Fear the Dark Slot by Hacksaw Gaming 🎰 Free Demo and Review

Fear the Dark Review

Out of the many “official” phobias out there, fearing the dark is one of the more understandable phobias we humans have. Our night vision is horrible compared to any predator that could be lurking around the next corner, and even hardcore rationalists will probably avoid walking through a graveyard alone at night if they can. Fear the Dark plays out in a haunted graveyard, but this is hardly a very spooky and scary release from Hacksaw.

The cartoonish style is more cute than anything, and the gameplay is classic Hacksaw as well. You get a Full Moon symbols multiplier feature on a regular basis, and it ends with an interesting twist each time. The same can be said about the bonus round, where you can expect to trigger the symbols multiplier feature more often. The 5,000x potential is not bad for a medium volatile release, and this charming Pocketz installment is well worth a closer look.

Fear the Dark Slot - Reels Screen

Fear the Dark Slot Features

You win by landing 5 to 14+ matching symbols in a cluster anywhere on the grid, and the premium symbols pay between 12.8 and 120 x your stake at best. In the lower end, these same symbols pay between 0.5 and 1.5 x your stake for 5 in a cluster.

The Cascading mechanic removes all winning symbols, and these are then replaced by new and/or existing symbols dropping down. This repeats as long as you keep landing new winning clusters, and there are no wild symbols in this game.

You will see 5 empty symbol-formed positions above the regular grid, and 2 to 5 of these become activated when you land the Moon Man scatter anywhere in view. The activated positions are filled by premium symbols, and each activated position displays a premium symbol win multiplier between x2 and x100. The Symbol Multipliers will boost winning clusters that are made from the corresponding symbols.

This feature is known as the Full Moon feature, as the full moon will rise in the background when it triggers. When the cascading sequence comes to an end, the symbol multipliers above the grid are removed one by one from left (high) to right (low). All instances of the removed multiplier symbol are removed from the grid as well, in addition to all low-value symbols. This triggers a new cascade each time, and the feature ends after the final cascade.

You need 3 or 4 candle scatters in view to trigger the Alone In The Dark Bonus Round. This gives you 10 or 15 free spins, respectively, and your Moon Man scatter chances are increased during the bonus round. You win +4 extra spins each time you land a scatter during the feature.

The bonus round enters Darkness Spins Mode when you run out of free spins, and entering this mode awards +2 free spins each time. The grid shrinks to 4x4 for the first spin, and then to 2x2, and you get back to the 6x6 grid if you manage to land the Moon Man scatter in Darkness Mode. The same happens if you land a FS scatter, and you can get Darkness Mode again multiple times before the bonus round finally ends.

The Feature and Bonus Buy Menu is available in some jurisdictions, but not in the UK for sure. Here is an overview of the available options if you are indeed eligible for it:

• BonusHunt FeatureSpins - pay 3x your stake to increase your bonus round chances by 5x (high volatility and top-tier RTP of 96.41 %).
• Moon Man FeatureSpins - pay 40x your stake to be guaranteed at least 1 Moon Man symbol on the spin that follows (high volatility and top-tier RTP of 96.25 %).
• 10 Free Spins - will cost you 100x the stake, and it comes with a top-tier RTP of 96.23 %.
• 15 Free Spins - will set you back 150x your stake, and it comes with a top-tier RTP of 96.25 %.

The 200 Spins Fear the Dark Slot Experience

You get to see plenty of the Full Moon feature in the base game at first, and we even purchase it after a while. We then purchase the top-tier 15 FS bonus round at 2:26 into the 6:14-minute highlights video, and it plays out for the remainder of the video. You can check it all out for yourself by hitting the play button below.

Review Summary

Fear the Dark is as classic a Hacksaw release as it gets, and it pays homage to their earlier installments. The theme is more cute than spooky, which, of course, is intentional, and it’s entertaining to see the full moon rise for some multiplier action on a regular basis. Hacksaw could perhaps have made an even bigger deal out of the symbol multiplier feature, and we like how PG Soft (another mobile-friendly developer) allows the multiplier to drop down to boost each win calculation.

This is merely for visual effect, of course, but it does make each boosted win seem more significant. The Darkness Spins Mode adds an innovative twist and finish to the bonus round, but many times it lands you nothing. It’s more like a ‘Hail Mary’ attempt at prolonging the feature, but you will hardly mind when it does. The 5,000x potential is typical for Hacksaw’s mid-range series, and Fear the Dark is a neat little game to kill some time with until something new comes along.