Dark Summoning Slot Review

Get ready to embrace the darkness and muster all your inner courage as we head into the mysterious world of Dark Summoning, courtesy of Hacksaw Gaming!

Hacksaw Gaming has switched from Jekyll and headed straight into Hyde in their latest dark and mysterious release, Dark Summoning. It wasn’t long ago we were knees deep in all things Christmas in Xmas Drop, now we’re heading back to the dark side of Hacksaw’s imagination…and we can’t wait to see what they have in store for us this time!

Dark Summoning Base Game

Dark Summoning Base Game and Features

Dark Summoning is a 5-reel Video Slot with 24 fixed pay lines. Winning combinations are formed when 3 or more of the same symbols land from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel.

The minimum bet available here is £.€0.10 per spin and the maximum bet available is £.€100 per spin, with many betting options in between the two. This game has a theoretical RTP of 96.36% and a max win cap of 10,666x.

In terms of symbols, the highest-paying regular symbol here is the Animal Skull, followed by the Eye, Crow, Moth, and Scissors. Low-paying symbols are standard Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten. Wilds substitute for all High and Low-paying symbols from the paytable.

Each time a winning combination forms, all winning symbols (including all symbols of the winning type) are marked and removed from the reels, making room for new symbols to drop down via a Cascade Feature.

Game Provider Hacksaw Gaming
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Maximum Bet 100
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Maximum Win 10,666x
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Paylines 24
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Release Date 07/12/2023
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RTP 96.36%
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Mechanics Video Slot
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Volatility High
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Reels 5
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Minimum Bet 0.10
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Wild Multipliers

There are 2 types of Wild symbols available in colours Blue and Red. The Blue Wild appears in the base game and Rise to Salvation Free Spins, whereas the Red Wild only appears in the Trial by Hellfire Free Spins round. There is no functional difference between the two.

When a Wild symbol lands in view, it may reveal a Multiplier value of x2, x3, x4, x5, x10, x15, x20, x25, x50, or x100 at random. Wild symbols cannot appear with a Multiplier in the Rise to Salvation Free Spins round. If more than one Multiplier is part of the same win, their values will first be added together before being applied to the win.

Will of the Order

During gameplay, when an Order Scatter lands in view, it will replace itself and 1-9 other symbols with Wilds (with or without Multipliers). If more than one Order Scatter lands in one single spin, the Will of Order will trigger once for each Order Scatter.

Unholy Summoning

If an Unholy Scatter lands on the reels with at least one winning combination, it will be collected at the top-right corner of the reel set and saved for the duration of the round. If 3 Unholy Scatters land in one hit, they are immediately collected regardless of any winning combinations.

Trial by Hellfire Free Spins

Collecting a total of 3 Unholy Scatters during any one game round triggers the Trial by Hellfire Free Spins round, awarding 10 Free Spins.

During this round, all winning positions will be marked with Hellfire. Once an Unholy Scatter lands, it will activate the Fires of Hell sequence, where the Unholy symbol and all other symbols are marked with Hellfire and replaced with Wilds (with or without Multipliers). After this, all Hellfire is removed.

The Fires of Hell sequence will last until the next cascade. While the Fires of Hell sequence is live, new wins do not create additional Hellfire.

Dark Summoning Trial by Hellfire Free Spins

Rise to Salvation Free Spins

Collecting 3 Unholy Scatters and an Order symbol during any one spin will trigger the Rise to Salvation Free Spins round, awarding 10 Free Spins. 

During this round, the direction of the Cascade Feature is reversed so that symbols move upwards instead of downwards. The Rise to Salvation Free Spins round has special Lost Soul symbols in play.

Each time a Lot Soul symbol lands, it will become Persistent and remain on the reels until the end of the round, or until it Ascends. Lost Souls will move upward together along with other cascading symbols in order to fill the empty positions left behind when winning symbols are removed.

When a Lost Soul reaches the top row, it will Ascend and remove itself from the reel. There are two types of Lost Soul symbols in play during this time; Global Multiplier Lost Soul and Cash Prize Lost Soul.

When the Global Multiplier Lost Soul reaches the top, it will add a random Multiplier value of x2, x3, x4, x5, x10, x15, x25, x50, or x100 to the Global Win Multiplier. The global win multiplier is applied to all wins.

When a Cash Prize Lost Soul reaches the top, it will award a random Cash Prize of 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x, 50x, 100x, or 666x your bet. Cash Prizes are also multiplied by the Global Win Multiplier.

If 3 non-winning spins occur in a row, between 3 and 5 random High or Low-paying symbols are removed from the reels on the 3rd spin.

Dark Summoning Rise to Salvation Free Spins

Dark Summoning Bonus Buy

Those outside the UK will benefit from a Bonus Buy option. Hacksaw Gaming has granted players access to 3 Bonus Buy options as follows.

  • Bonushunt FeatureSpins – Each spin is 5 times more likely to trigger a Free Spins round for 3x your bet. (RTP 96.33%)
  • Trial by Hellfire – 130x your bet. (RTP 96.36%)
  • Rise to Salvation – 250x your bet. (RTP 96.42%)

Dark Summoning: Our Verdict

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of gameplay, can we just appreciate how much work has gone into the design of Dark Summoning? Hacksaw Gaming rarely disappoints in this area, and they’ve really outdone themselves this time around.

Hacksaw Gaming has graced us with 2 demonic characters besides the reel set that further complements the dark theme. Going by how intimidating the pair of them look, you already know you’re in for quite a ride.

Dark Summoning brings forth some of Hacksaw Gaming’s tried and true mechanics, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing considering their capabilities. There’s no denying that Multipliers are Hacksaw’s area of expertise, and even though they’ve popped up in numerous Hacksaw titles, there’s still a sense of thrill that comes from them.

Dark Summoning is the latest Hacksaw game to feature 2 Free Spins rounds. Rise to Salvation Free Spins is the better bonus round of the two, but the Trial by Hellfire Free Spins round is just as fiery in our opinion. Those in Bonus Buy territory will have the option to purchase both Free Spins rounds, with a slight difference in price.

All in all, Dark Summoning may not have the full scare factor, but it will definitely deliver a hair-raising experience, just as other Hacksaw titles have done in the past!

Dark Summoning and Slots from the Hacksaw Gaming portfolio can be played at casinos that accept Google Pay