Haunted Crypt

Haunted Crypt: Slot Overview

There are some places you just don't go to at night. A crypt in the middle of a gothic graveyard is one of them, because who knows, it might be infested with nefarious creatures, like those found in software provider Pragmatic Play's online slot Haunted Crypt. When the imagination runs away with itself, it's easy to envisage cracked old crypts housing skeletons, vampires, and worse, all of which crawl their way into the game. As well as scary stuff, Haunted Crypt uses a position highlighting system that is able to add multiplying wilds to the grid when activated.

Spooky is definitely the vibe Haunted Crypt is going for, appearing to draw some inspiration from Nolimit City's The Crypt. In Value mode (more on this later), its base game is located in a graveyard, at night, abounding in gargoyles, leafless trees, and gravestones, while in Speed mode, the setting flips to an indoor one, which is practically just as creepy. Sticking out from the vampires and blood sucking is an extraterrestrial character symbol. Why? Only Pragmatic Play can say, really. It's so out of place it's almost AI-ish, though surely a studio of Prag's statue wouldn't resort to artificial artwork to paint its games. Let's just call the alien a curious anomaly and leave it there. The rest of the game is firmly in character, using the undead bloodsucking nature of vampires to evoke feelings of dread.

The haunting takes place on a 5x3 gaming grid where wins are evaluated left to right across 20 paylines. There are several player options to choose from, including game mode, ante bets, and buys, though the most important is the base bet, which ranges from $/€0.20 to $/€240 per spin. The math model is highly volatile, meanwhile, which has a maximum RTP of 96.51% when in Value or Speed mode.

Haunted Crypt's pay symbols are 10 to Ace playing card royals, books, goblets and four unusual character symbols. Landing five matching character symbols in a win pays 9x-20x the stake, while the rest are worth 1.25x-5x for 5 OAK. Wilds appear on the three middle reels, substituting for all symbols except the scatter. In the base game, wilds can have a multiplier of x2 to x10 that applies to all wins passing through it. At all times in Haunted Crypt, multipliers are additive when more than one is involved in the same combination.

Haunted Crypt: Slot Features

The base game is without further features, so it's not until free spins are active that the highlighting of positions comes into play. Unless players make use of the Super Spin ante bets, and free spins buys are available as well.

Game Mode

The Game Mode buttons next to the reels let players activate the Speed or the Value option. The Speed option increases the chance of triggering free spins, but they pay less on average. The bet stays the same no matter the mode.

Free Spins

Landing 3 scatters awards 10 free spins. Any wild that lands in free spins highlights the position it hit. For each following spin, the multiplier is increased by +1 on all highlighted positions. When a wild hits anywhere, all highlighted positions transform into wilds for that spin, and the multipliers apply to all winning combinations which pass through them. If a wild lands on a highlighted position, its multiplier increases for that spin by +1. Hitting 3 scatters awards a further +5 free spins.

Special Bets and Feature Buys

Activating Super Spin 1 costs 20x and highlights at least 3 positions on reels 2-4 with random multipliers. If at least one wild lands, all highlighted positions transform into wilds, and multipliers apply to wins passing through them. Super Spin 2 costs 100x and highlights at least 4 positions. A general multiplier of x2 to x10 is chosen on each spin. If a wild lands, highlighted positions transform into wilds and the general multiplier is applied to the multiplier on each highlighted position. Free spins cannot trigger on Super Spin 1 or 2.

For 100x players can trigger the free spins round, or for 500x, the super free spins may be bought, where a general multiplier of x2 to x10 is selected on each spin. If a wild lands, highlighted positions transform into wilds, and the general multiplier is applied to highlighted position multipliers.

Haunted Crypt: Slot Verdict

Except in rare cases, few 'horror' slots are ever really scary, though there are exceptions to the rule, such as Print Studios' unsettling slot Darkness, for example. Throwing an extraterrestrial in the mix was odd, giving Haunted Crypt as much 'Huh?' as horror. Even so, Haunted Crypt should have enough uncanny eeriness going on to give scary slot players a slight shiver down the spine. Mechanically, Haunted Crypt isn't the most pulse-racing game either, but there are elements of intrigue.

From a gameplay perspective, Haunted Crypt is fairly straightforward in the base game, though wild multipliers are able to add drama when they appear. Outside of random wild multipliers on the middle three reels, the main excitement is buried in the free spins feature, and being able to choose Speed mode to hurry bonus round activations along is an interesting development. It would have been nice if the bonus round frequencies and average win stats were provided to help players choose which mode suits them best. But, since they are not, users will just have to operate on feel and vague statements of frequency/payout value. Like a lot of slots Pragmatic Play has been releasing of late, Haunted Crypt is stuffed with extra bets and buys, and they may be able to add excitement, though they aren't exactly cheap.

If you can withstand the terror and dig your way to the heart of the crypt, then winning potential of 10,000x the bet lies in wait like a mouldy old shawl covering a skeleton that's just about to be reanimated. Haunted Crypt is an unusual game, not bad unusual, and might be of interest for those enticed by the wild multipliers in highlighted positions idea.