Cult

Cult: Slot Overview

Funny how some words start out meaning one thing before undergoing a semantic shift into something else over time. 'Terrific' used to mean 'inspiring terror', whereas now it describes something pretty darn good. The word 'nice' also got a glow-up, having originally meant something like 'foolish' or 'ignorant'. Another example is 'cult', which used to have a more neutral definition, but can now carry sinister overtones, conjuring images of brain-washed members signing their souls, money, and bodies over to a charismatic leader, who may not have their best intentions at heart. So it is in Pragmatic Play's release Cult, an online slot that both serves as a cultish warning sign and as a vehicle for potentially winning some multiplier-boosted moolah along the way.

Cult is a real split personality slot. Its base game showcases the more devout side of the group, shall we say, where people in robes stand before a guru character standing on the steps of his sanctuary. Trigger free spins, though, and the guru reveals his more materialistic side, and you can see where all the donations and tithes have gone. Instead of pooling money to help the poor, players are dropped into a pool party of bikini-clad ladies, suits, and a fancy pants mansion. It quickly becomes clear that this cult has been set up for the benefit of a select few over the many. You'd think a price tag couldn't or shouldn't be put on 'enlightenment', but many people seem to have no problem doing so to enjoy the fruits of labour here and now in the physical realm rather than later in the spiritual.

Keeping things on a materialistic level, gamblers may stake $/€0.25 to $/€250 per spin when playing Cult while also having access to special bets and feature buys. A highly volatile math model runs the cult, pushing out an RTP of 96.51% at the highest configuration. Hitting the play button spins a 5x4 grid, where 25 paylines evaluate winning combinations.

Cult's four low pay symbols are flowers, credit cards, prayer hands objects, and glasses of fluid, paying 1.6x to 2x the stake for 5 OAK. At the higher end are four character symbols worth 8x to 20x for 5-of-a-kind. Wilds/Cult wilds substitute for all symbols except the scatter. All types of wilds in the game pay 24x the stake when they create a 5 OAK wild win.

Cult: Slot Features

Cult's features are a Multiplier Wild/total win multiplier combo, free spins, special bets, and feature buys.

Multiplier Wild

The Multiplier Wild substitutes for all symbols except the scatter, and has a multiplier value of x2 to x100. When the Multiplier Wild hits, and there is at least one winning combination in view, the multiplier value is added to a total multiplier. The total multiplier applies to all wins, and it resets at the end of the current base game spin.

Free Spins

Hitting 3, 4, or 5 scatters awards 10, 15, or 20 free spins, respectively. During free spins, the total multiplier does not reset until the round ends. Landing 3, 4, or 5 scatters during the bonus awards an extra 10, 15, or 20 free spins, respectively.

Special Bets and Feature Buys

The two special bets are the ante bet and the super spin. The ante bet costs 5x, and it makes triggering free spins 10 times higher. Super spins cost 10x, and they guarantee at least one Multiplier Wild on each spin. Free spins cannot trigger while super spins are active. Paying 100x the stake buys the free spins round, while 500x buys super free spins where Multiplier Wilds have a higher chance to land at every spin.

Cult: Slot Verdict

Cult is a fascinatingly cynical look at the business of belief. Humanity, as a whole, has a powerful need to explain how things work, a desire to believe in something bigger than us, that there is a power out there dispensing justice, even unconditional love, doling out karma to those who deserve it and dharma to those who've earned it. The guru at the heart of Cult has no real desire to earn anything more than cash money and indulge in the pleasures it affords. It's a slot which tells quite a tale, through characterisation, background imagery, and big win count-up bling. It's humorous rather than preachy, making it clear that this brand of 'enlightenment' comes with a luxury price tag, and the payoffs sure aren't going to the peon masses.

From there, Cult springboards into entertainment territory with a short but sweet set of features. Some of it rings faint Gates of Olympus/Sweet Bonanza bells, though Cult sits in a different niche to those two scatter paying behemoths. Like them, however, multiplier symbols are what you want to see, which feed into the total multiplier. Nice that the multiplier symbols happen to be wild as well, which is a benevolent touch. The congregating steps up in free spins, where the total multiplier refrains from resetting until the bonus round is complete. Since individual Multiplier Wild symbols can have values up to x100, Cult has the potential to knock out substantial benefits of the financial variety.

Capping it all with a 10,000x max win and strong production values means Cult comes across as a highly entertaining piece. It's sharp, witty, has a dark humour, and backs its cynical expose of a predatory wannabe guru's sect with straightforward, punchy gameplay.