Sanctuary

The British gothic rock band known as The Cult peaked in the late 80s and early 90s, but they are still going strong to this day. That’s not least the case down under at the Big Time Gaming headquarters, as Sanctuary is the 4th installment featuring the dark and atmospheric soundscapes conjured up by this influential band. It goes well together with the cosmic ancient Egypt theme, and the all-seeing-eye pyramid logo suggests that BTG is not unfamiliar with the conspiracy paradigm.
Any alien influence in the creation of the pyramids is only hinted at in this game though, and you get full reel wilds and full reel multiplier wilds in the base game. You leave the pyramids behind when the bonus round triggers, as you’re taken into orbit with the Earth in the backdrop. The feature is all about sticky wilds, and they are cloned to up to 4 reel sets. Getting more than one reel set wasn’t too easy in our experience, but you can gamble to get more if you dare. The 44,070x potential is solid enough, and overall we had a pretty good time testing Sanctuary slot.
Big Time Gamingis a veteran developer that’s been around since 2011, and they are famous for inventing the ultra-popularMegawaysengine. This innovation changed the whole iGaming industry, andBonanza Megawaysis still among the most popular games out there.
It seems that Big Time Gaming is flirting with the conspiracy paradigm in this release. They are clearly connecting the pyramids to something cosmic and out of this world with this theme, and the all-seeing-eye pyramid logo strongly suggests that this is not a coincidence. A fun fact is that the precision and scale of the pyramids could hardly have been replicated with today’s technology, so how Egyptian slaves pulled it off is hard to imagine.
The Sanctuary RTP of96.38 %is a bit above the industry average, and there are no customizable RTP ranges to worry about either. This is ahigh volatilityinstallment from Big Time Gaming, which means you should expect significant fluctuations on your bankroll in longer sessions. The upside is the Sanctuary max win of44,070x the stake, which is significantly above average even for this volatility level.
You can adjust the bet levels between £0.1 and £20 per spin, which is an okay bet range that should satisfy penny punters at least. You win by landing 3 to 6 matching symbols acrossup to 4,096 win ways, and the top-tier Pharaoh Skull also pays for 2-of-a-kind wins. Sanctuary slot plays out on a 6-reel grid with 4 rows, and Wilds land fully stacked to substitute for any pay symbol. There are 2 kinds of full reel wilds, as we shall see in the feature section of this Sanctuary review.
The base game is spiced up by full reel wilds and multiplier wilds on the 4 middle reels, but these do not appear in the bonus round. Instead, you get sticky wilds that can turn into full reel multiplier wilds, and these wilds are cloned to up to 4 reel sets (depending on how many reel sets are active).
There are 2 kinds of Full Reel Wilds in Sanctuary slot, and both can only appear on reels 2, 3, 4, and 5. Both full reel wilds substitute for any pay symbol to help complete or improve wins, and the golden wild does nothing extra. The Purple Full Reel Wild, however, comes with an x8 multiplier that boosts any wins that pass through this wild. Each purple wild will boost the win by x8 if more than one wild is involved.
The Bonus Round triggers when you land3, 4, 5, or 6 scattersin view, and this gives you7 free spinsno matter the number of triggering scatters. However, you get 2, 3, or 4 reel sets instead of just 1 if you trigger the bonus round with 4, 5, or 6 scatters, respectively. You also get the opportunity to gamble for extra reel sets up front, but you then risk losing the whole bonus round. The gamble pays out on a wheel, and landing on a black segment lands you back in the base game.
The full reel wilds do not appear in the bonus round, but you can land an Ankh Wild symbol instead. It too appears on reels 2 to 5 only, and all Ankh Wilds that land become sticky for the duration of the Sanctuary free spins round. Not only that, a sticky Ankh Wild is placed in the same position on all reel sets (if you have more than one active). If you fill a reel with sticky wilds, it turns into a full reel x4 multiplier wild. This also awards +3 extra spins each time it happens.
Eligible players can exchange80x the staketo get the bonus round whenever they win at least that amount. However, if you winbetween 25 and 79 x the stake, you can exchange that amount to get a spin on the bonus wheel. This can land you the bonus round as well, and your chances increase the more you pay for the spin.
Eligible players can also purchase the bonus round directly via the ticket button below the game logo on the right-hand side. This will set you back80x the stake, and you will then be taken directly to the gamble wheel without a triggering spin. You get 7 free spins and 1 reel set by default in other words, but you can choose to gamble for up to 4 reel sets.
It’s safe to say that the Big Time Gaming crew has a thing for The Cult, as this is the 4th installment with a soundtrack from this gothic rock band. We don’t mind at all, as the soundtrack sounds great in our ears at least. We still think BTG should consider modernizing their game interface though, and include things like turbo spins and being able to click to stop the reels. The cosmic take on the ancient Egyp theme works pretty well, and it’s perhaps BTG is trying to tell us something about who actually helped build these massive monuments.
That’s not a rabbit hole to explore at this point, however, and overall Sanctuary is a pretty solid game. The base game full reel wilds can do damage, or at least the multiplier full reel wild can, although anything is possible with so many win ways. Sticky wilds being cloned to all grids is a decent touch, but getting more than one grid wasn’t all that easy in our experience. Things can heat up if you fill reels to get sticky multiplier wilds though, and the 44,070x potential is hard to complain about. That being said, BTG should start to reveal their games’ max win hit rate, as some more transparent developers do.
Pros
Cons
We recommend that you play the Sanctuary demo game first, before starting with real money play. However, that is totally up to you, of course, and you may feel ready to take this game on at a casino after reading our Sanctuary review conclusion above. If that’s the case, follow these steps to get started in no-time:
If you love Sanctuary game, you should also check:
Wild Flower- is another Big Time Gaming release with a headbanger of a soundtrack from The Cult. This game rolls the best parts from 3 previous BTG releases into one game, and you can win up to 46,100x in the base game via stacked multiplier wilds. There are 2 bonus rounds to look forward to as well, and the max win is 114,000x the stake.
Lil Devil- is another one to try if you like The Cult, and this Big Time Gaming release is a volatile beast with 2 different bonus rounds as well. It comes with multiplier wilds up to x144, and the Heartstopper enhanced bonus round can lead to solid payouts up to 40,960x the stake.
Outlaw Megaways- is a wild west installment from BTG, and once again The Cult provides the soundtrack. You’ll benefit from up to 117,649 win ways, and the base game comes with full reel wilds and full reel multiplier wilds. There are 2 free spin rounds to choose from, and both can be enhanced for payouts up to 64,400x the stake.
Sure, you can play Sanctuary slot on yourmobile phoneor tablet device, and the game works perfectly on both Android and iOS units. You can play wherever you may go in other words, but you will need an internet connection, of course. You don’t even need to download any app to play, as HTML5 technology allows for gameplay directly in your mobile browser.
As part of your Sanctuary strategy, it’s important to be aware that this is a highly volatile game. You need to adjust your bet level to handle the fluctuations, otherwise, it can be hard to stay afloat. Find a bet level that works for your budget, and test the free Sanctuary demo game before playing for real. This way you will know what you’re in for.
You can check the freeSanctuary demo gamevia this link to the top of the review page. You can play the demo as much as you want, or until you feel ready to play Sanctuary for real money at a casino. When that time comes, you can check our confirmed casinos right below the demo game.