Blade and Fangs

Blade and Fangs Slot Review

Slot Provider: Pragmatic Play

RTP: 96.05% | Variance: High | Maximum Win: 5,000x

Our Score: 7.8

Play at Duelz Casino
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WHY YOU CAN TRUST THIS REVIEW: The information and opinions on this page are the result of an comprehensive process of information gathering and live game testing by the gambling experts who work at allslotsites.com. Find out more here.

About Blade and Fangs

Reviewed by:

Published Date: 18th December 2023

How We Review Slot Games

We test and rate all slot games across 5 criteria, assigning a score out of 10 for each and an overall score that is an average of the 5. To build an accurate assessment of each game we gather information from the supplier and play in real play or demo mode. Find out more.

Blade and Fangs is a high variance horror slot from Pragmatic Play with two reel sets that merge into one for re-spins and free spins. It has 243 win ways per reel in the base game and 7,776 for in the feature rounds. Landing a multiplier symbol on each reel set triggers a re-spin on a 5×6 grid and landing 3 or more scatters gets you 8 free spins with a progressive multiplier.

The top win is 5,000x and spins start at 20p. Blade and Fangs is released on 4th January 2024 as one of 7 new slots that month.

Blade and Fangs Game Information

  • RTP: 96.05% | 95.02% | 94.03%
  • Variance: High
  • Maximum Win: 5,000x
  • Progressive Jackpot: No
  • Reels: 5
  • Rows: Up to 6
  • Paylines: Up to 7,776 win ways
  • Minimum Stake: £0.20
  • Theme: Horror
  • Features: Multipliers, Free Spins, Re-Spins, Progressive Multipliers, Expanding Reels

Testing Notes: Here’s What Happened When We Played Blade and Fangs

IMPORTANT: To give you an accurate assessment of the games we review our writers play 200 spins. Whilst this is a useful tool to help us review games and to give an example of what might happen when you play, keep in mind that 200 spins is only a very small sample and cannot be used to accurately predict what might happen over another 200 spins. The outcome of all slots play is always random.

Boom Or Bust? Our Session By The Numbers

I played 200 spins on Blade and Fangs on Pragmatic Play’s test servers prior to its release and this is what happened.

  • Stake Size: £1
  • Start balance: £100,000
  • End balance: £99,993.30
  • Hit Rate: 20% (40 winning spins in 200)
  • Biggest Win: 76x
  • Free Spins Round: 2
  • Session Time: 20 minutes 33 seconds

This was the typical run-in with a high volatility game with lots of near misses and just one big win over 200 spins.

The hit rate came in at 20% which is around average, with wins on roughly 1 in 5 spins. The re-spins feature triggered 8 times (4%) which isn’t bad, but it only produced a win on TWO of those occasions – a 0.6x win then a 12x win from Aces on all 5 reels and a 2x multiplier which you can see here.

A re-spin in in Blade and Fangs
A 12x re-spin win during testing

The free spins round triggered twice. That is good –  with most test sessions you would expect once, and twice on rare occasions. And it kicked out a 76x win the first time thanks to a 9x multiplier – see below – and a 33x win the second time with a 6x multiplier.

A 76x win from free spins in Blade and Fangs
A 76x win during testing with a 9x multiplier in the free spins round

To sum up, the high number of non-winning spins and the infrequent nature of the multipliers in the base game made it all feel a bit underwhelming until those big free spins wins dropped out of nowhere. High volatility gaming in a nutshell then!

What We Liked

  • Unique 2 reels set up with 7,776 win ways when they merge
  • Progressive multiplier grows quickly in free spins
  • Fun, low budget horror theme with lots of gore and scares
  • High volatility for those who enjoy high risk-high reward slots

What We Didn't like

  • Low RTP setting at some sites
  • Re-spins frequently delivered nothing in testing

Blade and Fangs Review Scores

  • Theme and Design 8
  • RTP and Variance 8
  • Maximum Win 7
  • Symbols and Paytable 8
  • Features and Gameplay 8

What Our Reviewer Says ...

"A fun slot with an alternative reel set up that makes things interesting for a while but might lacks the depth to keep punters coming back for more!"

Overall Score: 7.8

Theme & Design

Our Score 8

Low Budget Horror Slot With Two Reel Sets To Spin On

Blade and Fangs is a creepy horror slot but it has a distinctly low-budget feel. It is set in what looks like the interior of a dark, gothic church with skulls littering the floor which is illuminated by candles. The reel set itself has some bizarre chain system around the edge, with blood-soaked circular saws on each corner whilst random horror movie-type characters look on from the reels, including a demon girl, a skull in a hood and a fanged-werewolf. Why they are all here, who knows? But the soundtrack of screams suggests a torture-chamber of some kind. In short, if you were expecting a few light-hearted spins, then think again!

Blade and Fangs by Pragmatic Play
Blade and Fangs – low budget horror slots action

RTP and Variance

Our Score 8

What is RTP?

RTP (Return to Player) refers to the amount a game will pay out in cash prizes expressed as a percentage of all the money wagered on that game. For example, a 96% RTP means a game will pay out £96 for every £100 wagered. This is an average number and will vary from one session to the next.  Read more here.

What is Variance?

Variance refers to how far a game will deviate from its RTP over time. High variance games deviate a lot and produce uneven win distributions and unexpected windfalls. Low variance games provide a more stable and even distribution of wins. Read more here.

Like many Pragmatic Play slots Blade and Fangs has three available RTP settings – 96.05%, 95.02% or 94.03%. Your online slot site will choose which rate to run the game at. To be fair, there is not much between these rates but you should always try to play at the optimum available. So check the game info screen (hit the ‘i’ link below the reels) to see which RTP the game is set to before you spin. In testing, MrQ consistently runs Pragmatic Play slots at the top RTP settings so that would be a good choice.

