Dark Vortex, released on October 24, 2018, is from Yggdrasil Gaming. Dark Vortex is a dark magic-inspired slot game, in line with other Yggdrasil’s games like Baron Samedi (November 2018); the usage of monsters reminds of Wolf Hunters (September 2018) and Double Dragons (September 2016). Black Magic (2008) from WGS Technology and Magic Portals (2012) from NetEnt are among Dark Vortex’s rival games.

In meteorology, the term “dark vortex” refers to a weather system resulting from a high atmospheric pressure, which moves across the atmosphere accompanied by clouds. An example is the whirlwind introduction video. The Dark Vortex players aim at matching three, four, or five win symbols.

Dark Vortex Game Characteristics
Yggdrasil mentions 71.5% as the volatility rating of Dark Vortex, whose 5X3 grid can show any amount of pay lines ranging from 243 to 3125. The Dark Vortex symbols are divided into three sections: the high paying, low paying, and special symbols.

First, these are the five creatures-related high paying symbols: a muscled red human-like and horned monster (also the brand logo) with a visible skeleton; a purple part-human monster; a green human skeleton-like monster; a multi-colored and round-faced female monster with numerous eyes; and a snarling dog-like blue monster.

Dark Vortex’s five book-related symbols are: a red spell book, a purple spell book, a green spell book, a light blue spell book, and a Persian blue spell book. The three collectible special symbols are a wild stack size-extending pink orb, a free spins-increasing blue orb, and a “Wild” (it is also the substituting symbol).

The starting page particularly mentions three things: the vortex reels-opening adjacent symbols, the free spins-triggering expandable vortex, and the possibility of winning more than X7000 the staked amount in a single game round.

The interface shows these coin values: $0.01, $0.02, $0.03, $0.04, $0.05, $0.07, $0.10, $0.20, $0.30, $0.40, $0.50, $0.70, $1.00, $2.00, $3.00, $4.00, and $5.00. The cash bets are $0.10 (tminimum total bet), $0.20, $0.30, $0.40, $0.50, $0.70, $1.00, $2.00, $3.00, $4.00, $5.00, $7.00, $10.00, $20.00, $30.00, $40.00, and $50.00 (maximum total bet).

These are the Dark Vortex payouts for three, four, and five winning combinations, respectively. The red monster pays X20, X25, and X60. The purple monster or the green monster offers X10, X15, and X40. The multi-eyed monster or the dog monster gives X8, X12, and X30. The red spell book pays X4, X5, and X12. The purple spell book or the green spell book offers X3, X4, and X9. A light blue or a lavender blue spell book offers X2, X3, and X7.

In case two police badge-like yellow Vortex symbols appear side by side on the grid, they are called vortex reels and trigger three vortex spins. Although the first two vortex symbols offer three vortex spins, every other vortex reel added afterwards on the grid awards two vortex spins.

Progressively expanding vortex reels boost the winning chances, and free spins are given whenever five vortex reels cover the entire grid. To play its side game, press “Buy Bonus”, which is about picking and clicking cards.

With good software, spooky sound effects and eerie graphics, Dark Vortex’s payout limit is X7318 the player’s bet; so, staking the $50.00 maximum bet means its non-progressive jackpot is $365900.

Luck in Dark Vortex
A game of chance, Dark Vortex’s RTP rates are 96.5% and 97% for the main and side games; the house edge is 3.5% and 3%, respectively.