Wanted Dead Or a Wild

While the Wild West theme is available in abundance in online slots, the team at Hacksaw Gaming reimagined it in a way that truly transports you straight into the surroundings and sounds of what players who prefer this theme love. All the elements work together to replicate the surroundings, from the color scheme to the soundtrack.

At first glance, there is little to this game as far as design and audio go. What I found after spending some time playing however was something quite the opposite. The first thing that struck me as I got started was the hypnotic rhythm of the soundtrack, mimicking the sound of a steam train. The rhythmic beat picks up and slows down as you go along, with a faster pace indicating when you land a win, or the slower clickity cluck throughout regular play. I love the fact that there are no definite breaks and that the soundtrack flows smoothly regardless, with no choppy changes, affording an immersive experience that pulled me in. The audio also changes depending on whether you are in the base game or bonus rounds. 

Now, when it comes to the design, graphics, and color palette, the attention to detail is excellent. All the elements, in their raw simplicity, pull together beautifully, from the scarlet backdrop and dead trees to the illustrations depicting everything from skulls to cards and revolvers. Fans of Westerns will find the overall feel of this high volatility slot a treat.

The betting range is fair, starting at a low 0.20 and going up to a decent 100. While the max bet amount is not as high as some other titles, I found the range to accommodate most playing styles and budgets. Keep in mind that this is a high volatility slot, which means wins are rarer but sizable when you do land them.

Wanted Dead or a Wild runs on a straightforward 5×5 grid. The grid is displayed on a basic wooden slab, with a staggering maximum payout of 12,500x.

Now, when it comes to the volatility, as I mentioned earlier this is a high volatility slot. I spent quite some time spinning the reels, with wins few and far between. But, as with any high volatility online slot, the wins I landed were well worth the hassle in the end.

Wanted Dead Or a Wild has an RTP of 96.38%, which is around the industry standard. It is however worth noting that players can purchase any of the bonus features, but when doing so, it will influence the RTP, so keep this in mind if you want to skip the endless spinning. I also want to remind players that the RTP is the theoretical return over time and should not be read as the return to expect after only a couple of spins.

It’s quite easy to play Hacksaw Gaming’s Wanted Dead or a Wild. For your convenience, the paytable is easily accessible when you click on the menu icon at the bottom left corner. Here you will also find all the settings so if you’d rather play without the music or sounds, you can switch them off here. 

Now, let’s look at the symbols and what they are worth. The highest-paying symbols in this game are the Wild, revolver chamber, whiskey bottle, bull’s skull, and bandit. For a complete overview of how much each of these symbols payout, refer to our handy table below:

When you play demo games, it’s important to familiarize yourself with every aspect before you start playing for real money. This includes checking out the extra features you can take advantage of. Hacksaw Gaming’s Wanted Dead or a Wild has plenty of extra features that I found totally worth the grit of the high volatility. Let’s take a quick look at what these are. 

Duel at Dawn & VS Symbols

Landing 3 or more Duel symbols will unlock this feature, which will afford you 10 free spins. You can also land more VS symbols during this round. The VS symbols will expand to cover the reel when landing a winning combination. You’ll see two outlaws in the reel, with individual multipliers. During this round, a duel takes place, and the winning outlaw’s multiplier is then applied across the reels and the entire reel also turns wild. If you land multiple VS symbols the values are first added and then multiplied with the total line wins.

Dead Man’s Hand

To unlock this feature, you need to land at least 3 Dead symbols. This feature is split into two parts, the ‘collection’ phase and the ‘showdown’ phase. During the collection phase, the goal is to get as many wilds and multipliers as possible. Every time a wild or multiplier is collected, the spins are reset to 3.

The showdown phase kicks in after 3 consecutive spins failing to collect wilds or multipliers. You get three spins during this phase, with all your collected wilds added to the grid. The total winning amount here will then be multiplied by the total multipliers collected during the first phase of this feature.

Great Train Robbery

When you get 3 or more Train Robbery symbols, you unlock this bonus game which includes 10 free spins. The bonus game is based on sticky wilds, with all wilds landed for the duration of the 10 free spins remaining sticky. Quite a way to ramp up the adrenaline!

Bonus Buy

Now, as I had to test out every aspect of Dead or a Wild, I had to see how the bonus buy option pans out for those looking to skip the trouble of spinning to infinity. While I enjoyed the base game thoroughly, I was curious to see how the bonus buy affected my bankroll and whether or not the reward I got was worth the risk. I tested these out several times, with varying outcomes. In two cases the rewards were worth the risk. Here’s what you will pay should you opt for the bonus buy feature: