Darkness

Darkness is a high-volatility slot game developed by Print Studios, featuring a 5×4 grid with 26 paylines. Released on October 19, 2023, this Halloween-themed slot offers an RTP of 96.14% and a maximum potential win of 20,000x the bet. The game stands out for its unique, genuinely unsettling atmosphere and innovative features.

Darkness departs from the typical cute Halloween slot tropes, opting instead for a genuinely frightening experience. The game is set in a dimly lit, musty old house where an eldritch ritual seems to have gone awry. The atmosphere is oppressive and eerie, with the game's darkness being a central mechanic – players can adjust the literal darkness of their display using a slider.

Core Game Mechanics

Darkness utilizes a 5-reel, 4-row grid with 26 fixed paylines. Wins are formed by matching at least three symbols on adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost reel. The game features a range of symbols, including four types of Wiccan twigs (light, vibrant, noble, and eldritch) as low-paying symbols, and vials, daggers, and chalices as mid-paying symbols. The highest-paying regular symbols are Isadora and Agatha.

The Dirge Wild symbol can substitute for all regular pay symbols and offers the highest payout of 50x the bet for a five-of-a-kind combination. The game also incorporates Giant Symbols, which can land in sizes ranging from 3×2 to 5×4, adding an extra layer of excitement to the base game.

Bonus Features

SuperSpinners: A trademark feature of Print Studios, SuperSpinners are numbers displayed between the columns of symbols on the game grid. There are 14 SuperSpinner positions in total. If a winning line passes through an active SuperSpinner, and the SuperSpinner is to the left of a winning symbol, its value multiplies the win. Multiple SuperSpinners on the same winning line apply their multipliers sequentially.

Giant Symbols: On any spin, Giant Symbols may land on the reels. These oversized symbols can appear in sizes ranging from 3×2 to 5×4. Once landed, Giant Symbols break down into individual 1×1 instances of themselves and pay as regular symbols.

Scatter Boost: Players can activate the Scatter Boost by increasing their stake by 50%. This feature increases the frequency of bonus symbols on the reels, shifting the free spins hit frequency from 1 in 300.38 spins to 1 in 122.19 spins. The RTP also increases slightly from 96.14% to 96.4% when using this feature.

Dark Ritual Bonus (Free Spins): The main bonus feature is triggered by landing 3, 4, or 5 scatter symbols, awarding 10, 12, or 14 free spins respectively. During this bonus round, a pentagram overlay appears on the game grid. When a Dirge Wild lands on one of the five points of the pentagram, it locks in position for the remainder of the bonus and awards an additional 2 free spins.

The climax of the bonus round occurs when all 5 pentagram positions are filled with locked Dirge Wilds. This summons Lucifer, turning reels 2, 3, and 4 completely wild for the rest of the bonus round. This feature guarantees at least two spins with Lucifer present, as the final Wild placement triggers two additional spins.

Feature Buy: In certain jurisdictions, players can purchase direct entry into the bonus round for 100x their bet. This increases the RTP to 96.79%.

The most intriguing aspect of Darkness is its innovative use of literal darkness as a game mechanic. Players are required to adjust the brightness of their display using a slider, with the recommendation to set it so that the pentagram in the center of the screen is barely visible. This creates an unprecedented level of immersion and tension, truly setting Darkness apart in the crowded field of Halloween-themed slots.