Introduction to Sanatorium Secrets
Sanatorium Secrets is a casino slot from Pragmatic Play where checking into this spooky asylum might not be what it seems. The word sanatorium comes from the Latin “sanare,” meaning “to heal.” However, after testing this release from Pragmatic Play, we aren’t certain this establishment focuses on long-term care or wellness. Instead, we get a grim, captivating, but scary slot environment, with a vibe similar to Nolimit City’s hit Mental and Mental 2. It has all the right elements to attract fans of horror slots, and for those who are tired of happy-go-lucky fruit spins.
Looking at the gameplay, it has a good balance between Base and Bonus Game, offering potentially lucrative giant Wild Symbols of 1x4 or 2x4 with multiplier values ranging from 4X to 64X. The Bonus Game gets boosted by a pre-game Puzzle Feature, with a chance to grab the max win of 10,000X the bet by modifiers and guaranteed features. This game made a lasting impression with its immersive vibe, earning a good rating due to fresh mechanics. Let’s check into the asylum and see what the Sanatorium Secrets demo has to offer.
Theme, Gameplay, & Payouts
Sanatorium Secrets is a video slot by Pragmatic Play that features 6 reels, 4 rows, and 4,096 ways to win. You can select bet sizes ranging from 0.2 to 240, with a default RTP of 96.47%, which is considered above industry average. However, the operators can choose to use lower ones, such as 95.47% or 94.49%. This game has a medium volatility and a hit frequency of 30.12%, offering potential wins of up to 10,000X your bet. On average, it takes 214 spins to activate the bonus game and 1,225,490 spins to land the maximum win. Landing wins bigger than 5000X and 1000X the bet, averages 1 in 950,028 and 47,271 spins, respectively.
The game’s design is based on a spooky and frankly terrifying asylum theme, featuring a visit to a mysterious mental institution. The 6x4 game grid is in the middle of the screen, placed in the courtyard of the sanatorium, surrounded by mist and worn-down buildings. If you want to boost the gaming experience for a cost, activate the Feature Buy or Ante Bet buttons on the left side. All other buttons, including the Spin and Bet Size, can be found below the reels. You can play Sanatorium Secrets on all mobile devices, desktops, and notepads. You create a winning combination by landing 3 or more of the same symbol types on adjacent reels starting at the leftmost reel.
The lower-paying symbols are 9, 10, J, Q, K, and A. Landing 6 of the same symbol type pays between 0.5X and 1.2X. The higher-paying symbols are a green doctor, a blue doctor, a blonde patient, and a blue patient. Landing 6 of the same symbol type pays between 1.5X and 10X. Landing two of the blue patient pays 0.3X the bet.
The game’s Wild Symbol has the design of a scary hand and can land on reels 2, 3, 4, and 5, but it can also appear as a 1x4 and 2x4 size, carrying multipliers up to 64X. The Scatter Symbol is an eerie image of a patient’s “locked” mouth and can appear on all reels except the first and last ones. There is also a Super Scatter featuring an image of a screaming, distraught patient, which can only land on reel 6. Landing 3 or more of the Scatter Symbols will trigger the Bonus Game, and landing 3 Scatter Symbols and 1 Super Scatter Symbol will activate the Super Free Spins feature. Lastly, the Hook Symbol is the picture of a chain, and can only land on reels 1 and 6. Let’s find out what kind of features this game has to offer.
Special Features & Slot Mechanics
What is the max win in the slot of Sanatorium Secrets?
The max win is 10,000X the bet.
What features are available in the slot of Sanatorium Secrets?
The features of this slot game are Wild Symbol, Hook Symbol, Bonus Game, Ante Bet, and Feature Buy.
Wild Symbol
The Wild Symbol substitutes all symbols except the Scatter and Super Scatter Symbols and helps you create winning combinations. There are 3 different Wild Symbols in this game:
Regular Wild = Lands with a size of 1x1 on reels 2, 3, 4, and 5. It can only appear through the transformation of a high-paying symbol by the Hook Symbol.
Help Me Wild = Lands with a size of 1x4 on reels 3 and 4. Can land with a multiplier of 8X, 16X, 32X, or 64X, which is applied to all wins it’s part of. If several multipliers are part of the same win, they are added to each other before being applied to the win.
