Valley of the Gods Demo & Slot Review

Twelve blocked positions hide much of the field at the start of Valley of the Gods. A win does more than pay: it removes blockers and opens more positions for later respins. Clear the field and the same winning-symbol process begins feeding extra lives and a multiplier instead. The game’s progression is a change in what wins accomplish.

Published - by Inês Figueira

Updated -

Valley of the Gods

Valley of the Gods

4.0 out of 5

Valley of the Gods is a five-reel, five-row game from Yggdrasil, released on 24 August 2017 according to the official catalog. It features Egyptian gods and hieroglyphic symbols, with up to 3,125 ways when the field is fully available. This review covers the original game rather than Valley of the Gods 2.

The Ancient Egypt category includes many book-and-Scatter games, but this title uses a different route to development. Winning respins remove blockers, then collect lives and multiplier increments. The feature is embedded in that sequence rather than presented as a conventional fixed batch of free spins.

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Valley of the Gods review overview

The visible field starts smaller than five by five

Twelve blocker positions restrict the initial field. The checked panel rules describe a range from 45 to 3,125 ways as positions open. The fully available five-row field gives 5 × 5 × 5 × 5 × 5 = 3,125 possible ways.

That number is a count of potential combinations, not a guarantee of a win. Regular matching symbols must still appear on at least three consecutive reels from the left. The paytable guide explains why a ways count and a payout probability are different things.

Winning symbols do two jobs

A qualifying combination first contributes its ordinary award. Its winning symbols also release scarabs that remove blockers while any remain. Opening positions changes the opportunities available on subsequent respins within the same sequence.

Once the blockers are gone, scarabs instead feed two collections. This reuse of the same event is the design’s strongest connection: a win advances the field early and advances survival or multipliers later, without introducing an unrelated bonus wheel.

Who Valley of the Gods suits

Valley of the Gods suits readers who want to follow one developing round rather than wait for a separate bonus screen. Its interest comes from the changing field and the balance between extra lives and stronger future awards. It is less suitable if you prefer a fixed grid whose rules remain identical from the first resolution to the last.

Best for

  • Readers comparing progressive field expansion with conventional free-spin bonuses
  • People interested in how extra lives differ from a fixed spin allowance
  • Viewers reconstructing the timing of a newly earned multiplier

Not ideal for

  • Anyone expecting cleared blockers to remain removed for the next paid round
  • Readers who equate a larger ways count with a guaranteed payout
  • Players who want a separate Scatter symbol and fixed free-spin batch

Valley of the Gods game information

Provider: Yggdrasil
Release Date: August 2017
Game Type: Video Slot
Grid: 5 × 5
Win system: 45–3125 ways
RTP: 96.2% / 94.0%
Volatility: High
Features: Blockers, Respins, Extra Lives, Increasing Multipliers, Scarab Collections
Theme: Ancient Egypt
Wild Symbol: No
Free Spins: No
Progressive: No
Tumbling Wins: No
Scatter Symbol: No

How Valley of the Gods rules and features work

Every winning spin awards a respin

A spin containing a winning combination grants a respin at the same stake. Further wins continue the sequence. This is not a new debit for each winning continuation within that round.

The feature should not be described as a cascade that simply removes winning symbols and drops replacements into the same positions. The documented game uses respins alongside blocker removal. Gonzo’s Quest is a useful contrast for a different way of continuing a winning round.

Golden scarabs destroy the blockers

While blockers remain, each winning symbol releases a golden scarab that destroys one blocker. The field expands as those restricted positions become available. Winning combinations therefore affect later possibilities as well as the current award.

A nearly cleared field does not promise that the next respin will clear it. If the sequence ends first, the progress is lost. The review does not assign a trigger frequency or average number of paid rounds needed to reach the fully open state.

Clearing all blockers gives one extra life

Once all blockers are destroyed, the game awards one extra life and activates the later collection features. An extra life allows a respin after a losing respin; spending it reduces the life count by one.

This is different from a guaranteed batch of, for example, ten free spins. Winning results continue the sequence through their own rule, while lives provide additional chances when a result does not win. The free-spins explanation helps distinguish a fixed allowance from this conditional continuation.

Five red scarabs add another life

After the field is open, winning red, orange, purple and pink symbols contribute scarabs to the life collection. Every five red scarabs add one life. The collection can continue while qualifying wins continue.

The useful state is therefore both the current life count and progress toward the next one. Four collected scarabs are not a life already available to spend. A losing respin with no remaining lives ends the sequence even if a collection meter looks close to completion.