Pragmatic Play rate this as 5/5 on the volatility score so it is a high variance game. This was backed up by results in our test spins described above.

Maximum Win

Our Score 7

What Is Maximum Win?

Maximum win refers to the maximum amount a player can win from one spin. It is expressed as a multiple of the stake. For example, where the maximum win is 100,000x, from a £1 stake, the maximum win would be £100,000.  

The maximum win on Blade and Fangs is a rather disappointing 5,000x. This isn’t untypical for Pragmatic though you can find better in our list of their highest paying slots, of check out another of their January 2024 releases, Gates of Olympus 1000 which has a much better top payout of 15,000x.

Symbols and Paytable

Our Score 8

Blade and Fangs has a unique 2 reel set configuration, one above the other. Each reel set has 5 reels displaying 3 rows each. This is a win ways game which means wins are triggered by landing 3 or more identical symbols across the reels from left to right, starting at reel 1, regardless of their row position.

This creates 243 win ways on each reel set (3x3x3x3x3).

As we will see, it is possible to merge the reels into one mega 5×6 reel set with many more win ways. But more on that in a moment.

Blade and Fangs Paytable
Paytable with 500x for 6 scatters landing on one spin

First, the paytable itself has good values across 10 symbols. There are 5 low payers – 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace. These are valued at from 0.25x for 3 10s up to 1.5x for 5 Aces. The premiums are the bat, the snake, the demon girl, the wolf and the hooded skull. These are valued at from 0.4x for 3 bats up to 10x for 5 hooded skulls.

There are NO wilds in this game but there are scatters, represented by the firey skull. These are valued at 2x, 15x, 100x or 500x for 3, 4, 5 or 6 appearing on anywhere on the reels on one spin. They also unlock the free spins round as we will find out.

Features and Gameplay

Our Score 8

Blade and Fangs has a nice variation on classic multiplier and free spins features, with that 5×6 reel set thrown into the mix. This is how it works.

Multipliers and Re-Spins On The Expanded Reel Set

The top reel set has a 1x multiplier symbol that lands ONLY on reel 1. The bottom reel set has a 2x multiplier that lands ONLY on reel 5. They appear as roses skewered with knives – pink for the 1x, red for the 2x! You want to look out for these landing simultaneously on both reels because that triggers a re-spin on a merged 5 reel and 6 row reel set.

Blade and Fangs Re-Spin
A Re-Spin is triggered when multipliers land on both reel sets

The 6×5 now has a much bigger 7,776 win ways (5x5x5x5x5x5).

On the re-spin a 2x multiplier is applied to all wins.

And there is a ‘general’ multiplier too. This is displayed at the side of the reels and shows a multiplier value to be applied to the total win after the re-spin has played out. Each 1x or 2x multiplier that lands on the re-spin is added to the general multiplier value.

8 Free Spins on Expanded Reel Set With Progressive Multiplier

The free spins round is triggered by landing 3 or more scatters anywhere on the reels. You get 8 spins, and a payout as described above – up to 500x for 6, remember.

Blade and Fangs Free Spins Round
Free Spins round triggered by landing 3 scatters in testing

This feature is simple. It plays on the 5×6 grid with a ‘general’ multiplier in play which increases by 1x for each 1x multiplier that lands and is MULTIPLIED by 2x for each 2x multiplier that lands. This time the general multiplier is applied to ALL wins throughout the round. 

With its value doubling for each 2x multiplier, you can see how this could grow significantly over the round.

Finally, you get another 4 free spins each time 3 scatters lands on one spin.

The Final Verdict

Blade and Fangs is a fun slot – the creepy atmosphere works in the low-budget way it was surely intended to whilst the two reels sets merging into one is an unusual and alternative way to differentiate the features. However, for me it started to feel gimmicky quite quickly and the game lacked the real depth of quality required to make it one I would come back to. The re-spins too often produced no end result, and whilst the free spins round is promising, the high volatility means it will be a treat that is too rare. Pragmatic Play are prolific of course, and in this instance it feels like quality has been sacrificed too much in an effort to keep pumping out those games.

Useful Tips When Playing Blade and Fangs

Remember, online slots are games of chance, there is NO strategy that can improve your odds of winning. However, reading our review and following these tips will help you get the most out of your time playing this slot game.

1. Keep Your Eyes On Reels 1 On Top and 5 On Bottom

You want to trigger the re-spins as often as possible so keep your eyes on reel 1 at the top and reel 5 at the bottom. Landing multipliers simultaneously there is the trigger for re-spins. These were very hit and miss for me but they are the only base game feature you have.

2. Try To Build The General Multiplier As High As You Can In Free Spins

The ‘general’ multiplier that appears to the right of the reels can grow big and really boost your free spins round win. Remember, any 2x multipliers that appear will double it each time. I got up to 9x in testing which helped land a 76x payout.

3. Play With The Sound On

This is a game best enjoyed with the sound affects up for the full horror-movie atmosphere. As well as a doom-laden soundtrack you’ll hear screams and agonised moans to accompany the blood-soaked action on the reels.

 

4. Only Play At Licensed UK Slot Sites

We have specifically chosen the slot sites on this page because they are licensed by the UK Gambling Commission who uphold strict laws to provide fair, safe and secure slots play. Never play at unlicensed sites.

 

Who Made Blade and Fangs?

  • Name: Pragmatic Play
  • Established: 2015
  • UK License: Remote 046683-R-325951-014
  • Total Games: 500 +
  • Known For: Wide range of themes and styles, live casino including gameshow formats, and bingo
  • Popular Slots: Fruit Party, Dog House Megaways, Big Bass Bonanza, Release the Kraken
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