In its online slot game Castle of Terror, developer Big Time Gaming delves into the world of vampires, along with a few cloves of garlic for good measure. Scary sounding title, however the typeface used for the title makes it appear more like a B horror film than something truly horrifying. Castle of Terror is a sophisticated game that whisks players away to an exotic location during the day so they may take in the sights and escape being snatched at night.
Let’s soak in the views till then, shall we? They’re as intricately painted as a Thomas Kinkade masterpiece. A picturesque fall panorama with a town and the Castle of Terror perched high on a hill is depicted. Images of sunlight breaking through clouds are not something you would often find on an online slot machine. It’s like a video game in which you have to lead a character through several levels and locations in order to fight the evil guys. Castle of Terror is certainly a different style of game, and BTG has done a wonderful job of setting the mood with its beautiful and detailed set design.
The Terror may be played on any device, and wagers range from 20 pence to £/€15 each spin. The math model is very unpredictable, as has come to be expected from BTG, and the return to player ranges from 96.72% overall to 96.73% when purchasing a bonus. Castle of Terror is not a Megaways game, which may come as a bit of a surprise given the peculiar layout of the grid. Instead, it has a 6-reel by 4-row screen and 4,096 possible paylines. When identical symbols land on neighboring reels, playing from left to right, the player is awarded a prize.
Starting with 9s through As paying 0.3x to 0.5x the wager for 6ofakind, the paytable transitions to using four characters as the high pays: the Gardener, Maid, Gentleman, and Lady. Landing six of a type in either the daytime version or the free spins version is worth 0.6-50 times the bet. When wilds occur, they can stand in for standard pay symbols to help finish off winning combinations.
Slot Machine Features in “Castle of Fear”
Both the normal and bonus games in Castle of Terror make use of a Holy Water feature, which is useful for warding off vampires, and free spins can either be standard free spins or Enhanced Free Spins. In addition to these, players may also use the Win Exchange and the Bonus Buy.
Sacred H2O
The Holy Water feature, which can occur on any regular play, causes the center four reels to be splattered with liquid. When triggered, the Gardener, Maid, Gentleman, and Lady will all become wild if they appear in two or more spots. For each additional symbol that may be transformed into a wild symbol, the win multiplier for that spin will rise by 1. After the wild transformation has taken place, the multiplier will reset and the game will return to normal play.
Bonus Spins and Extra Bonus Spins
Both the standard Silver Castle Scatter and the more valuable Gold Castle Scatter can appear in Castle of Terror. If you get three scatters in any location, you’ll win 12 free games, and any additional scatter in view will earn you another 3. Enhanced Free Spins are granted if the Gold Castle Scatter was used in the combination of scatters that triggered the feature.
Holy Water is activated on every spin, and the progressive win multiplier is active for both free spins bonus rounds.
Each time a Gardener, Maid, Gentleman, or Lady becomes a wild during the standard free spins round, the win multiplier increases by 1.
Each time a high-paying symbol is turned into a wild during Enhanced Free Spins, the multiplier rises by 2.
In both games, the free spins bonus is increased by six if the win multiplier hits twenty. Finally, players can purchase either standard free spins (for 70x the wager) or enhanced free spins (for 200x the bet) if the option to do so is available.
Prosper in a Win-Win Trade
The Win Exchange is another potential entry method for free spins. To begin, if a player’s total win is 100x their initial wager or greater, they have the option of exchanging that amount for 12 more spins at no additional cost. When the player receives a payout of 25x to 100x their wager, they have the option to risk their money for a shot at 12 free games. Free spins are awarded when a spinning wheel stops on a green section. If the arrow lands on a red square, the initial win is lost and no free spins are awarded.
The Slots of Fear: The Castle of Doom
Our initial surprise at Castle of Terror’s out-of-the-ordinary slot was warranted. It seemed to combine artistic and literary elements, as Apollo Pays Megaways, but with a more serious tone. The gloomy tone isn’t off-putting, and in fact, it added to the intrigue of Castle of Terror. Castle of Terror takes vampires more seriously than, say, Baron Bloodmore does, creating a mood more akin to Immortal Romance.
Or maybe we’re simply overthinking things since the game’s representation was so unexpected. If that’s the case, we can give the video and sound departments a break and get right into the gameplay. To begin, the game’s absence of Megaways and cascades contributed to the first confusion while ultimately adding little to the experience. Holy Water, a wild transformation/increasing multiplier feature, appears instead, either at random during the regular game or on each and every free spin. While it didn’t always go off, there was still a decent possibility of a win in the standard game because to the presence of possibly several wilds and a multiplier. Also, free spins, when the multiplier does not reset between spins but instead increases or remains constant. If you know your BTG, you know that the maximum payout on Castle of Terror is 61,720 times the player’s initial wager.
If you’re looking for a slot with a little of a creep factor (the vampire Gentleman and Lady are a little frightening) or just want to see a different aspect of BTG’s character, give Castle of Terror a go. Castle of Terror has the right ingredients to provide a dash of horror or be a highbrow alternative to the usual run of pumpkins, cobwebs, and candy; however, it is not one of the studio’s top-tier, triple-A, gold star releases, and Holy Water can drag when you know the wild conversions aren’t going to link with anything.
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