Five blue scarabs increase the next multiplier

Winning blue, teal and green symbols feed the multiplier collection after the blockers have been removed. Every five blue scarabs increase the multiplier by one. Crucially, the new multiplier is added after the current win is awarded and applies to the following respin.

If an illustrative €2 eligible award occurs at 3× and also completes a collection, that award is €6. The newly earned 4× belongs to the next respin, not the already settled one. Applying 4× retrospectively would overstate the current payout.

Ways multiply symbol occurrences, not just the printed field size

For a particular symbol appearing twice on reel one, three times on reel two and twice on reel three, the number of three-reel combinations is 2 × 3 × 2 = 12. Multiply the applicable single-combination paytable value by twelve, then apply any relevant current feature modifier.

For an illustrative single-combination value of 0.5 coins, twelve combinations produce six coins before the feature modifier. This is an example of the calculation, not a claimed payout for a particular god symbol. The supplied paytable determines that symbol’s actual value.

Coins, cash and rounding are separate layers

The checked rules use 25 coins per paid spin. At a €0.02 coin value, the total stake is €0.50. A ten-coin award is €0.20 before any applicable modifier, not ten times the €0.50 stake.

The operator rules also describe cash rounding and explain why a balance shown in coins may not increase by the exact displayed coin amount when fractional cents are involved. The session-tracking guide recommends reconciling the actual cash debit and credit rather than treating a converted coin display as an independent balance.

The blockers return when the sequence ends

When there is no winning combination and no life remains, the respins end, the total is added to the balance and the twelve blockers return to their starting positions. The next ordinary paid round begins a new attempt to open the field.

That reset is essential when assessing the apparent progress of a clip. A fully open field and a high modifier are states inside a developing round, not permanent improvements to the game. The highlight-analysis article explains how selected late-feature footage can hide the cost and frequency of reaching that state.

Reading the award before the newly earned modifier

The official product page and detailed operator rules were checked on 15 October 2026. The sources agree on the original game’s blocker, life and multiplier structure, but describe different RTP configurations. The operator rules also give the specific timing of the multiplier increment and the portrait-mode location of its display.

For a recorded sequence, reconstruct the current award using the multiplier that applied when it was evaluated. Then record newly collected scarabs and the value that will apply next. This avoids the common error of using a larger number visible at the end of an animation for the award that created it.

The official page gives a €580,000 monetary maximum, while the checked operator rules state a £250,000 single-game limit. Those currency-specific statements do not establish one universal stake-multiple cap. No conversion into a fictional × value is made.

The RTP verification guide covers the launched-version check. This review does not claim a personally played full-clear sequence, an average time to remove blockers or a measured probability of collecting an extra life.

How to play Valley of the Gods responsibly

An open field and a rising multiplier belong to the current sequence. They reset when it ends and do not make the next paid round more favourable. Record the final credited total once, and avoid adding intermediate awards again if they are already included in that total.

  1. Read the current modifier first.

    A newly earned increment applies to the following respin, not the win that earned it.

  2. Count usable lives separately from collection progress.

    Four red scarabs are not yet an extra life.

  3. Recognize the reset.

    The twelve blockers return after the respin sequence ends.

Symbols and Paytable

The game has four high-paying god symbols and six lower hieroglyphic types. Winning symbols release scarabs. Before the field is cleared, those scarabs remove blockers; afterwards, their colour group determines whether they contribute to lives or multiplier growth.

Blocker

Covers a reel position until a winning-symbol scarab removes it.

Red scarab

After the field is open, five collected red scarabs add one life.

Blue scarab

After the field is open, five increase the multiplier for the following respin.

The table summarizes the verified blocker and collection thresholds. Ordinary ways require three or more consecutive matching reels from the left. The exact single-combination symbol value comes from the supplied paytable, while the number of ways is calculated from the matching occurrences on those reels.

Feature or condition Condition Effect
Open field Remove 12 blockers 1 extra life; collections active
Red scarabs 5 +1 life
Blue scarabs 5 +1 multiplier step for the next respin
Sequence ends No win and no remaining life Total credited; blockers reset

The scarab is a consequence of a winning symbol in this mechanism, not a conventional Scatter that independently awards a fixed number of free spins. A larger open field increases possible combinations without guaranteeing that the required symbols will appear.

Valley of the Gods RTP, volatility and maximum win

The official RTP is 96.2%, and the checked operator version lists 94%. For €200 of cumulative stakes, the corresponding theoretical losses are €7.60 and €12. Those long-run figures do not describe the next fully open field or the value of an extra life. High volatility and the changing ways count should be considered separately from the supplied RTP configuration.

