Cultist Slot Review
A candle burns red on a tall holder, a yellowed book lies open on the desk, and a portrait of a mustached man hangs half in shadow while bookshelves recede into the dark. Cultist, from Popiplay, hides its real design in the basement of that library: the base game is barely a sketch, and every interesting decision this game makes happens once three Scatters land. That lopsided build is the whole point of it, and it’s a bolder choice than the haunted-dressing suggests.
It runs at 97.14% RTP, well above the norm for a high-volatility release, on a 5×5 grid with 15 paylines and a 10,000x win ceiling. Popiplay’s other reviewed titles include Bushido Blood, Wild Wild Duck and Mummy X Riches, and Cultist is the darkest of that catalogue by some distance. The tentacles give a hint of where the bonus round is headed.
Base Game Wins in the Library
Wins form left to right across the 15 paylines, and only the highest combination on each line is paid. Wins on different lines are summed together, and payouts follow the paytable based on the number of symbols and their position. It’s a conventional setup, and the 5×5 grid gives it a squarer, denser feel than the usual five-reel layout.
The bet is set in the Total bet field, with higher bets increasing a total win. A MAX button bets the maximum per spin, capped by the balance and the operator’s settings. Free spins use the same bet and lines as the spin that triggered them.
Autospins come in Basic and Advanced flavours, with the number of rounds selectable and optional stop conditions:
- Stop on any win
- Stop when the bonus game is won
- Stop when a single win exceeds a chosen sum
- Stop when the cash balance increases or decreases by a chosen sum
In the main game the Wild Multiplier substitutes for any symbol except Scatters and carries a value of 2x, 3x, 5x or 10x, multiplying the line win it helps complete by that amount. That’s the base game’s one real flourish, and stacked wild multipliers across a full line are where its biggest regular wins come from.
Beyond the reels, the framing does quiet work: the teal-green wordmark with its tentacular flourish, the shadowy bearded figure beside the candle, the whole scene dimmed as if under a heavy overlay. It commits to the mood without a single jump scare.
Settings are where you’d expect them. Turbo mode speeds the spins up, the spacebar works in place of the Spin button, and music and sound effects can each be toggled off from the menu. Nothing here gets in the way of the reels.
Scatters, Free Spins and the Respin Round
Three Scatter symbols trigger the bonus game, which brings free spins, the respin feature and the possibility of the grid expanding. The Opening Reel symbol appears only in the bonus game and can land up to twice per game, with each one adding a reel to the left and right. That stretches the grid from 5×5 to a full 5×7 layout.
The Respin mode starts with three spins and continues until three non-winning spins occur in a row. Every time a Tentacle symbol or an Opening Reel symbol lands, the remaining spins counter resets to three, so a productive round can run for a long time.
There’s a number displayed to the left of each row on the grid, the Bonus Counter. Winning symbols that hit during the round add to or multiply the numbers in single or all counters. At the end of the round, the total win equals the sum of all displayed numbers multiplied by the current bet.
The Four Tentacles
The Tentacles are where the round’s arithmetic lives, and each colour works differently on the Bonus Counters:
- Blue Tentacle – values of +1, +2, +5, +10 or +20, added to the value of the row it landed on.
- Green Tentacle – values of +1, +2, +5, +10 or +20, added to the values of all the lines.
- Purple Tentacle – values of x2, x3, x5, x10 or x20, multiplying the current value of the row it landed on.
- Red Tentacle – values of x2, x3, x5, x10 or x20, multiplying the current value of all the rows.
All symbols affecting the Bonus Counters are applied in order from left to right and top to bottom, so where a Tentacle lands matters as much as what it carries. A red multiplier landing early can be built on by later additive Tentacles; landing late, it multiplies whatever the round has already accumulated. That fixed order gives the respin countdown its tension.
Working backwards from the payout rule, the whole round becomes a building exercise. Additive Tentacles grow the row numbers one hit at a time, and the multipliers scale what’s already there.
Then every Bonus Counter on the expanded grid is summed and multiplied by the current bet to pay the round. The 10,000x ceiling is what the top of that ladder looks like, and with counters stacking across seven reels at best, there’s a lot of ladder to climb.
Buying the Bonus
Free spins can be bought outright during the game. The price sits above the button and increases automatically if the bet is raised, spins start immediately after purchase, and the next spin triggers the bonus game. The button is deactivated while a bonus game is in progress.
The respin round is where nearly all of Cultist’s upside lives, so the buy is a direct route to the part of the game worth seeing. The price scales with the stake, and it’s shown at the button rather than quoted as a fixed figure. What the purchase buys is the round exactly as three Scatters would deliver it: the same 3-spin counter, the same Tentacle resets, the same shot at the 5×7 expansion.
Our Honest Verdict
Overall Rating: 7.9/10
Playing Cultist mostly means waiting in a beautiful room. The library does the haunting while the reels tick over, and the reason anybody sits through it is the respin round, which is one of the more involving builds Popiplay has put their name to. A round keeps resetting itself on every Tentacle hit, so a good one builds and builds instead of ending when it gets going.
Its best asset is the left-to-right, top-to-bottom ordering: where a multiplier lands genuinely changes what it’s worth, which is rare thinking in a respin slot. Its worst is everything above ground – the base game is a corridor you walk to get to the good room, and it’s a long corridor on a high-volatility clock.
This is a game for players who enjoy a slow, moody build and a bonus round that rewards attention rather than luck alone. Anyone who wants constant features will find the library too quiet to linger in. Those happy to read by candlelight for a while get a bonus round worth the wait.
Cultist FAQs
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How does the respin feature in Cultist work?
Landing three Scatters starts the Respin mode with 3 spins. It continues until three non-winning spins in a row, and every Tentacle or Opening Reel symbol resets the counter to 3. -
How do the Tentacle symbols work in the Cultist bonus round?
Blue and Green Tentacles add +1, +2, +5, +10 or +20 to one row or all lines respectively, while Purple and Red Tentacles multiply one row or all rows by x2, x3, x5, x10 or x20. All are applied in order from left to right and top to bottom. -
What does the Opening Reel symbol do in Cultist?
It appears only in the bonus game and can land up to twice per game. Each one adds a reel to the left and right of the grid, expanding it from 5×5 to 5×7. -
What does the wild do in Cultist?
The Wild Multiplier stands in for any symbol other than Scatters and comes with a 2x, 3x, 5x or 10x value that boosts the line win it completes. -
Can you buy the bonus on Cultist?
Yes. A Buy Bonus button lets you start a free spins game instantly at the price shown above the button, which scales with your bet. -
What is the RTP of Cultist?
The RTP is 97.14%, which is well above the typical figure for a high-volatility slot. -
Is Cultist high volatility?
Yes. Cultist is a high-volatility game, so wins tend to be less frequent but with a higher ceiling, particularly through the respin bonus round. -
What is the maximum win on Cultist?
The maximum win potential is 10,000x your bet.
