The Count Slot Review
Step inside Dracula’s castle, where the night is alive but the host is not so much…
Here, every night is a party – bats fly freely, headless skeletons dance the jig, and The Count is dressed sharp…much like his bite. With a cheeky wink here and there, he joins in the fun, counting flaps & claps as he dances between rooms.
From spooky crypts to tall towers, this castle has become The Count’s playground, but can you survive at the stroke of midnight? Hacksaw Gaming joins in the Halloween festivities with their new release, The Count, but not all is what it seems.
On occasion, Hacksaw Gaming will strip a game of colour, except for high-paying symbols or characters. This has been depicted many times in games like SixSixSix, Pray For Three, & Life and Death, to name a few.
The Count follows in the footsteps of the above titles, revealing black & white aesthetics, as well as two 2 fun characters, one of which seems to have lost his head. The backdrop displays the inside of The Count’s castle, or more evidently, the grand staircase that leads to deadly thrills.
As expected, Halloween-themed slots line the iGaming market in time for the upcoming festivities, some of which include Castle of Terror 2, Tarot Treasures, & Big Bass Halloween 3, but where will The Count fit into the mix?
With a fixed RTP of 96.36% and a high volatility rating, this game can produce up to 12,500x your bet. Join us as we accept an invitation from The Count for a night of tricks, treats, & delicious ‘bites’ to eat…
Base Game & Features
The Count is the latest high volatility release from Hacksaw Gaming, consisting of 5 reels, 5 rows, and 19 fixed pay lines. Winning combinations trigger when 3, 4, or 5 identical symbols land on adjacent reels, starting from reel 1.
The highest-paying symbol falls to the Spider, followed by the Skull, Coffin, Headstone, Stake, and A, K, Q, J, & 10 card suits. Once a win has been established, a fixed payout between 0.2x and 5x your bet is awarded.
Other symbols available include Wild Bats, Epic Wild Bats, FS Scatters, & Blood symbols. Wild & Epic Wild Bats appear anywhere on the reels, substituting for all symbols when part of a win. FS Scatters are responsible for triggering a Free Spins mode.
Expanded Bloody Wilds
During gameplay, whenever a Bloody symbol hits, it will expand to fill the entire reel, so long as it is part of at least 1 winning combination once expanded. Blood Wilds will drop down from their current position until they reach the bottom.
Once expanded, the entire Blood Reel will act as a Wild, substituting for all winning combinations that pass through it. Please note that only 1 Blood Reel can appear on a single reel at a time.
Furthermore, each expanded Blood Reel may reveal a random Multiplier between x2 and x500. Failing that, it will continue to act as a standard Wild Reel. Each winning combination that the Blood Reel participates in will multiply its payout by the respective Multiplier.
Wild Bat Symbols
When a Wild Bat symbol appears in view, it will reveal a random Multiplier between x2 and x500. If a Wild Bat participates in a winning combination, its current Multiplier will apply to its payout.
Alternatively, if a winning combination includes an expanded Blood Wild & Wild Bats, both Multipliers will be added together and applied to the payout. In addition to this, special Epic Bat Wilds reveal a random Multiplier between 2x and 500x your bet.
When an Epic Bat Wild hits, its value is applied to all present Wild Bats & Blood Reels currently in view. Please note that only 1 Epic Bat Wild can appear on the reels per spin.
The Count Free Spins
The Bat to the Bone Free Spins session is triggered when 3 FS Scatters land in the base game, awarding 10 Free Spins.
This mode maintains the same mechanics found in the base game, with an increased chance of landing Wild Bat symbols. Furthermore, the minimum Multiplier available in this session is x2.
Finally, landing 2 or 3 FS Scatters awards an additional +2 and +4 Free Spins, respectively.
Rest in Pieces
Triggering the Rest in Pieces mode requires 4 FS Scatters to appear in the base game, awarding 10 Free Spins.
