guaranteeing at least 1 grid booster.
• Seth's Blessing FS - pay 100x your stake to trigger this bonus round.
• Seth's Might FS - pay 300x your stake to get a bonus round where the second free spin is guaranteed.

Theme & Graphics

The Age of Seth game takes you inside a dimly lit, ancient Egyptian temple, with a mean-looking Seth character flanking the reels, mysteriously shrouded in his dark robes. Tall statues can be seen towering over the grid, with mysterious green flames dancing at their feet. With glowing jackal eyes, Seth’s power boosters are hovering above the palm of his claw-like hand, and the ominous soundtrack builds a gloomy atmosphere of impending doom. The dark stone slabs on the grid light up with shimmering gems and other ancient Egypt icons, including a pharaoh bust, an ankh, and a ring.

Pros and Cons of Age of Seth

Our Verdict

I immediately got Hand of Anubis vibes from this game, although the visuals aren’t really all that similar on closer inspection. Of course, it’s not unlikely that Hacksaw partner Bullshark have allowed themselves to be inspired by the artwork of that game, but they have certainly taken the time and effort to make Age of Seth their own creation. The dark, ominous atmosphere feels familiar, though, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless.

Just like Hacksaw is known for, Bullshark has delivered a well-crafted and well-balanced game with the Age of Seth slot, keeping the base game interesting with 3 different grid boosters. The gameplay is all about cascading sequences and how these are prolonged by said boosters, which adds up to an unpredictable and enjoyable experience. The multiplier wilds are your best bet for larger base game wins, and the replace booster is the least effective, or at least that was my experience when testing this game.

You are free to try the Age of Seth demo to see for yourself which booster you like best, but all 3 of them can come in handy to keep your winning streaks going, hopefully all the way to the bonus round. Getting only a single free spin is both nerve-racking and exciting, but it can also be annoying when things don’t go your way. However, in my experience, the feature can go on for longer than you may think if you’re lucky with the grid boosters.

Collecting the 100 symbols necessary to unlock the Seth feature is your main aim, as this all but guarantees a climactic ending to the bonus round. Of course, should you be so lucky as to also win the extra free spin, you’re usually in for quite a haul. Overall, Age of Seth follows a somewhat familiar recipe, not unlike what you may be used to from “big brother” Hacksaw. However, the game offers enough novelty and well-crafted mechanics to stand out as a pretty solid installment in the popular ancient Egypt genre.