Nightfall

Nightfall Overview

Created by Push Gaming, Nightfall takes players to a dark and gothic setting where gargoyles rule the reels. The slot makes you feel like you are in 12th century Paris on a dark winter’s night with strange sounds and sights all around you. Mechanically, this slot is played on a five-reel, three-row gameboard with 20 pay lines. The RTP is around 96.36%, and the top win is a massive 20,000x the stake. Unlike other games, Nightfall has a range of bonus features and a rich and complex gaming experience.

The features for this game start with a cascading bonus which means that every time you score a win, all of the winning symbols are removed from the reels and replaced by a new set to help score more wins. This game also has a fireball bonus, activated by landing fireball symbols on the reels. Land three fireballs on the same reel, and three fireballs will travel up to the bonus slab at the top of the reels clearing it and awarding you an instant prize. However, the main feature here is the free spins game, triggered when players land three or more of the fire orb scatters on the reels at once. Landing more scatters will get you more spins. There is also a bonus buy option. All features will be explained in more detail later in the review.

Theme and Symbols

The main theme for this game is gothic architecture, an architectural style that existed in Europe from the mid-12th century to the 16th century. The country that adopted and championed this style more than any other was France, creating some of the most stunning buildings, including the Chartres Cathedral. Most buildings in this style have great height with many intricate detailing and, of course, gargoyles. We can see a few examples of gargoyles in the symbols on the board. Usually, they were some representation of a fearsome or wise beast put on a building to discourage evil spirits from inhabiting it.

The background for this game looks like a 12th-century city seen from the vantage point of a tall building such as a cathedral. The view includes other gothic structures complete with ornate stained-glass windows and various other gothic details. To the left and right of the reels, players will be able to make out parts of gargoyles, including various wings, claws and horns.
The playing board for this game has just as many gothic aspects as the building it sits within. It also contains a special reel at the top of the board.

The symbols for this game are split into low-paying, high-paying and special symbols. The low-paying symbols are the diamond, club, spade and heart. These are all worth 5x the stake for the top combination. On the other hand, the more valuable symbols are the dragon head, the owl head, the ram head, and the gothic vampire woman. The most valuable of these is the scary vampire woman worth 1,000x the stake for the top combination. The specials for this game are the fire orb/scatter, the fireball symbol and the fireball multiplier icon.

Game Play

Nightfall is played on a 5-reel, 3-row machine with 20 fixed pay lines. To win combinations, players must land three or more matching symbols on pay lines moving from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel.
The betting range for Nightfall is 10p to £100 per spin. To adjust their bet levels, players can toggle their stake up and down using the tool located at the bottom left-hand side of the screen.

Further information, including a short tutorial and a display of the paytable, can be found via the menu button in the right-hand corner of the screen. The spin and auto spin buttons are located in the centre of the screen.
Volatility for this slot is rated in the medium to high range. The return to player percentage for Nightfall is 96.36%, which is above average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 20,000x your stake.

Features

The first bonus in this game is the cascade dynamic. This comes into play every time that you score a win. It will remove all of the winning symbols from the board and replace them with a new set. The Cascades only stop when the new set of symbols does not form a win.

The next feature in this game is the fireball feature, triggered when players land three fireball icons land on the same reel. When this happens, they will fire up onto the prize slab reel above the board, clearing the slab and awarding an instant cash prize. Instant cash prize slabs can cover 1-5 reels with multipliers in the 2x to 5,000x your stake available. Fireball multipliers may also come into play here. When these symbols land, they fire up to the slab and multiply the prize there. They come in sizes of 2x, 3x, 5x, 10x, 25x or 50x.

The next feature included in this game is the free spins game triggered when players land three or more of the fire orb wilds/scatters on the board at the same time. The more scatters you land to trigger the bonus, the bigger your initial instant prize is, and the more spins you are given to play with. The maximum prize you can receive is 1,000x the stake, with the maximum spins being 8. You have to land five scatters to get these maximum results, however.
Entering the free spins round, the board changes with a red mist descending on the screen and only fireballs, fire orbs and fireball multipliers falling on the board. Instant prize slabs are also always available in this round. Landing three additional fireballs within the game grants players another two spins. There is no limit to the number of additional spins you can earn.
Finally, there is also a bonus buy feature available. However, this option is not available in the UK.

Conclusion

With some great features and a very promising winning potential, Nightfall looks like a great product and one that will keep players engaged in fiery madness for a while. The visuals and soundtrack are particularly good, with a heavy gothic feel making the game feel very sinister and exciting indeed. Push Gaming has done an excellent job here.