Cursed Seas

There’s something undeniably haunting about these vast waters, especially when considering their depth and the eerie creatures that inhabit them. But what about the creatures we aren’t yet aware of? If 95% of the ocean remains unexplored, can we be entirely sure that mythical beings like the kraken don’t exist? While it may be unlikely, this question has inspired the team at Hacksaw Gaming to dive into the unknown.

Hacksaw Gaming moves away from familiar phobias seen in their previous title, Fear the Dark, and instead ventures into dangerous, uncharted waters. In Cursed Seas, we join a cursed captain on a perilous journey as he searches for sunken treasure while evading a fearsome kraken lurking beneath the waves.

Set amidst deep teal waters, we find ourselves on a large, rocking sailing ship on a cloudy evening. Symbols like pirates, captains, guns, flags, compasses, anchors, skulls, and lanterns populate the reels, making this one of Hacksaw’s most visually captivating releases. The reels resemble old, faded paper, with a menacing kraken perched above them, all accompanied by an eerie soundtrack to enhance the atmosphere.

Cursed Seas unfolds across 5 reels, with wins formed by matching at least 3 symbols on adjacent reels from the leftmost reel across one of 26 fixed paylines. Non-premium symbols, including anchors, compasses, flags, guns, and skulls, offer wins between 0.10x and 0.20x for 3 of a kind, and up to 1-1.50x for 5 of a kind. Premium symbols consist of four characters: a pirate, a woman, an undead figure, and a captain. Land 3 of a kind of any premium to earn between 0.50x and 2x, with values reaching between 3x and 10x for 5 matches. Finally, Wild chests substitute for all symbols and pay 50x for 5 of a kind.

The game’s central feature is the Cursed Chests. When they land, they open to create a Cursed Area, extending from their position to the top of the reel, provided that area includes at least one winning symbol. Opening a Cursed Chest also reveals a Cursed Multiplier, which applies to any winning combination within that Cursed Area. If multiple Cursed Chests land, their multipliers are combined and applied to the win.

Possible Cursed Multipliers include values such as 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x, 50x, 100x, or even 200x.

Cursed Seas Bonus
Landing 3 Lantern Scatter symbols triggers the Sunken Treasure Bonus Game, awarding 10 free spins. During this feature, any Cursed Chest that lands will automatically open and reveal a multiplier, regardless of other wins. The Cursed Areas created by these chests persist for the duration of the free spins, expanding if new Cursed Chests land beneath existing ones.

All Cursed Multipliers are added to a Total Multiplier above the reels, which affects all Cursed Areas. Any wins involving symbols in a Cursed Area are then multiplied by this value. Landing 2, 3, or 4 Lantern Scatters during this bonus awards +2, +4, or +6 additional spins respectively.

Landing 4 Lantern Scatters triggers the Dead Men Tell No Tales Bonus Game, starting with 3 refilling lives, with each life representing one spin. During this round, only non-winning symbols, special Skull symbols, and Kraken symbols can appear.

Each reel begins with a 1x multiplier above it, which can be increased through special symbols. Each time a special symbol appears, lives are reset to 3. At the end of the game, each reel’s multiplier is added to all Cursed Area positions on that reel, with the total multipliers multiplied by the bet to calculate the final win.

Special Symbols in Dead Men Tell No Tales

• Cursed Skull Multiplier – Creates or expands a Cursed Area and adds a multiplier to the total reel value, with possible values like 1x, 2x, 5x, up to 500x.
• Tormented Skull Multiplier – Multiplies the reel’s total value, with multipliers ranging from x2 to x25.
• Kraken Symbol – Adds a multiplier to all reels’ total values, with potential multipliers between 1x and 500x.

First Impression
Cursed Seas is another dark, high-stakes game from Hacksaw Gaming. Though only featuring one primary mechanic, the Cursed Chests add intrigue and momentum, especially with potential 200x multipliers in the base game until one of two bonus games is triggered.

Both Bonus Games offer distinct experiences: Sunken Treasures may appeal more widely due to its free spins and cumulative win multiplier, while Dead Men Tell No Tales could attract players looking for high-stakes rewards at double the buy-in cost. Wins of up to 12,500x are possible with the right combinations.

With volatility rated 4 out of 5 and RTP options up to 96.22% (96.33% for feature buy), Cursed Seas is well-suited for fans of Hacksaw Gaming, especially those who appreciate big multipliers and refilling lives in gameplay mechanics.