Dark King: Forbidden Riches

Joining the Dark King

Enter the dangerous realm of the Dark King, a powerful and mysterious figure who guards untold riches. Will you join him or fight against him? NetEnt's exciting fantasy slot is easy to play, with simple controls to help you start spinning immediately. Here's how you can begin:

1. Load the free demo on this page or open the real money version at an online casino.
2. Choose your bet between $0.20 and $400 per spin, ensuring you stick to your budget.
3. Press the spin button to play or choose the autoplay option.
4. Play responsibly as you try to match symbols along the paylines.

Interface and Control Scheme

The theme may be dark and mysterious, but the controls couldn't be easier to master. When you load the game, the 5x3 reels are in the centre of the screen, with a control panel directly below them. All the buttons and settings you need are on this control panel, and the game also shows your total balance, current bet size, and most recent win.

The spin button is in the very centre of the control panel, with the quick spin option and the autoplay feature on either side. On the right of the controls is the sound option, which you can toggle to mute the game. The other side of the panel features the bet size control, and there's also a menu which you can open to reveal the paytable with the game's symbols and features.

Dark King Minions and Their Values

As you travel through the Dark King's realm, you'll encounter his minions, who will potentially payout if you land them along a payline. Open the paytable to see their values and determine how much you can win. The 10 to A card royals are the lower-value symbols. 10 pays 2.5x your stake for five on a payline, while J pays 3x your stake for five on a payline. Q pays 3.5x your stake for five of a kind, and K pays up to 4x your stake. Finally, the A symbol pays 5x your stake for five of a kind.

The higher-value symbols are the king's dark minions and the king himself. A skeletal warrior pays 12.5x your stake for five on a payline. An armoured figure holding a glowing, green lantern pays up to 15x your bet. A minion with a metal whip pays 17.5x your stake for five of a kind, while the horned knight pays 20x your stake for five across a payline. The Dark King himself is the highest-paying symbol in the game, rewarding you with up to 25x your stake.

Aside from the regular symbols, you may also encounter bonus symbols as you play. The wild is a glowing orb that stands in for any symbol except the scatter. The scatter is a red gem in an ornate gold setting that activates free spins.

How to Win Forbidden Riches

There are twenty paylines across the reels of this slot, and landing a win is as simple as matching a combination of three or more symbols along any of these lines. Your combination must start from the left-most reel, and the payout is determined by the symbol value multiplied by your current bet.

Bonus and Special Features

The minions aren't the only things you should look for as you play. The Dark King has plenty of surprises as you seek to take the Forbidden Riches. Watch out for these special bonus symbols and features that increase your winning potential on every spin.

The wild is a mystical orb which can appear on any reel throughout the game. It substitutes for other symbols, helping to create winning lines as you play. However, it can also trigger a multiplier bonus. When two or more wilds appear on the reels, a multiplier of up to 5x will be applied to your winnings.

The appearance of three, four or five scatters on the reels means you'll receive 10, 12, or 15 free spins, respectively. A cross-shaped pattern will appear at the centre of the reels, and any wild symbols that land within this area will become sticky wilds, adding one extra free spin each. Wild multipliers can also trigger during this bonus round.

What's the maximum payout?

This slot's maximum payout is 2,000x your bet. While it's not the highest max win we've seen, it's a decent figure. If you're playing at the highest possible bet of $400 per spin, you could win a massive $800,000 prize.

Game RTP Rate and Volatility

The game's RTP is rated as 96.06%, which is pretty much exactly the average figure for online slots. Meanwhile, the volatility rating is medium to high, implying that win sizes are typically slightly larger than average, although the win rate is slightly lower than normal.

Although RTP and volatility rates impact gameplay, they're calculated over an extremely large number of spins. Therefore, your standard playing sessions can easily see higher or lower returns depending on your luck. When I played Dark King: Forbidden Riches, I was lucky enough to end my session in profitafter triggering some big multiplier wilds and the free spins bonus round. Of course, losing money is equally possible, so you should always play responsibly.

Visuals and Audio Design

NetEnt always goes above and beyond when designing the graphics for its games. This game looks spectacular, with a dark, gothic design. The symbols are all uniquely designed, with various minions and the Dark King himself looking incredible. Even the low-paying playing card symbols look great. The reels are set against an incredibly detailed backdrop, helping to set a dark and foreboding atmosphere as you play.

Meanwhile, NetEnt has also ensured the game's sounds and music help to add to the impact. The music is chilling yet exciting, creating tension as you spin the reels, with sound effects for each spin. Each time you win, the symbols are imbued with mystical energy, and if you're lucky enough to trigger the free spins, the Dark King comes alive next to the reels.

Playing the Dark King: Forbidden Riches Demo

Before committing to spending money on your quest for Forbidden Riches, why not try out the free demo? The demo is available on this page, giving you full access to the game without risking your own cash. You can play as much as you like, experiencing the wilds, multipliers and free spins without spending a cent.

We always recommend playing the demo before the real money version, as it's a great way to get to grips with the game and learn how the features work. Once you've learned how it works, you can decide whether you want to play for real money at an online casino.

Compared to Similar Slots

We've enjoyed plenty of fantasy slots over the years, with magical beasts and knights roaming the reels as we try to find lost treasure. It's a popular genre for developers, and there's a growing number of dark fantasy games, too. These slots combine popular fantasy tropes with dark, gothic imagery, creating a unique atmosphere and an exciting playing experience. Let's take a look at some of the best examples and how they compare to Dark King:

Pros and Cons

Dark King: Forbidden Riche Online Slot

Conclusion

Dark King: Forbidden Riches slot is a sumptuously shadowy slot experience with plenty of eerie thrills for fantasy fans. The theme is a sinister, supernatural triumph with highly detailed, menacing characters and backgrounds. The gameplay offers regular rewards, although the volatility may hold you back from larger wins for much of your time spent spinning. If your luck holds out, you could claim the slot's biggest possible prize of $800,000 in the free spins mode, where sticky wilds pave your way to the high-value symbol combinations you need. There isn't anything particularly new about the slot's features, but the overall experience feels unique enough to send chills down your spine every time you play. Not so many thrills but fantasy fans will also love Rich Wilde and the Tome of Madness.