Dark Vortex

Dark Vortex review

It’s probably no coincidence that Yggdrasil have decided to release one of its darkest titles to date just in time for Halloween; Dark Vortex slot is a monster-themed game that smacks of dark magic, whose exceptional visuals are bound to impress even the most demanding of players. With a rather controversial ‘buy-a-bonus’ feature that gives players immediate access to the bonus game, and the potential of winning up to 7,318 times the stake, this could even end up being Yggdrasil’s best game of 2018! Read our review of Dark Vortex slot to learn more about its numerous features and to find out which best online casinos will soon be offering this game.

Dark Vortex slot features

Dark Vortex is a 5-reel slot with between 243 and 3,125 ways to win and a win both ways mechanic. Symbols on the reels include five spellbooks of different colours and five different monsters, whose intricate design is particularly striking and highly original. There’s also a wild which substitutes for all other symbols except for the Vortex and the Orb, and which appears only on the 3 middle reels.

Of course, what you’ll be looking forward to as you play will be the Vortex symbols, since 2 of these on adjacent reels will activate the Vortex Reels feature and give you 3 vortex spins. The vortex reels will now be 5 symbols high instead of 3, which results in more ways to win, and will contain stacked high-paying symbols and wilds. Every additional Vortex symbol that lands on an adjacent position will also award an extra Vortex reel and 2 extra spins. These reels will remain active until all the vortex spins are played, and your aim is to activate all 5 of them.

During this special feature, you’ll also see orb symbols landing on the reels, to help enhance the free spins feature. Every pink orb collected adds one wild symbol to the 3 middle reels during the free spins – these pink orbs can land on the first and fifth reel only. On the other hand, the blue orbs –  which land on reels 2, 3 and 4 –  will give you an extra free spin during the bonus round. Once the Vortex opens, you’ll also be awarded with another 5 blue orbs.

Dark Vortex slot free spins

The free spins round in Dark Vortex slot is activated by opening all 5 Vortex reels before the Vortex spins run out. During this round, you’ll get a 5×5 reel set with 3125 ways to win! The stacked wilds on the 3 middle reels will now be increased by one wild for each pink orb you have collected.

And now to the most interesting bit – you can buy your access to the Vortex Free spins feature by clicking on the ‘Buy Bonus’ button and paying an amount equivalent to 80 times your stake! You will then get to pick cards that determine how many free spins and how many wild stacks you’ll get, which can be up to 20 free spins and 10 wild stacks If you choose to buy the bonus, you’ll also benefit from an RTP of 97% during this round, as opposed to 96.5%, which is what you get if you trigger the bonus through the vortex reels.

Dark Vortex slot bonus

We hope we haven’t confused you with all the above, and that we haven’t put you off playing Dark Vortex slot. Like any other slot, it’s not as complex as it sounds and you’ll soon get the hang of it. However, if you’re still wary and would like to give it a try for free first, you should also consider playing it with some bonus funds. You can get a best online casino of up to 200% your first deposit if you join a casino as a new player. Check out the below casinos, which will be adding Dark Vortex slot to their collection once it’s released.

Where to play Dark Vortex slot

Dark Vortex slot min/max bets, RTP, volatility and maximum win

Dark Vortex slot can be played with as little as 10p per spin and up to £50. The theoretical RTP is 96.5% and goes up to 97% when you choose to buy the bonus. Variance-wise, it’s medium to high, with potential payouts of 7,318x the stake on each free spin!

Dark Vortex slot graphics and sound

Dark Vortex is one of the most creative-looking slots when it comes to graphics and design – you can see the effort Yggdrasil has put into designing the monsters, and into evoking a hellish setting that’s so appropriate to the theme. We especially liked those monster tentacles waving to us from behind the reels, and those little details surrounding the reels. The instrumental music is just what you would expect from an eerie, horror-themed slot, though the sound effects are rather light-hearted, so that the atmosphere is still pretty fun.

Dark Vortex slot – our Conclusion

From what we’ve been able to see so far, we can conclude that Dark Vortex is a highly original game with a great win potential. We’re not sure about the buy-in bonus for the time being since we haven’t tried it ourselves – while 80x the stake is a high price to pay, it might be worth it if you can really get up to 7,318x the stake from the free spins round, but we suspect that this is going to be very difficult. However, we like the vortex reels feature, the possibility of increasing the ways to win and the fact that one can progress to the bonus via this feature; it’s a pretty original and engaging way of triggering the free spins that does away with the usual tedious way of having to land 3 or more scatters. As for the design, it’s hard to dispute that this really adds to the game’s appeal, and we really can’t wait to play Dark Vortex slot!