Provider

Yggdrasil

RTP range
94.00% 96.20%
Volatility

High

How to interpret the numbers

Key point 1

The ways count ranges from 45 to 3,125 as blockers disappear, but potential combinations are not guaranteed winning combinations.

Key point 2

A new multiplier is applied after the win that earned it, so its first use is the following respin.

Key point 3

Monetary maximum listings in different currencies cannot be turned into one stake multiple without the corresponding stake and limit rules.

Valley of the Gods on mobile

The detailed rules place the multiplier display to the left in the standard layout and above the scarab collection in mobile portrait. They also document the options tray and cash/coin view. This supports a specific reading check on a phone without claiming a physical-device performance benchmark.

Mobile checks

  • Locate the multiplier above the collection in portrait view

  • Separate the life count from the red-scarab progress meter

  • Check whether bet and balance are shown in cash or coins

  • Read the current multiplier before the next increment animation

Valley of the Gods compared with other games

Gonzo’s Quest continues through avalanches and a bounded multiplier sequence. Reactoonz develops a cluster field through its own charge-based features. Valley of the Gods instead uses blocker removal to unlock two continuing collections inside a ways game.

Valley of the Gods compared with other games
Game Return / max win Volatility Bonus fit Watch out for
Valley of the Gods 94.00%–96.20% High Winning respins remove blockers; clearing the field gives one life, then five red scarabs add lives and five blue scarabs increase the next multiplier. The field resets after the sequence, and a newly earned modifier must not be applied backwards to the award that earned it.
Book of Dead 84.18%–96.21% Very High Ten free spins select an ordinary symbol that can expand under a separate award rule; qualifying Scatters can add another ten spins. Regular awards are expressed per line, while Scatter awards use total bet. The two units must not be combined without conversion.
Legacy of Dead 84.55%–96.58% — Eight starting free spins select one expanding symbol; qualifying retriggers add eight spins and another selected symbol. The additional symbol is a feature rule, not a guarantee of improved results. Check the configured RTP and payout units separately.

Explore Yggdrasil games

Valley of the Gods works because each stage grows out of the same winning-symbol process. Its progress is meaningful within a round, but its reset prevents that progress from becoming a permanent advantage.

Other Yggdrasil games to compare with Valley of the Gods

Compare the continuation rules with Gonzo’s Quest and the changing cluster system in Reactoonz.

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How this Valley of the Gods review was checked

Publication status: Official product information and detailed operator rules checked on 15 October 2026. Configuration-specific RTP, cash limits and multiplier timing are preserved separately.

  • Mechanics — 4.2/5, weight 30%. Blocker removal naturally transitions into life and multiplier collections through the same winning-symbol process.

  • Pace and variety — 3.8/5, weight 25%. The developing field offers clear progression, while early blocked rounds can repeat a limited pattern.

  • Distinctiveness — 4.1/5, weight 20%. The conditional-life system provides a strong alternative to a conventional Egyptian free-spin bonus.

  • Rules and controls — 3.8/5, weight 15%. Detailed timing and mobile-display rules are useful, although coin rounding and version differences need care.

  • Presentation — 4.0/5, weight 10%. Gods, blockers and scarabs give each progression stage a consistent visual role.

  • How the total is calculated. 4.2 × 0.30 + 3.8 × 0.25 + 4.1 × 0.20 + 3.8 × 0.15 + 4.0 × 0.10 = 4.0, rounded to 4.0/5.

  • Evidence and limits. The assessment uses documented rules and official presentation, without a claimed paid session, measured full-clear frequency or independently verified maximum result.

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Editorial pledge

Inês Figueira

Big Wins Editor · SlotsTube

Reviewed by Eline van Veldhuizen
Last reviewed
Last Updated
Review focus Rules, RTP, volatility and bonus features

FAQs

How many ways does Valley of the Gods have?

The checked rules describe 45 to 3,125 ways depending on how many blocked positions have been opened.

What removes the blockers?

Winning symbols release golden scarabs that destroy blockers. Once all blockers are gone, later scarabs feed the life and multiplier collections.

What does an extra life do?

It grants another respin after a losing respin and is then spent. Winning respins continue through their separate rule.

Does a newly earned multiplier affect the win that earned it?

No. The increment is added after that award and applies to the following respin.

Do cleared blockers stay removed for the next paid round?

No. When the respin sequence ends, the twelve blockers return to their starting positions.

Is this a conventional Scatter free-spin game?

No. The documented original game develops through winning respins, blocker removal, extra lives and multiplier collection rather than a fixed Scatter-triggered batch.