Cthulhu Slot Review

Cthulhu Slot Overview

Cthulhu is a video slot from G. Games running on Yggdrasil's YGS Masters platform, and I went in already knowing the Lovecraft story quite well. The reels sit in front of the sunken city of R'lyeh, soaked in constant rain and shadows, with statues and the monster itself looming behind the grid. The music fits that mood, giving every spin a tense feel without getting tiring over longer sessions.

On the technical side Cthulhu sticks to a familiar layout, with 5 reels, 3 rows and 10 fixed paylines, so it is easy to follow even if you are not into complex mechanics. You can play it on mobile, tablet or desktop without losing any detail, and the betting range starts at low stakes around 0.20 per spin, making it comfortable for testing the waters before committing bigger bets.

Cthulhu Slot Information

Under the hood, Cthulhu comes with an RTP of 95.42%, which sits a bit under what I usually see, and a low volatility model backed up by a stated hit rate of 15.67%. In practice that means I tended to get smaller wins quite often, with the odd spike when free spins lined up, and the game never felt punishing even during those dry patches everyone gets now and then.

The max win is capped at 2,000x your stake, which lines up with that softer variance profile, so you are trading jaw dropping top prizes for a more relaxed ride. I found it works well when I want a long session without hammering my balance, as stakes can stay low and the hit frequency, while not crazy, keeps enough small and medium results flowing to stay engaged.

The paytable in Cthulhu sticks with 10 regular symbols split into low and high tiers. On the cheaper side you get the card suits and a diamond, worth from 3x to 10x your bet for five of a kind. Premium symbols are the five adventurers, and lining up five of them can pay between 15x and 50x stake, so those character hits do feel meaningful.

Symbols and Paytable

Symbol	Quantity	Payout
	Wild
	5	x50
	4	x15
	3	x4
	5	x50
	4	x15
	3	x4
	5	x35
	4	x12
	3	x3
	5	x25
	4	x10
	3	x2.5
	5	x20
	4	x8
	3	x2
	5	x15
	4	x6
	3	x1.8
	5	x10
	4	x4
	3	x1.2
	5	x8
	4	x3
	3	x0.8
	5	x5
	4	x2
	3	x0.5
	5	x4
	4	x1.5
	3	x0.4
	5	x3
	4	x1
	3	x0.3
	Scatter

Cthulhu Slot Features

In terms of features Cthulhu keeps things quite focused. The base game uses Wild symbols in the form of a glowing treasure chest to help form wins, and everything revolves around the Craze of Cthulhu Free Spins bonus. You trigger that with three Cthulhu Scatter symbols on reels 1, 3 and 5, and once it starts you are playing for sticky wild upgrades, retriggers and the slot's best win potential.

Wild Symbols in Cthulhu

The wild symbol in Cthulhu is a golden treasure chest surrounded by green flames, and on my sessions it showed up on every reel often enough to keep base game spins interesting. It substitutes for all regular symbols except the Scatter, so it can complete or extend wins across the 10 paylines, but it does not carry any standalone payout by itself, so you are using it mainly as a helper piece.

During the Craze of Cthulhu bonus round, that standard Wild chest keeps doing its job while the adventurer symbols can convert into extra sticky wild positions when they win their battles. One quirk I liked is that Sticky Wilds do not block Scatters, as a Scatter landing on an occupied position turns the symbol into a transparent sticky wild which counts as both, helping retriggers without sacrificing wild coverage.

Bonus Game - The Craze of Cthulhu

To enter the Bonus Game - The Craze of Cthulhu you need 3 Scatter symbols on reels 1, 3 and 5 in the same spin, which awards 10 free games as a starting package. Hitting the trigger did not feel impossible for me, but it is clearly not an every-session thing, so I found myself pacing the bankroll and waiting out the dry spells until those special spins finally came around.

Once you pass through the gate into R'lyeh the action steps up, as each adventurer symbol that lands can fight Cthulhu's minions and has a chance to transform into a Sticky Wild for the rest of the round. Landing another set of 3 Scatters during the feature gives 10 extra free spins with no hard cap, so the bonus can stretch out nicely when the retriggers fall your way.

Sticky Wilds in Cthulhu

Sticky Wilds are the core thrill in Cthulhu, as they are created by those adventurer symbols during the bonus whenever they win their fights. Each converted position locks in for the remaining free spins, stacking up across the 5x3 grid, and that is where I saw the game getting closest to its 2,000x potential, especially when several high pay lines ran through clusters of sticky positions at the same time.

Because the stickies do not block new Scatters, the feature has a pleasing flow where extra free games and extra wilds can appear together, and that interaction kept me interested even though the slot is otherwise quite stripped back. Some bonuses will fizzle with only one or two sticky conversions, but when a run goes your way, the board can be almost covered and the wins start landing spin after spin.

Cthulhu Slot Verdict

For me Cthulhu ends up as a slot that nails atmosphere and presentation while keeping the feature set very lean. The dark R'lyeh backdrop, constant rain and brooding soundtrack put you in the right frame of mind, and the Craze of Cthulhu bonus with Sticky Wilds gives proper sweat moments. On the downside the RTP is on the low side and regular play can feel bare if you crave constant features.

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