Blood & Shadow 2 Demo

Blood & Shadow 2 Slot Review

Fans of Nolimit City’s dark and twisted narratives will be waiting eagerly at the altar of the abandoned cathedral for their latest instalment, Blood & Shadow 2. Shadow Girl is known for her malevolence and mastery of the forbidden arts, having proved her aptitude for all things demonic in Book of Shadows, and the predecessor to this release, Blood & Shadow.

After honing her skills, Shadow Girls returns with even darker secrets and even more terrifying dark magic. The sinister lore that surrounds Nolimit City’s Shadow Girl is as intriguing as it is ominous, and it pulls players deeper into a world where danger lurks at every turn where every spin forebodes a sinister twist.

Horror slots are something quite special. Many try to gloss over the shroud of darkness with a veneer of light, downplaying the likes of Dracula, Cerberus or even Satan himself with cartoonish features that strip away the sense of dread horror games should evoke, but not Nolimit City. They’re both the most daring and in many ways, most sinister.

Blood & Shadow 2 hits UK online casinos in ample time for Halloween – could it be the scariest yet?

Blood & Shadow 2 - Base Game
Blood & Shadow 2 – Base Game

Base Game & Features

Blood & Shadow 2 is a 5-reel Video Slot with 1,024-3,125 ways to win and bet sizes between £.€0.20 per spin and £.€100 per spin. Wins are calculated when 3-5 matching symbols land from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel.

The game features High, Mid, and Low-paying symbols. The highest-paying symbol awards payouts between 1.5x and 5x your bet, while the remaining symbols pay between 0.05x and 4.5x your bet.

Winning combinations are subject to removal through a Cascading Feature. Winning symbols are removed and replaced with new symbols from above, potentially enhancing or creating wins on the reels.

Blood & Shadow 2 has a theoretical RTP of 96.09%, a High Volatility rating, and a max win cap of 16,161x your bet. Other statistics include lower RTP modules of 94.01% and 92.02%.

Game Provider Nolimit City
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Minimum Bet 0.20
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Maximum Bet 100
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Maximum Win 16.161x
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Paylines Up to 3,125 ways
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Release Date 22/10/2024
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RTP 96.09% - 92.02%
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Mechanics Video Slot
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Volatility High
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Reels 5
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Ritual Bar

Below the main reel set is a special row with 5 locked Wild positions. Each level of progression reached on the Ritual Bar will unlock 1 Wild position, from left to right.

There are 5 Levels of progression which require a number of Scatter and winning combinations of Medium and High-paying symbols to unlock.

  • Level 1: Requires 20 Scatters and/or winning combinations
  • Level 2: Requires 30 Scatters and/or winning combinations
  • Level 3: Requires 40 Scatters and/or winning combinations
  • Level 4: Requires 60 Scatters and/or winning combinations
  • Level 5: Requires 80 Scatters and/or winning combination

Medium and High-paying symbols are worth +1 and +2 per winning symbol respectively, while Scatters are worth +10. Each level removes the lowest-paying symbols and converts Medium-paying symbols into High-paying ones. At the end of a game round, the Ritual Bar resets.

xSplit

There are 2 types of xSplit symbols available during gameplay:

  • Dagger xSplit: Splits the entire row
  • Guillotine xSplit: Splits all symbols below it on its reel

xSplit symbols will appear with a x2 Multiplier, which is also applied to individual symbols that are split. Both Dagger and Guillotine symbols transform into Wilds after their split feature. The multiplier count reflects the symbol count on that reel, up to x32.

Blood & Shadow 2 - xSplit Features
Blood & Shadow 2 – xSplit Features

Nolimit Booster

  • xBet 1: Each spin is 3 times more likely to trigger Rein of Terror Spins, with a Ritual Level of 1. (2.5x your bet)
  • xBet 2: Each spin is guaranteed to spin at Level 5 with Dagger and Guillotine symbols (66x your bet)

Bonus Buy

  • 6 Halifax Gibbet Spins: 100x your bet
  • 10 Reign of Terror Spins: 500x your bet
  • Lucky Draw: (40%, 40%, 20%) 240x your bet

Candle Spins

Reaching a new level of the Ritual Bar awards +2 Candle Spins until it reaches level 4, where 6 Reign of Terror Spins are awarded. Before a new level, all wins are paid out before progressing. During this time, the Ritual Bar performs in the same manner as the base game.

Sticky Wilds

Sticky Wilds can appear on all reels. In Candle Spins and Reign of Terror, the Wild drops to the bottom of the reel and becomes sticky. Sticky wilds remain in play until they form part of a winning combination.

Reign of Terror Spins

Upon entry into Reign of Terror, +6 Free Spins are awarded. The round will not begin until all potential wins are complete.

During this round, the Ritual Bar is removed and transforms the reel area to 5×5, with only High-paying symbols in play. Landing Scatters at this time awards an additional +1 Free Spin. Purchasing Reign of Terror Spins via the Bonus Buy option will award 10 Free Spins.

Blood & Shadow 2 - Reign of Terror Spins
Blood & Shadow 2 – Reign of Terror Spins

Halifax Gibbet Spins

The Halifax Gibbet round is only available through the Bonus Buy option. Once active, the Ritual Bar progression reaches Level 3, awarding 6 Candle Spins. During this time, 3 Medium and Low-paying symbols are replaced with 3 High-paying symbols.

Enlightenment

When the max win cap of 16,161x is reached, the game round will end and the total amount will be awarded.

Blood & Shadow 2 - Halifax Gibbet Spins
Blood & Shadow 2 – Halifax Gibbet Spins

Our Verdict

Blood & Shadow 2 picks off nicely from the original, with features that build upon it in quite a meaningful way. We once said in our original Blood & Shadow review that a sacrificial dark offering has never looked so appealing, but we may have to rescind that statement in favour of its sequel.

Shadow Girl has spent the months between the two releases honing darker magic for unholy gain, and the players who try it will be beneficiaries of the dark arts as well with so much to enjoy. It’s taboo, but it feels so right.

Blood & Shadow 2 features some interesting xBet Features that were not available in the original. xBet did not yet exist when the first slot was released, so its inclusion here increases the appeal significantly. The first option makes triggering Reign of Terror Spins 3 times as likely, and the 2nd option guarantees the player a spin at level 5 with both Dagger and Guillotine Symbols. The Guillotine xSplit is also new, and quite exciting to behold. The xBet features are worth activating, in our opinion and players at UK Slot Sites may have to pick and choose where to play as not all casinos allow the inclusion of xBet.

The potential of Blood & Shadow 2 is quite superior to the original. 16,161x is the maximum win here, while the original opted for a more symbolic 6,666x. It’s not a volatile monster like some we’ve seen of late, San Quentin 2 being a notable example, but it’s a very respectable amount that still exceeds what many others offer.

With the absence of Buy Features, the UK player base will have to grind Blood & Shadow up to those upper levels, rather than buying in at the higher-level Reign of Terror spins. The unpleasant and horrific theme doesn’t offset the pleasant experience that is playing Blood & Shadow 2, and we found it to be quite capable in the Base Game. The ritual bar can be a task to fill, but Blood & Shadow 2 breaks things up nicely with plenty of action along the way, plus Candle Spins to keep things interesting.

Overall, Blood & Shadow 2 isn’t an outright reimagination of the original, but it’s tweaked it for the better.