- Must be 21+ and present in an eligible state. T&Cs apply. Gambling problem? Call 1-800 GAMBLER.
You must login or create a free account to play
I’m not lying when I tell you that I’m torn by the Empress of the Shadows. I know this is a horror-themed slot, but the Empress is a babe, and I’m getting the ‘feels’ in a romantic way. Sure, the blood-soaked wolves that guard her would likely tear me limb from limb should I approach with a bunch of flowers and a love note, but it’s a sacrifice I am willing to take.
Excuse me while I have a brief and bizarre interlude where I sing Up Where We Belong to convey my emotions.
[Interlude]
“Who knows… what tomorrow brings...”
[Interlude abruptly ends]
Dear readers, I have just received a Cease and Desist order from the writers of Up Where We Belong and, therefore, am only allowed to hum the remainder of the song. Before I do this, allow me to tell you why I am here. I am the reviewer and will play Empress of the Shadows by Bullshark Games for real money. The result of this will give you information about how the game plays and performs. You will learn about the software, design, special features, bonuses, and what you can win.
You can also play the game free in its demo mode. The official free slots demo plays on any Android or iOS mobile device. If you like it, try it for real money in many casinos reviewed by Casinos.com.
Now, back to my humming…
“hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm-hmm.”
Visually, the game kicks ass. The two-tone coloring of pinks and purples does the job of making the game drip with evil. The animation is perfectly executed, as the two wolves guard over the hot empress. The slot is thick and has dark coloring, which is something I’ve not seen done before.
The layout provides four rows and five reels, producing 20 paylines from which to potentially win. The atmospheric sounds are perfect for this game: the wolf howl and a sinister tone of sound that echoes into nothingness.
Visually, the game kicks ass. The two-tone coloring of pinks and purples does the job of making the game drip with evil.
Bullshark Games gets distribution aid from the Hacksaw Gaming company. So, any online casino housing Hacksaw Gaming software will also give you access to the real money version of Empress of the Shadows. Once you have the game loaded, start by setting the value of your bet. The cost of a bet or a spin starts at $0.10. Use the + or – buttons to go through the values that reach a maximum bet amount of $100.
You can begin playing Empress of the Shadows by selecting the spin button. With the reels spinning, you want them to stop so that all matching symbols fall in line with any one of the twenty paylines. These must fall from left to right and match with three or more symbols to constitute a win.
In value order, the symbols possessing the highest payout are the Wild, the crown, the goblet, the ring, the dagger, and the book. The lower symbols are the A, K, Q, J, and 10. If you want to know more about the wilds and scatters, read our full guide on slot machine symbols.
Playing Empress of the Shadows is all about repetitive action, like with all other online slots. As the game is 99% automated, you only have to press the spin button to play. Besides trying to land the same symbols on the paylines, the game also comes with special features and a bonus round that can help you to win more money.
Mystery Symbols: Landing these symbols can activate a transformation into a random paying symbol, a wild, or a cash symbol. They can even take on multiplier values to boost wins. It is possible to land one to ten mystery symbols with each spin.
Respins: Unlock the feature with three or more mystery symbols. With every spin, the symbols will move position and then transform. During this respins feature, you can trigger more spins.
Cash Symbols: The values of these symbols can be 1x to 100x the value of your bet.
Multiplier Symbols: The values that can boost wins with these symbols involved can range from x2 to x100.
Dark Fortune Spins: Play the bonus round with three or more scatter symbols landing on the reels. With three symbols, you will play with eight free spins. Four symbols return ten free spins. Land all five scatter bonus symbols and play with twelve free spins. The five scatters equal the Extreme Dark Fortunes Bonus, in which the first spin will guarantee three mystery symbols. In all the bonus rounds, all mystery symbols become locked in place to help grow winning outcomes.
Bonus Buy: Players have the option to buy feature enhancers that better the chances of landing feature symbols. Or directly buy their way into the bonus games. Buying the Dark Fortunes Spins will cost 100 times the bet value. Extreme Dark Fortune Spins comes at 200 times the bet value.
I am an absolute sucker for slot machines that fall into the horror and Halloween slot genre. I loaded the game and set my wager to $2 per spin. I also used the autoplay function and selected fifty auto-spins. My first win came with the second spin, returning $5.80. It was a great start, but what struck me was that the game was wonderfully immersive. From the first ten spins played, I had landed five wins.
The autoplay feature also went at a steady pace, which was a nice change. After twenty-five spins, I was still a bit off the value where I had started. Then, on spin twenty-six, I landed three scatter symbols and unlocked eight free spins.
During the bonus round, I had a few small wins, but then I landed a big win of $90, which was soon followed by a mega win of $140. This was all thanks to the many cash symbols and multipliers. In total, I won $260.80. It was clear that I now loved this game, so I decided to cash out my winnings, which came to $230.60.
The Empress of the Shadows comes with a medium volatility setting, which is my preferred setting and may have contributed to my success. The RTP for this slot is 96.31%. The maximum payout is 12,000 times the bet value. This means if playing at $100 per spin, the highest payout would be $1,200,000.
I loved playing Empress of the Shadows, even if I only experienced 26 spins and eight free spins. But this is all that was needed to convince me that this game is enjoyable, immersive, and entertaining. It also provides players with the right opportunities to win.
If you like playing the Empress of the Shadows free demo, then you may also be interested in playing these other high-quality horror slots at Casinos.com.
Enjoy these demos and find the best real money casinos hosting them in their true format at Casinos.com.
Karolis Matulis is an SEO Content Editor at Casinos.com with more than 5 years of experience in the online gambling industry. Karolis has written and edited dozens of slot and casino reviews and has played and tested thousands of online slot games. So if there's a new slot title coming out soon, you better know it – Karolis has already tried it.
Read Full BioBullshark Games with the help of Hacksaw Gaming developed the Empress of the Shadows slot machine. This software operator is very new to the scene and has only made a handful of casino games. Notable titles include Wild Dojo Strike, Junkyard Kings, and Holy Heist.
Yes. You can enjoy all the brilliance of Empress of the Shadows for free with its free-to-play demo slot. This comes with the review and you can play with any Android or iOS mobile. Always test games when free before you play with real money.
As the game comes with distribution support from Hacksaw Gaming, you will find a good number of online casinos that will have Empress of the Shadows in its real money format. If you need a new casino, take your pick from several of the sites reviewed by Casinos.com.
Bullshark Games released the Empress of the Shadows slot on September 24, 2024. Before this game dropped, the developer had released Mafia Clash, Merlin’s Alchemy, and the Piggy Cluster Hunt slot. However, Empress of the Shadows is, for me, its best game to date.
You can win free spins in the Empress of the Shadows casino game. If you land three scatter symbols, you win eight free spins. You get ten free spins with four scatter bonus symbols and twelve spins with all five symbols.
The Empress of the Shadows slot by Bullshark Games comes with a Bonus Buy feature. If you want to buy the Dark Fortunes Spins bonus it will cost 100x your bet value. You can also pay for the Extreme Dark Fortunes bonus, but this will cost 200x your bet.
Need expert help? Ask a question and one of our in-house experts will get back to you...