Only a few are worthy to master the dark arcane arts, but when you do, the whole world is at your feet. Discover dark magic that hides in the Book of Darkness, age of heroes and wizards is upon us. It's a battle of two fighters, the mighty Huntress and the vile Dark Wizard, choose your side well, as the right choice will bring prosperity and glory. This new release from Betsoft comes with vibrant colours and engaging visuals, so even the biggest fantasy phobes will find some enjoyment in all this.
Betsoft's gameplay model for Book of Darkness is rather simple, the same cannot be said for the unique overall presentation. When we say simple, we mean the original Book slot design and yes, the three books do the magical deed, so the gameplay should be familiar to most of you. The true potential of max win is suggested differently by available sources, but the game has enough power to go over a 1000x payout. Magical worlds have been portrayed in many different variations, so it's always interesting to experience a brand new adventure, especially one so mysterious as Book of Darkness.
The background music sets a rather sinister atmosphere, this of course is dark magic that we are talking about, so theme-wise it fits the bill perfectly. Book of Darkness is a 5 Reel slot, same as most of the book games that we see around the casinos. It is not clear where the action takes place, but it seems to be some kind of cave or an ancient castle. The teal coloured substance is the dominant visual effect of Book of Darkness, perhaps this is the source of the dark powers. Book of Darkness slot runs smoothly with no operational errors, at least we didn't encounter any on our test run.
Betsoft designers have done their work well, as the Book of Darkness symbols are very eye-catching. The vibrant colours of magical items especially stand out. Nine regular symbols can be split up in four value sections. Lowest three are A, K, Q, which style reminded us of Rise of Merlin slot. Both slots are about wizards and magic, so it makes sense. Next section is a green dagger and a purple potion. With almost a doubled value follows a blue ring and red gemstone symbols. The priciest of the regulars are both heroes of the Book of Darkness – Huntress and the Dark Wizard.
There is a lot of magic and mystery surrounding Book of Darkness payouts, perhaps more mystery for now as some of the stats aren't totally clear just yet. For example, the volatility or variance setting is not yet provided by Betsoft, but it seems to be a high one or at least medium-high. The same mystery goes for max payout, which has been displayed, but the numbers don't add up yet, as the max bet is just 10EUR. Still, you should expect a good potential that goes over 1000x, we believe that Book of Darkness has all the tools to reward with some awesome wins. Ten payline combined with 96.48% RTP should make up for some solid math model, so fair returns are to be expected.
Bonus Features
Book of Darkness main selling point is the Clash for Power bonus feature, which is a new form of Free Spins. Talking about Free Spins, we also have regular ones. Book of Darkness offers two types of bonus spins. The regular Free Spins are acquired by landing 3 scatters, which are these said books of darkness. The work the same way as on many other book slots, one regular symbol is selected, afterwards a single symbol expands on a full reel. For expansion to happen, you need to land at least 3 of the selected symbol.
The big dosh comes mainly from the Book of Darkness's Clash of Power feature. To start this feature, you need to land a scatter book between two of the heroes, essentially making an adjacent 3 symbol combination. Afterwards, you're given a choice between picking the Huntresses side or the Dark Wizard's. Once the important decision is made we get back to spinning Book of Darkness reels. Just as on regular Book of Darkness Free Spins the hero symbols expand when landed. Each acquired symbol win increases one of the meters, depending on which hero is involved.
If throughout the Book of Darkness Clash of Power bonus you fill up your meter, then you are awarded with The Shadowform bonus. This feature will grant an additional 10 Free Spins. If your selection was the Huntress then 5x multiplier will be added to the wins, if you went with the Dark Wizard then the number of expanding symbols increases to 5. If you managed to get this far, then a good win is almost guaranteed.
Conclusion
No matter if you believe in magic or not, you better believe that Book of Darkness can impress with some wins. Book of Darkness is a beautifully crafted slot, that comes with a more than fair math model and superb gameplay. The true potential is yet to be seen, but so far the stars are aligning in the right positions. The Clash for Power feature is an especially strong addition, and if you take it all the way to The Shadowform, then the end result is something magical.