Demonic Dolls review
Hacksaw Gaming
Despite being a rich, complex, and vibrant spiritual tradition, Voodoo is often reduced by pop culture to zombies, malicious curses, and possessed dolls. This appears to be the case in software provider Hacksaw Gaming's online slot Demonic Dolls, which stars two of 'these voodoo-fuelled little nightmares.' While the dolls might be the stuff of nightmares on one level, on another, they're actually kind of cute, as they front a cluster-paying game rife with wild multipliers, merging wilds, and respins, while bringing all sorts of dark arts to life on the reels.
Mischievous is the first word that came to mind to describe Demonic Dolls' attitude. It presents an attic populated by two odd characters found on either side of the gaming area. They look like they're up for doing bad deeds, but not heinous bad deeds. Maybe throw toilet paper over someone's house, or do the burning bag of dog poo trick on their neighbours' doorstep while giggling from behind a bush. Though in saying that, one of them does have an axe buried in its head. The game info describes them as being quite nasty, though, and they get progressively nastier-looking as play moves from the base game through the various bonus rounds.
Cluster pays is the method used to create winning combinations, doing so when 5 or more matching symbols are connected on the grid. The gaming area itself is a 5x5 matrix. Bets of $/€0.10 to $/€100 may be placed in this medium volatile game, where the maximum RTP comes in at 96.26%.
Ten pay symbols land on the grid. They are 10-A royals, buttons, wool, axes, honey jars, and bow ties. Clusters made up of 5 matching symbols are worth 0.1x-1x, while the largest clusters are 16+ OAK in size, paying 10x-500x the stake.
Demonic Dolls' features are Wild Rattle symbols, multipliers, respins, three free spins rounds, and feature buys.
Wild Rattle symbols substitute all pay symbols. They can also have additive multiplier values of x2-x100, which are used to multiply any win the Wild Rattle is part of. Multiplier values are added if more than one is in the same win. If two Wild Rattles of the same size are part of the same win, they trigger a respin sequence. Wild Rattles move to new positions, and two of the Wild Rattles that were in the same win merge into a 2x2 Colossal Wild Rattle. When four Wild Rattles are in the same win, they merge into two Colossal Wild Rattles. The new multiplier on the Colossal Wild Rattle is the sum of their values.
During the respin sequence, all Wild Rattles that land stay on the grid and move to new positions on each new respin. Respins continue if two Wild Rattles or two 2x2 Colossal Wild Rattles are part of the same win. When two 2x2 Colossal Wild Rattles are part of the same win, they merge into a 3x3 Colossal Wild Rattles. Wins are awarded on each respin.
The three free spins features are All Dolled Up, Bad Omens, and Playtime is Over.
Here, players can activate BonusHunt FeatureSpins for 3x to make each spin 5 times more likely to trigger a bonus or Dead Cute FeatureSpins for 50x to land at least 2 Wild Rattle symbols. All Dolled Up can be bought for 75x or Bad Omens for 250x the stake.
Demonic Dolls is a mischievous addition to Hacksaw Gaming's collection of cluster-pay slots, and while it touches on a darker interpretation of Voodoo, it avoids being a horror cliché through its playful rather than frightening presentation. The two dolls, the bell-tailed snake, and the big button eyes all contribute to an eccentrically spooky slot with an appealing personality that doesn't take itself too seriously. The initial assumption was that this would be a Halloween slot, for some reason, and Demonic Dolls could be ideal for that time of year, yet it doesn't overflow with pumpkins, and the more general use of 'horror' means it's not season-specific but perfectly playable at any time of the year.
On the gaming side, Demonic Dolls contains links to other Hacksaw Gaming slots like Dandy Diamonds, The Wildwood Curse, and Red Rascal, with the wilding, merging, respinning and multiplying effects going on. The features are quite basic, but not bad basic, as multipliers have high upper ceiling limits and merging Wild Rattles can make them even stronger, especially considering this is a cluster pays game, so big wilds are able to connect a lot of winning clusters together. Respins add another layer of anticipation. The three bonus rounds are quite basic as well, in that they don't add anything which is not available in the base game. Instead, the frequency of Wild Rattles is raised, before guaranteeing them in the two upper bonus rounds.
All in all, Demonic Dolls is a fun game, something of a snack compared to the more elaborate things Hacksaw Gaming does, but it's a straightforward cluster pays slot with a potentially wicked Wild Rattle effect on board. It's good for wins of up to 10,000x the bet, and it doesn't appear to be a reskin. So while it's no GOTY contender, there is an entertaining choice here for gamblers who want to step away from the typical cluster/cascade combo and try something that's not bursting with extras, but whose personality and straightforward pacing earn it a look.