Burning Wild = Lands with a size of 2x4 on reels 2, 3, 4, and 5. Can land with a multiplier of 4X or 8X, which is applied to all wins it’s part of. If several multipliers are part of the same win, they are added to each other before being applied to the win.
Hook Symbol
The Hook Symbol is the image of a chain, and can only appear on reels 1 and 6. Whenever it lands in view, it transforms all higher-paying symbols on the same row into regular Wild Symbols. It will also transform into a regular Wild Symbol or a cluster of Wild Symbols. If a Hook Symbol passes through a already existing Wild Symbol, it doubles that Wild Symbols multiplier value.
Bonus Game
This feature can be triggered by landing 3 or more Scatter Symbols on reels 2, 3, 4, or 5 during the Base Game. Hitting 3 Scatter Symbols and 1 Super Scatter Symbol on reel 6 will trigger the Super Free Spins. Both the Free Spins and Super Free Spins start with an initial 6 Free Spins, and +2 additional Free Spins for each Scatter symbol beyond the third that triggered the feature.
Before the feature starts, you are presented with the Puzzle Feature. During this pre-game, the number of Free Spins will be determined, and the minimum multiplier value of the 1x4 Wild Symbol. The Puzzle Feature starts with 3 respins, and whenever a puzzle piece lands in view, an additional respin is awarded, and +1 Free Spins is awarded for the following Bonus Game. During the Puzzle Feature, 1 or 2 Hook Symbols can randomly land on reels 1 or 6. Any Hook Symbols that appear will also appear in random positions for each spin during the entire Free Spins feature. If the feature was triggered with a Super Scatter Symbol, 2 Hook Symbols are guaranteed to hit in the Puzzle feature, and be awarded for following Super Free Spins. A Multiplier of 1X can also appear during the Puzzle Feature, landing on reel 1 or 6. Each time it hits, it increases the minimum multiplier of the 1x4 Wild Symbols during the Bonus Game. The Puzzle Feature ends when no more respins are left or when puzzle pieces fully cover the reels 2, 3, 4, and 5, awarding the max win of 10,000X the bet and ending the feature.
When the Free Spins or the Super Free Spins start, you play the game with any potentially awarded modifiers from the Puzzle Feature.
Ante Bet
Activate the Ante Bet for an extra cost of 100% of the current bet, and the chance of triggering the Bonus Game is 4 times as high. You play the game with an RTP of 96.53%.
Feature Buy
If you want to advance directly to the Bonus Game, use the Feature Buy options:
75X = Trigger the Free Spins with an RTP of 96.42%.
150X = Trigger the Super Free Spins with an RTP of 96.49%.
Final Thoughts on Sanatorium Secrets
Welcome to this well-produced release from Pragmatic Play, offering an eerie, captivating slot environment perfect for horror slot fans. Sadly, there’s been plenty of infamous sanatoriums through history, often known for poor conditions and controversial treatments, such as Bethlem Royal Hospital in London, also called “Bedlam.” The conditions were so bad that the public began visiting in the 1700–1800s to view the spectacle. Here, Pragmatic Play has captured the spooky vibe of asylums, giving us a glimpse into a world of “treatment.”
So what about the gameplay? Here, we get a good balance between Base and Bonus Game, providing Wild Symbol with sizes up to 2x4 and carrying a multiplier value up to 64X, creating potentially sudden and big wins right from the start. We appreciated the variety of features during the Base Game, where the Hook Symbol can be powerful on its own, but combined with Wild Multipliers, it can be lethal.
The Bonus Game is preceded by a Puzzle Game that features some mechanics similar to those in The Dog House series. However, in addition to more Free Spins, we get a direct chance to grab the max win of 10,000X the bet and potential modifiers that will boost the following Free Spins or Super Free Spins, making this a fresh take on a familiar pre-Bonus Game mechanic.
Overall, with memorable design and captivating visuals, this game made a lasting impact. Even though we’ve seen most of the features before, small tweaks keep the gameplay fresh, resulting in a good rating. If you want more scary releases, we recommend Disturbed.
Sanatorium Secrets will appeal to fans of horror slots, delivering immersive visuals and interesting tweaks to familiar gameplay.