As with the previous Bonus, this mode continues to utilise the base game mechanics. Additionally, a progressive Symbol Counter is displayed outside of the matrix, revealing 5 sections linked to each of the Low-paying symbols.
Each time a Low-paying symbol creates a winning combination, one section of the Symbol Counter is filled. When all 5 sections are full, the next spin will replace all corresponding low-value symbols with Wild Bat symbols until the end of the feature, revealing a minimum Multiplier of x2.
Lastly, having 2 or 3 FS Scatters appear in the same spin will award a further +2 and +4 Free Spins, respectively.
Count on Blood
The final mode is classified as a Hidden Bonus. The Count on Blood session is activated when 5 FS Scatters fall within the same base game spin, awarding 10 Free Spins.
In this mode, the same mechanics from previous Free Spins modes are continued, with a minimum of 5 Wild Bat symbols guaranteed on each spin, and an increased chance of landing Epic Wild Bat symbols.
Finally, landing 2 or 3 FS Scatters awards an additional +2 and +4 Free Spins, respectively.
Featurespins & Bonus Buy
Players may purchase one of the following Featurespins & Bonus Buy options:
- Bonushunt Featurespins: Each spin is 5 times more likely to trigger a Free Spins mode for 3x your bet (96.25%)
- Fangtasia Featurespins: Guarantees to land a minimum of 3 Wild Bat symbols per spin for 50x your bet (96.26%)
- Bat to the Bone: Awards 10 Free Spins and a higher chance of landing Wild Bat symbols for 100x your bet (96.3%)
- Rest in Pieces: Awards 10 Free Spins with an active Symbol Counter for 300x your bet (96.32%)
Each of the above options includes a volatility score of ‘very high‘. Additionally, the Hidden Bonus is unavailable for purchase and can only be triggered organically in the base game.
The Count has a maximum win potential of 12,500x your bet. If a single session exceeds this figure, the current mode ends, and the player returns to the base game with the qualifying amount.
Our Honest Verdict
With Halloween slowly creeping up on us, there seems to be a great deal of Halloween-themed slots appearing on the iGaming market. Next on our agenda is The Court by Hacksaw Gaming – a game of thrill, big potential…and fangs.
For the most part, Halloween is about dressing up in the scariest outfits, indulging in tons of sweets, and planning the best scare tactics. While Print Studios had us terrified of each spin in Darkness & Dreadworks, Hacksaw Gaming has taken a more light-hearted approach to the subject.
Clearly, Hacksaw Gaming has a big, soft heart – even in their darkest hour, they continue to make light of a situation, and we admire them for that. Backed up with cartoon animations and high-quality graphics, The Court continues Hacksaw’s streak of Wild Multipliers, Expanding Reels, & multiple Free Spins modes.
Joining us in the base game are Wild Bat symbols, with the occasional Epic Wild Bat, which can reveal Multipliers of up to x500. Connecting a variety of Wild & Epic Wild Bat symbols can lead to impressive payouts, but even more so when they connect to Expanding Blood Reels, which always reveal a fixed Multiplier upon expansion.
Although Wild Bat symbols are pretty efficient on their own, the presence of an Epic Wild Bat will dramatically enhance their current Multipliers, leading to payouts worth up to 12,500x your bet.
There have been times when we have felt certain games couldn’t possibly produce their maximum win potential, but we have no doubts when it comes to The Court. In true Hacksaw fashion, the game is blessed with 3 Free Spins modes, each more promising than the one before it.
Naturally, the third Free Spins mode is classified as a Hidden Bonus, which cannot be purchased via the Bonus Buy tab. If you are to see the Count on Blood mode in action, you’re going to have to grind for it at the cost of 5 FS Scatters.
All in all, Hacksaw Gaming has done a terrific job of creating a game that is spooktacular, feature-rich, and highly rewarding – not only should The Court be on your Halloween short-list, but it should also make it onto your list of favourites.
*The images found in this slot review are currently from Demo Play. On average, our reviews are written prior to the initial release date and before real play is available.
