It is hard to know where to begin to describe Yggdrasil’s Dark Vortex slot game. There are a number of evil forces that appear as though they are about to take over the world and it is the player’s role to ensure that the darkness that the game surrounds itself in does not continue to remain.
Whilst we were a little confused by what we were experiencing during our Dark Vortex game review, the actual gameplay itself is strikingly brilliant and will certainly keep bettors on their toes – even if the darkness and monster theme were not already!
Gameplay
Dark Vortex is a five-reel slot that has an all-ways win feature, thus providing players with the opportunity to win from 243 different methods. All they have to do is to match three or more symbols to form a win. This number of wins can increase to a huge 3,125 ways, though, when certain features become active!
Bettors are able to get on the action for as little as $0.10 per spin, whilst those that fancy placing higher value bets are able to do so with a bet of $50 per spin. They can do this via the ‘Max Bet’ button that can be found on the game panel at the bottom of the grid, whilst they are also able to press an ‘Autoplay’ button if they want an uninterrupted experience.
Remembering that there is a monster theme to this game, it is no surprise that monsters feature on the paytable. These foes act as the higher value icons, with the red, horned beast providing 6x the stake when five are matched on a payline. The low-paying symbols are represented by five different coloured books.
The game’s Wild has the ability to substitute all symbols to form a winning combination except for the Vortex and the Orb icons. However, this icon will only feature on the middle three reels of the slot game.
Feature Bonuses
During the Dark Vortex Free Play version, we found that there were a number of bonus features that really shined the light on the dark slot. The aforementioned Vortex symbol is key as two of these can trigger Vortex Reels. This feature will see the reels that have two adjacent symbols be turned into Vortex Reels and provide players with three Vortex spins. The reels expand and become five high instead of three high. Extra Vortex Spins can be triggered if adjacent Vortex symbols appear on the reels throughout the feature.
Throughout the feature, the Orb symbols also have the opportunity to appear and these can play a role in enhancing the bonus game. The pink orb will add one Wild to the middle reels for every one orb collected, whereas the blue orbs will provide players with extra free spins in the Vortex Free Spins feature. Every time a Vortex opens, players are automatically awarded five blue orbs. This is known as the Orbs Collection feature.
If all five vortex reels are opened, the Vortex Free Spins feature will be triggered once all Vortex Spins have finished. This is played on a 5×5 grid and provides players with the chance to win from 3,125 different ways.
Players are able to buy their way into the Vortex Free Spins feature if they find they are struggling to reach the bonus game. However, it will cost 80x the playing stake to trigger it. You will then make picks to determine how many free spins and wilds you’ll play with. You can play with up to 20 free spins and up to 10 high wild stacks!
RTP (return to player)
The Dark Vortex slot game return to player (RTP) rate is 96.5% and is a slot game that has a high volatility rate.