Dark Summoning Slot Review: Cascades and Lost Souls

Dark Summoning is a six-reel, five-row slot with 24 winning lines and a cascade system that removes every symbol of a winning type before new symbols fall into the gaps. Its theme is horror, but the more useful distinction is between two routes that begin from the same Unholy scatter count. Three collected Unholy symbols open ten free spins; if an Order symbol is present when the third is collected, the game instead selects Rise to Salvation

Play Now

Dark Summoning at a glance

Provider	Hacksaw Gaming
Genre / theme	Horror
Game type	Video slot
Reels / grid	6 reels × 5 rows
Reference RTP	96.36%
Volatility	4/5
Payout mechanic	24 unique lines
Maximum win	10,666× the bet
Release date	27 November 2023
Main features	Super Cascade clears winning symbol types; Unholy scatters accumulate across the round, and the collected third opens Hellfire or, with an Order symbol, upward-cascading Rise to Salvation with persistent Lost Souls.

RTP and stake limits can vary by version and market. Check the information screen in the game you open. Maximum win is a ceiling, not an expected result.

Cascades, wilds and stored scatters

When a winning combination lands, Super Cascade marks all symbols of the winning type. After those wins are awarded, the marked symbols are removed and new ones drop in, potentially forming another win and another cascade. Blue Wilds appear in the base game and Rise to Salvation; red Wilds belong to Trial by Hellfire

Unholy scatters have a separate round-long counter. When they land alongside a win, they are stored; if three appear simultaneously, they are collected even without a winning combination. Order scatters have a different immediate effect: each replaces itself and two to ten other symbols with Wilds, and multiple Orders trigger the effect once per symbol

Hellfire versus upward movement

In Trial by Hellfire, winning positions are marked with Hellfire. When an Unholy symbol lands, it starts the Fires of Hell sequence: that symbol and all Hellfire-marked positions become Wild, then the marks disappear. The timing ties the scatter to the winning cells accumulated during the feature

Rise to Salvation requires the third Unholy to be collected while an Order symbol is present, and also awards ten spins. Here cascades move upward rather than down. Persistent Lost Souls rise along with other symbols as wins are removed; reaching the top row makes a Soul Ascend and leave the grid

Configuration and uncertainty

The official page lists volatility at 4/5, 24 lines, a maximum of 10,666× and RTP settings of 96.36%, 94.34%, 92.22% and 88.28%. SlotCatalog lists the release date as 27 November 2023 and describes a 6×5 layout, matching the official 5×6 grid statement when read as columns by rows. Check the in-game information panel for the operator’s actual RTP setting; the highest figure is not universal.

A high cap does not explain the frequency of an Unholy collection, an Order being present at the deciding moment, or Lost Souls ascending with valuable outcomes. The written rules show what each event does but do not expose the event rates or distribution of Wild multipliers. Those unknowns limit any estimate of how often either bonus route will deliver its more elaborate interactions.

Strengths and weak points

Strengths

The two bonus routes have distinct resolution rules: Hellfire converts marked positions to Wilds, while upward cascades move persistent Lost Souls toward global multipliers or cash awards.

Weaknesses

The conditional route depends on an Order at the third Unholy collection, and public rules provide no event frequencies; RTP also varies across four configurations.

Our Editor’s View

Dark Summoning ties its eerie setting to systems that remember recent board events. Winning symbols vanish and refill the grid; Hellfire remembers where earlier wins occurred; Rise to Salvation keeps Souls moving upward until they cash out or add to a global multiplier. The strongest editorial distinction is the route selection: three Unholy symbols are not the whole story if an Order is also present at collection time