Demonic Dolls is a quirky, cluster-paying slot that keeps the action entertaining without getting all overcomplicated.
Mischievous is the first word that came to mind to describe Demonic Dolls' attitude. It presents an attic populated by two odd characters found on either side of the gaming area. They look like they're up for doing bad deeds, but not heinous bad deeds. Maybe throw toilet paper over someone's house, or do the burning bag of dog poo trick on their neighbours' doorstep while giggling from behind a bush. Though in saying that, one of them does have an axe buried in its head. The game info describes them as being quite nasty, though, and they get progressively nastier-looking as play moves from the base game through the various bonus rounds.
Cluster pays is the method used to create winning combinations, doing so when 5 or more matching symbols are connected on the grid. The gaming area itself is a 5x5 matrix. Bets of $/€0.10 to $/€100 may be placed in this medium volatile game, where the maximum RTP comes in at 96.26%.
Ten pay symbols land on the grid. They are 10-A royals, buttons, wool, axes, honey jars, and bow ties. Clusters made up of 5 matching symbols are worth 0.1x-1x, while the largest clusters are 16+ OAK in size, paying 10x-500x the stake.
Demonic Dolls' features are Wild Rattle symbols, multipliers, respins, three free spins rounds, and feature buys.
Wild Rattle symbols substitute all pay symbols. They can also have additive multiplier values of x2-x100, which are used to multiply any win the Wild Rattle is part of. Multiplier values are added if more than one is in the same win. If two Wild Rattles of the same size are part of the same win, they trigger a respin sequence. Wild Rattles move to new positions, and two of the Wild Rattles that were in the same win merge into a 2x2 Colossal Wild Rattle. When four Wild Rattles are in the same win, they merge into two Colossal Wild Rattles. The new multiplier on the Colossal Wild Rattle is the sum of their values.
During the respin sequence, all Wild Rattles that land stay on the grid and move to new positions on each new respin. Respins continue if two Wild Rattles or two 2x2 Colossal Wild Rattles are part of the same win. When two 2x2 Colossal Wild Rattles are part of the same win, they merge into a 3x3 Colossal Wild Rattles. Wins are awarded on each respin.
The three free spins features are All Dolled Up, Bad Omens, and Playtime is Over.
Here, players can activate BonusHunt FeatureSpins for 3x to make each spin 5 times more likely to trigger a bonus or Dead Cute FeatureSpins for 50x to land at least 2 Wild Rattle symbols. All Dolled Up can be bought for 75x or Bad Omens for 250x the stake.
Demonic Dolls is a mischievous addition to Hacksaw Gaming's collection of cluster-pay slots, and while it touches on a darker interpretation of Voodoo, it avoids being a horror cliché through its playful rather than frightening presentation. The two dolls, the bell-tailed snake, and the big button eyes all contribute to an eccentrically spooky slot with an appealing personality that doesn't take itself too seriously. The initial assumption was that this would be a Halloween slot, for some reason, and Demonic Dolls could be ideal for that time of year, yet it doesn't overflow with pumpkins, and the more general use of 'horror' means it's not season-specific but perfectly playable at any time of the year.
On the gaming side, Demonic Dolls contains links to other Hacksaw Gaming slots like Dandy Diamonds, The Wildwood Curse, and Red Rascal, with the wilding, merging, respinning and multiplying effects going on. The features are quite basic, but not bad basic, as multipliers have high upper ceiling limits and merging Wild Rattles can make them even stronger, especially considering this is a cluster pays game, so big wilds are able to connect a lot of winning clusters together. Respins add another layer of anticipation. The three bonus rounds are quite basic as well, in that they don't add anything which is not available in the base game. Instead, the frequency of Wild Rattles is raised, before guaranteeing them in the two upper bonus rounds.
All in all, Demonic Dolls is a fun game, something of a snack compared to the more elaborate things Hacksaw Gaming does, but it's a straightforward cluster pays slot with a potentially wicked Wild Rattle effect on board. It's good for wins of up to 10,000x the bet, and it doesn't appear to be a reskin. So while it's no GOTY contender, there is an entertaining choice here for gamblers who want to step away from the typical cluster/cascade combo and try something that's not bursting with extras, but whose personality and straightforward pacing earn it a look.
Demonic Dolls is a quirky, cluster-paying slot that keeps the action entertaining without getting all overcomplicated.