Fear the Dark Slot Review

Fear the Dark Slot Overview

I came to Fear the Dark expecting nasty horror, but the vibe sits closer to an old black‑and‑white cartoon. You get a misty graveyard backdrop, crooked railings, bare trees and gravestones, with pale green ghosties drifting past and quirky little sound effects punctuating wins. It is part of Hacksaw’s Pocketz series, so it feels built for phones, yet it still looks crisp and runs smoothly on desktop as well.

Under the hood Fear the Dark is a 6x6 cluster paying grid slot, kicking out a prize whenever at least five matching symbols land adjacent horizontally or vertically. Winning symbols pop off, then new ones drop in, so single spins can chain nicely. Stakes run from 10p up to £100 per spin. With a default RTP of 96.25%, medium volatility and a 5,000x max win, the numbers sit in a comfortable middle ground.

Fear the Dark Slot Information

I treat Fear the Dark as a fast, tumble‑driven cluster game. Any win of five or more matching symbols in connected positions triggers the avalanche mechanic: the winning cluster disappears, new symbols fall and new clusters can form, repeating until the board bricks. The layout never changes from 6x6 in the base game, so you always know where potential clusters can build as drops line up pigs, clowns, ghosts and the rest.

The slot launched in April 2023 and belongs to Hacksaw’s Pocketz range, optimised nicely for portrait play but perfectly serviceable on larger screens. Operators can choose from several RTP settings; the highest sits at 96.25%, while lower versions run at 94.33%, 92.36% and 88.25%. Long grind sessions show frequent small clusters with occasional Full Moon bursts, so it feels more active than many high‑risk Hacksaw grid slots.

Symbols and Payouts in Fear the Dark

Cute and kinda spooky sums up the paytable in Fear the Dark. The lower‑paying set shows a staircase, tombstone, drink, cube and cross, all in stark black and white. High pays are a technicolour gang of ghost, green head, pig, clown and zombie. Five‑of‑a‑kind clusters pay from 0.1x to 1.5x, while 14+ clusters reach 12.8x to 120x. There is no wild symbol; instead you have Moon Man and candle scatters.

Symbols and Paytable

Symbol	Quantity	Payout
	14+	x120
	11+	x40
	9+	x10
	7+	x5
	6	x2.5
	5	x1.5
	14+	x80
	11+	x20
	9+	x5
	7+	x3
	6	x1.5
	5	x1
	14+	x64
	11+	x16
	9+	x4
	7+	x2
	6	x1
	5	x0.7
	14+	x48
	11+	x12
	9+	x3
	7+	x1.5
	6	x0.9
	5	x0.6
	14+	x40
	11+	x10
	9+	x2.5
	7+	x1.2
	6	x0.8
	5	x0.5
	14+	x28
	11+	x7
	9+	x1.7
	7+	x0.8
	6	x0.5
	5	x0.3
	14+	x24
	11+	x6
	9+	x1.5
	7+	x0.7
	6	x0.5
	5	x0.2
	14+	x19.2
	11+	x4.8
	9+	x1.2
	7+	x0.6
	6	x0.4
	5	x0.2
	14+	x12.8
	11+	x3.2
	9+	x0.8
	7+	x0.4
	6	x0.2
	5	x0.1
	14+	x12.8
	11+	x3.2
	9+	x0.8
	7+	x0.4
	6	x0.2
	5	x0.1
	Scatter

Fear the Dark Slot Features

I find the whole game built around the Full Moon feature. When the Moon Man scatter lands, Full Moon mode fires and 2 to 5 symbol multipliers appear above the grid, each tied to one premium symbol. Values range from 2x right up to 100x, applied to every win involving that symbol while active. Once no new wins land, multipliers are removed left to right, clearing their symbol and all lows before fresh symbols drop.

Alone in the Dark free spins trigger when three or four candle scatters appear in the base game, giving 10 or 15 spins. During this bonus I see Moon Man far more often, so Full Moon chains crop up regularly. Any extra FS scatter landing adds four more spins, which is generous compared with most slots. The round only truly heats up when a hefty multiplier sits over your favourite premium and clusters start lining up.

Once your free spins run out, the candles wink out and Darkness Spins begin with two added spins. Before each Darkness Spin the grid shrinks, first to 4x4 and then to 2x2, concentrating whatever remains. Hitting a Moon Man here resets the layout to 6x6 and refreshes Darkness Spins; landing a new FS scatter sends you back to regular free spins. If you like shortcuts, four Bonus Buy options sell enhanced modes straight from the base.

Bonus Buy Feature

Bonus Hunt Feature Spins Each spin is 5 times more likely to trigger a bonus game.
Feature Cost:	x3 Bet
RTP:	-
Volatility:	High
Moon Man Feature Spins Each spin guarantees that at least 1 Moon Man symbol lands.
Feature Cost:	x40 Bet
RTP:	-
Volatility:	High
10 Free Spins 10 free spins with a better chance of landing Moon Man symbols.
Feature Cost:	x100 Bet
RTP:	-
Volatility:	High
15 Free Spins 15 free spins with a better chance of landing Moon Man symbols.
Feature Cost:	x150 Bet
RTP:	-
Volatility:	Average

RTP & Volatility in Fear the Dark

On the best setting Fear the Dark runs at 96.25% RTP, right around the sweet spot for Hacksaw titles. Casinos can drop that as low as 88.25%, so I always check the info panel first. The official maths rates volatility at 3 out of 5, though long sessions show it can still swing. Practical stats from millions of rounds point to a hit rate around 42% and a bonus roughly every 250 spins.

Fear the Dark Slot Verdict

For me Fear the Dark feels like classic Hacksaw in pocket‑sized form, closer to their older cute horror pieces than the brutal stuff. The base game ambles along with little clusters and soundtrack gags, but I am always waiting for Moon Man. When Full Moon mode chains through a couple of multipliers, then slides straight into an extended Alone in the Dark sequence, the whole thing suddenly feels much more alive.

I rate Fear the Dark as a handy medium‑volatility option when I fancy some spooky fun without insane risk. The 5,000x cap is modest by Hacksaw standards, yet Full Moon can still throw out very respectable hits when a high symbol lines up with a chunky multiplier. No wilds keeps the grid clean, Darkness Spins add a neat twist at the end of bonuses, and the mobile‑first presentation works really nicely in short sessions.

Screenshots