Dark King: Forbidden Riches Slot Review
Candlelight, cracked green stone, and a helmed knight standing guard with his sword planted against the floor: NetEnt spent more on this throne hall than on the maths inside it. That’s Dark King: Forbidden Riches in one line – a slot whose art direction outclasses its paytable at every turn. It’s a claim the reels back up, too, though you’d have to look past the paint to notice.
The numbers underneath are workmanlike. A 96.06% RTP and a 5×3 grid with 20 fixed bet lines are standard fare, and the 1,600x win ceiling sits well below gothic stablemates like Blood Suckers 2 and Halloween Jack. Gargoyles crouch at the base of the reels, skulls crowd the walls, and every candle in the hall is doing its best to earn that modest ceiling a pass.
Base Game, Wilds and the Dark King
Play runs across 20 fixed bet lines on a 5×3 grid. There’s no choosing your line count here; every spin covers all 20, and wins pay left to right across adjacent reels. Only the highest win per line is paid, so a stacked line doesn’t double up.
Bets stretch from 0.20 up to 400 per spin, one of the wider ranges you’ll find outside a high-roller exclusive. The game can be set up in either cash or coins depending on the operator, and coin play adds bet values and bet levels to the setup, so the same stake can be built several ways. The full spread of options:
- Grid: 5 reels, 3 rows
- Paylines: 20, fixed
- Bet range: 0.20 to 400 per spin
- Betting modes: cash or coins, switchable in game settings
- Hit frequency: 38%
The Wild appears as a blue orb and substitutes for other symbols, and it carries a Wild Multiplier that boosts any line it helps complete. It’s also tied for the richest payer on the board, which tells you a fair bit about where the money sits in this game.
The Dark King himself, a purple-armoured knight, leads the paytable. He’s the face of the game as well as its top symbol, planted on the reels and in the stonework around them. All values are multiples of the total bet:
- Dark King: 1x for three, 7.5x for four, 25x for five
- Wild: 1x for three, 7.5x for four, 25x for five
Both rows top out at 25x, and neither stretches beyond it. A top award of 25x the bet for a full line of the game’s richest symbol is small by modern standards, and it means the base game leans on the multiplier to make wild wins count.
With a hit rate of 38%, wins arrive on roughly two spins in five. That’s a steady rhythm for a game with a paytable this flat at the top, and it keeps the balance ticking over between bonus rounds. The wins just rarely carry much size until a multiplier lands.
Sticky Wild Hotspots and Free Spins
Land the scatter and the Free Spins round begins. The scatter appears as a red shield, and it’s the door to everything this game saves for later. The base game offers no other route into the feature: no random triggers, no collection meters, just the shield.
The round’s defining mechanic is the Sticky Wild Hotspots. During free spins, wild symbols transform into sticky wilds and lock in place, so every wild that lands keeps working for the rest of the round. A sticky wild on reel two isn’t a one-spin win; it’s a fixture that keeps substituting until the round closes.
Combined with the wild multiplier from the base game, a few well-placed sticky wilds can turn a quiet round into the biggest win the game offers. The round plays out in a simple loop, and each step matters to the total:
- Scatter lands in the base game and Free Spins begins
- Any wild that appears transforms into a sticky wild and locks to its position
- Locked wilds keep substituting and carrying their multipliers on every remaining spin
- Extra Free Spins can be awarded, adding spins to the round and more time for wilds to stack up
It’s a loop that rewards patience. The first sticky wild usually changes little on its own; the value compounds as later wilds join it, and an Extra Free Spins award late in a round can extend a board that’s already loaded. The exact spin counts and the full range of the multipliers aren’t published figures, so a round is best judged by what’s locked on the reels rather than by a number on the way in.
That’s the whole engine, and it’s a good one. The Dark King himself appears as a named symbol in the feature set too, watching over the throne hall’s most valuable spins.
Our Honest Verdict
Overall Rating: 7/10
Playing this is a slow walk down a candlelit hall. Two spins in five return something small, the scenery is gorgeous, and the whole reason to sit down at this throne rather than another is the free spins round, where the game quietly loads the board and then pays you for staying put.
That round is the strength, and it’s a real one: wilds that lock and multiply compound as the spins go on, so a loaded board feels earned rather than handed to you. The weakness is just as real. The 1,600x ceiling and a 25x top line pay cap what all that building can amount to, and no amount of gothic atmosphere changes the arithmetic.
This one’s for players who enjoy the build itself, the mood, and a session that rewards patience more than it rewards nerve. Anyone chasing the big single hit will find the crypt’s treasures too modest. For everyone else, the candles are lit and the King is waiting.
Dark King: Forbidden Riches FAQs
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What is the RTP of Dark King: Forbidden Riches?
The RTP is 96.06%, a touch above the usual benchmark for an online slot. -
What is the maximum win on Dark King: Forbidden Riches?
The maximum win is 1,600x your bet. -
What does the Wild do in Dark King: Forbidden Riches?
The Wild is a blue orb that substitutes for other symbols and carries a Wild Multiplier. It also pays the joint-top award of 25x the total bet for five on a line. -
How do Sticky Wilds work in the free spins?
During Free Spins, wild symbols transform into sticky wilds and lock in place, staying on the reels for the rest of the round and multiplying any wins they help create. -
Can free spins be extended in Dark King: Forbidden Riches?
Yes. Extra Free Spins are part of the feature set, adding spins to a running round and more time for locked wilds to stack up. -
What is the bet range on Dark King: Forbidden Riches?
Bets run from 0.20 to 400 per spin. -
What is the hit frequency of Dark King: Forbidden Riches?
The hit frequency is 38%, so roughly two in five spins produce a win of some size. -
Can you play Dark King: Forbidden Riches with coins instead of cash?
Yes. The game can be played with cash or coins, switchable in the game settings, and coin play adds bet values and bet levels to the setup. Not every operator offers both modes.
