Introduction to Vatica - Voice of Lost Souls
Vatica - Voice of Lost Souls is a casino slot from GoodTimes Studios that takes us to a relatively unknown underworld. The titular Vatica was a pagan Goddess of the Etruscan civilization, which is today known as Tuscany and the western coast of Italy. This Goddess was said to be the leader of Necropolis, also known as the city of the dead. However, when the civilization fell and became part of Ancient Rome, she fell out of use, being replaced by Gods like the Ancient Egyptian God Anubis. While we’ve seen many themes set in the underworld by a wide range of Gods, we can’t say we’ve ever heard of a slot game referencing such a niche God as Vatica, which in itself is pretty unique. When it comes to gameplay, Vatica - Voice of Lost Souls is all about creating Cascades and leaving behind Cursed Marks, which can later be used to convert into other paying symbols to form even more wins. Paired with this, we have Multiplier Wilds and Free Spin bonus games to boost our wins and keep the spins rolling, all to help us on the hunt for the max win of 10,000X the bet.
GoodTimes Studios delivers on a unique themed release thanks to its very niche references, with a gameplay loop all about Cascades and Symbol Conversions, with some sprinkled in Multiplier Wilds for boosted wins.
Theme, Gameplay, & Payouts
Vatica - Voice of Lost Souls is a video slot from GoodTimes Studios with 6 Reels, 5 Rows, and uses Cluster Wins mechanics, needing +5 or more of the same symbols to be touching to form a win. You can choose between making a Min.bet of 0.1 and a Max.bet of 100. Vatica - Voice of Lost Souls comes with a slightly higher-than-average RTP of 96.27%, medium volatility, and a solid max win of 10,000X the bet.
Set in the underworld ruled by Vatica, she stands next to the playing grid, where just about everything is made of gold, be it the reels or the symbols themselves. In the background, tall pillars with unknown text crowd the halls towards the soul’s final resting place. You can play the game on most notepads, mobiles, and desktops.
The lower-paying symbols are various trinkets, including a golden ring, hairpins, a gem-crusted ring, a mirror, and a vase. Creating a win with 26+ of the same symbols will pay out 100X the bet. The higher-paying symbols are various animal icons, including the hawk, ox, horse, lion, and satyr. Landing a win with 26+ of the same symbols pays out 150X to 500X the bet. There’s also a handful of Special Symbols, including Wilds, Multiplier Wilds, Vatica, Scatters, and Epic Scatter Symbols.
Special Features & Mechanics
What is the max win in the slot Vatica - Voice of Lost Souls?
You can win up to 10,000X the bet.
What features are available in the slot Vatica - Voice of Lost Souls?
The features are Multiplier Wild Symbols, Cascades, Cursed Marks, Vatica’s Grasp, Relic of Eternity, Judgement of the Underworld, and Feature Buy.
Multiplier Wild Symbols
Wild Symbols come in two forms, being the standard and Multiplier versions, with both being able to substitute for all symbols except Scatter and Vatica Symbols. Multiplier Wilds can come with a random value ranging from 1X to 10X.
Cascades
Cascades trigger after any winning combination has been made, removing all winning symbols and allowing new symbols to fall down from above to potentially create new winning combinations. Cascade continues until no more wins can be made, thus ending the spin.
Cursed Marks
After a Cascade triggers, all winning combinations leave behind Cursed Marks on their positions. Cursed Marks reset between spins in the base game, but can be triggered by landing a Vatica Symbol.
Vatica’s Grasp
By landing a Vatica Symbol, the Vatica’s Grasp trigger grabs a random visible symbol and replaces all Cursed Marks on the playing grid and itself with said randomly chosen symbol.
Relics of Eternity
By landing 3 or more Scatter Symbols, you will be awarded the Relics of Eternity bonus game, with spins awarded equal to the number of Scatter Symbols that landed. During the feature, Cursed Marks do not disappear between spins until they have been grabbed by the Vatica’s Grasp bonus. Landing additional Scatter Symbols awards +1 spin per Scatter Symbol.
Judgement of the Underworld
Landing 3 or more Epic Scatter Symbols will award the Judgement of the Underworld bonus game, with spins awarded equal to the number of Epic Scatter Symbols that landed. This bonus game keeps the same mechanics as the base game and the Relics of Eternity feature, but with the added benefit of Vatica’s Grasp only being able to grab Scatter, Wilds, and Multiplier Wilds Symbols. Landing additional Epic Scatter Symbols awards +1 spin per Scatter Symbol.
Feature Buy
Through the Feature Buy, you can instantly trigger various bonuses for a price based on the current bet.
3X = Triggers the BonusHunt FeatureSpins, where each spin is 5 times more likely to trigger a bonus game.
50X = Triggers the Oracles FeatureSpins, making each spin guarantee at least one win and that one Vatica Symbol lands.
100X = Awards the Relics of Eternity bonus game.
300X = Awards the Judgement of the Underworld bonus game.
Final Thoughts on Vatica - Voice of Lost Souls
While we started this review by praising GoodTimes Studios for their unique and niche theme, thanks to the inspiration from Vatica, the fact is that underworld-themed releases, especially those featuring Gods, are not rare and can feel relatively similar. Vatica - Voice of Lost Souls, can feel like any of these other games, as if you don’t know the references, which we don’t think many will, she might just be perceived as a random blue woman that the studio came up with themselves. On top of this, the game’s visuals are rather bland, be it the background or the gold-dipped symbols on the playing grid.
When it comes to Vatica - Voice of Lost Souls gameplay loop, GoodTimes Studios seems to have taken a lot of inspiration from their partner Hacksaw Gaming, as it feels like a game we’ve played before. Cascades is an all-time favorite mechanic for many players, us included, and while we think the Cursed Marks and Vatica’s Grasp features are nice additions, they don’t feel impactful enough to really carry the game as a whole. In our opinion, the most consistent and exciting feature, especially in the base game, was the Multiplier Wild Symbols, which isn’t exactly a good sign. While the Cursed Marks are more reliable in the bonus games, we only truly saw the potential when the Vatica’s Grasp would pull Wilds or Multiplier Wilds, which brings us back to the point of them being the most consistent and exciting feature that the game has to offer. But, even so, Vatica - Voice of Lost Souls is a fun slot experience with a solid package of features that feels entertaining to spin on, but might not have the potential for consistently explosive wins outside of its Super Free Spins bonus game.
Vatica - Voice of Lost Souls is a uniquely inspired-themed game with a very common underworld setting. It combines this with a Cascade-centric game in which positions become cursed, creating the potential for even more wins.
