Golden Glyph 3

Golden Glyph 3: Slot Overview

Nowadays, it can feel like science, imagination, and human ingenuity have no bounds. From rock-wielding hunter-gatherers thousands of years ago, we can now land probes on the moons of planets, reuse rockets, and harness the power of the sun to run just about anything. The devices we hold in our hands are no longer mere mobile phones but gateways to almost limitless entertainment, knowledge, and possibility. With all this extraordinary power at our disposal, and the Pandora's box of AI just around the corner, are we teetering on the edge of catastrophic hubris?

Perhaps, perhaps not, yet the reason for asking this question arose after reading the game blurb for Golden Glyph 3, an online slot from developer Quickspin. It talks about humans witnessing Horus playing 'with Power Glyphs and Chaos Clusters like a baby would a doll' and that 'we immediately began plotting to harness them for ourselves.' Golden Glyph 3 is another Ancient Egyptian adventure from Quickspin, a cluster-paying grid slot packed to the rafters with features like Power-Ups, a roaming multiplier, and two types of Glyphs. Like the two preceding games - Golden Glyph (2019) and Golden Glyph 2 (2021) - Golden Glyph 3 is an eyeball-massaging slot that recreates the world of Pharaohs, pyramids, and ancient gods in all its warm sunlit glory.

Set between two piles of hewn stone, and before a vast field of pyramids, lies Golden Glyph 3's 7-column gaming grid, each reel holding 5 to 9 symbols each. Columns of symbols do not sit flush with each other, but when at least 5 matching symbols are at least partially connecting, they create winning clusters, called Chaos Clusters, which then trigger a Tumbling Reels feature. Rated 5 out of 5 by Quickspin, Golden Glyph 3 is a highly volatile slot available in three RTP settings – 96.11% being the highest, while bets range from 20 p/c to $/€100.

All symbols part of a winning cluster are removed from the grid. Empty positions are filled by symbols falling from above, and this action will continue being repeated until no new cluster win appears. Golden Glyph 3's pay symbols are divided into high, medium, and low groupings, with 11 of them in total. The 6 lows are known as Bowl, Water, Reeds, Eye, Ankh, and Cobra, while the mediums are referred to as Hatshepsut, Osiris, Cleopatra, and Tutankhamun, with a high called Horus. Landing a 5 symbol cluster pays 0.3 to 2 times the bet, whereas a 15+ sized cluster is worth 15 to 100 times the bet.

Golden Glyph 3: Slot Features

One thing Golden Glyph games are not short of is features. Golden Glyph 3 is no different and offers Chaos Clusters, Power Glyphs, Golden Glyphs, Power-Up Features, Transformations, free spins, and a bonus buy feature.

Chaos Clusters

Chaos Clusters symbols only need to be partially connected to form a winning cluster.

Power Glyph

A single Power Glyph is created and put in one of the empty spaces each time players manage at least one cluster win, and it substitutes for all symbols except the Golden Glyph. If a Power Glyph is included in a win, the next Power-Up on the list next to the grid is activated. After the Bonus Power-Up is activated, no additional Power Glyphs will be awarded for the tumbles on the rest of that spin.

Golden Glyph

The Golden Glyph is always present in free spins and starts with an x2 multiplier. It is wild and substitutes for all symbols except the Power Glyph. If the Golden Glyph is used in a win, the winning amount is multiplied by the multiplier. Golden Glyphs do not tumble but move to a new position between spins. Each time free spins are retriggered, the Golden Glyph multiplier is doubled.

Power-Up Features

When there are no more wins, active Power-Ups are triggered:

• Gigantic Wild – an entire reel is transformed into a single Gigantic Wild symbol.
• A Storm of Wilds – 2 to 4 randomly placed wilds are spawned.
• Destruction – a number of lower pay symbols are removed from the reels.
• Transformation – a random symbol is selected, and all symbols connected to it turn into the same symbol.
• Free Spins – 6 free spins are awarded for activating the last Power-Up. In free spins, +2 free spins are awarded, and the Golden Glyph multiplier is doubled when activating the last Power-Up.

Buy Feature

Instead of waiting for the final Power-Up to be naturally activated, players may buy the free spins feature for 65x the bet. The highest RTP is 96.5%.

Golden Glyph 3: Slot Verdict

The original Golden Glyph slot was Quickspin's first foray into the cluster paying scene, and a decent first effort it was. The game incorporated a raft of interlocking features, all neatly packaged in an attractive Ancient Egyptian setting. For the follow up, the studio dialled everything up a notch or two, tinkering with the gameplay while crafting gorgeous graphics to go with it. Golden Glyph 3 does it all over again. Although, there were times when it felt like Quickspin might have fallen into a comfy groove since the progression from Golden Glyph 2 to 3 didn't seem as pronounced as the one from 1 to 2. That's not to take anything away from Golden Glyph 3, though, as it is another rock-steady cluster paying grid slot with an Egyptian infusion.

One minor critique is the visuals are quite traditional, albeit high quality, unlike those used in Golden Glyph 2, which bravely set the game in a part of the Ancient World, rarely, if ever, seen in an online slot before. Not to put a downer on it, but a slight lack of adventurousness permeated Golden Glyph 3 as a whole. The way it functions by hitting winning combinations (with Glyphs) to activate Power-Ups isn't exactly brave new stuff, nor are a lot of the Power-Up modifying abilities, for that matter. Symbol transformations, symbol destructions, plus wild transformations are all stalwarts of the cluster-paying grid slot genre. Again, not trying to detract from Golden Glyph 3's enjoyment, which could be high, as is winning potential, at 10,000 times the bet. Interestingly, for players chasing big potential, this is the lowest of the GG series so far.

Golden Glyph was a nicely made debut cluster pays slot, which the second game successfully built upon. Part 3 doesn't exactly branch off into freaky new territory, but it continues to provide much of the same solid entertainment. Namely, it's a well-put-together grid slot, with flashes of games like Reactoonz or Jammin' Jars, alongside the unique Golden Glyph flare that Quickspin has loyally stuck to.