Wanted Dead or a Wild Review
Hacksaw Gaming’s simple and unique visual style suits this
gritty wild west release very well, but Wanted Dead or a Wild slot borders on being a
silly name. Looking past that however, there is nothing lighthearted about this
installment. The base game is a ride in the bone dry desert most of the time, but VS
expanding multiplier wilds can strike at any time to provide top-up wins and even
larger payouts.
You’re more likely to crack the 12,500x potential in 1 of the 3 bonus
rounds however, although the least volatile sticky wild Train Robbery feature is
probably not your best bet in that regard. The atmosphere is far bleaker than you might
be used to from Hacksaw, and it’s nice to see a different and more serious side of the
Malta-based developer. The only thing we don’t like about this release outside of the
title, is the introduction of adjustable RTP ranges.
Wanted Dead or a Wild Slot - Reels
Screen
Slot Features
The Wild symbol can land on all 5 reels, and it steps in for all
regular pay symbols to help you complete winning combinations. It’s also the most
valuable symbol in the game with the pistol cylinder, awarding 20x your stake for 5 of
a kind. The 5 picture premium symbols pay between 5 and 20 x your stake for the
same.
Special VS symbols can land also in the base game, and these expand to cover the
full reel before they turn wild. A duel between 2 gunslingers awards a random wild
multiplier between x2 and x100, and multipliers are added together if more than one VS
wild is part of a winning combo.
The Great Train Robbery Bonus Round is triggered when
you land 3+ Train Robbery symbols in the base game. You get 10 free spins, and all
wilds that land become sticky for the remainder of the Wanted Dead or a Wild bonus
round. This is a medium volatile feature according to Hacksaw.
You need at least 3 Duel
symbols in view to trigger the Duel at Dawn Bonus Round, and this also awards 10 free
spins. You can expect more frequent VS symbols to land than in the base game, but they
don’t land all that often due the the very high volatility you get in this feature.
The
Dead Man’s Hand Bonus Round is triggered by landing 3+ Dead scatters anywhere on the
same spin. You start in the Collect Phase of the feature, which plays out like a streak
respins style game with 3 spins. The aim is to land wilds and multiplier symbols, as
these are collected in the assigned meters. You can get up to 20 wilds and a x31
multiplier at the most.
The respins tally resets to 3 for every collected symbol you
land, and when you land nothing but blanks 3 times in a row you enter the Showdown
phase of the bonus. You get 3 showdown spins, and the collected wilds are added in
random configurations per spin. In addition, all wins are boosted by the multiplier you
racked up in the collect phase.
Non-UK players can take advantage of the Wanted Dead or
a Wild Bonus Buy menu, where all 3 features are up for grabs at any time. You can thus
purchase The Great Train Robbery (96.27 % RTP), Duel at Dawn (96.33 % RTP) and Dead
Man’s Hand (96.43 % RTP) for 80, 200 or 400 x your stake, respectively.
The 200 Spins
Wanted Dead or a Wild Experience
You get to see a randomly triggered VS expanding
multiplier wild that awards a smaller win in the base game, before we purchase all 3
bonus rounds in chronological order. The Great Train Robbery feature starts around the
1-minute mark, and you can check it all out for yourself by hitting the play button
below.
Review Summary
There is something understated about this release that we really
like. It reminds us of the many silent, strong and gritty wild west heroes we’ve seen
throughout the years, minding their own business in a dimly lit corner of the saloon
before all hell breaks loose. That’s literally how playing Wanted Dead or a Wild slot
feels, as you’ll plough through plenty of uneventful spins before a sudden VS duel
plays out to spike up your bankroll.
Don’t expect too much from the base game however,
although a maxed-out x100 wild multiplier is certainly capable of cracking the 12,500x
potential. It’s good fun collecting wilds and building the multiplier in the Dead Man’s
Hand feature, and the 3 final spins can be really tense and lucrative. Double VS wilds
strike suddenly in the Duel at Dawn round, but it’s usually quiet in-between. The Train
Robbery feature is a classic sticky wilds round, making it the most predictable
option.
Pros VS expanded wilds w/ up to x100 multipliers
FS w/ sticky wilds (medium
volatile)
FS w/ more frequent VS multiplier wilds
FS w/ wild/multiplier collect/release
on 3 final spins
Win up to 12,500x your stake Cons Beware of adjustable RTP ranges
If
you love to play Wanted Dead or a Wild slot you should also try:
Chaos Crew - is
another Hacksaw release that’s somewhat similar in terms of features. It comes with a
5x5 grid with 15 paylines as well, and you get a cranky cat mystery multiplier in the
base game. The hold-and-win style bonus round is all about multiplier accumulation,
with 4 modifier symbols that can lead to 10,000x payouts.
El Paso Gunfight - is the
third installment in NoLimit City’s hardboiled western range, and you can choose
between high or extreme volatility. The respins feature comes with xNudge multiplier
wilds on the 3 middle reels, and there are 4 different bonus rounds that can lead to
payouts up to 44,440x your stake.
Dead or Alive 2 - is the gritty follow-up to NetEnt’s
classic, and it comes with 3 different bonus rounds. One of them is the same x2
multiplier feature from the first game, but you also have a wild collect multiplier
increase feature, as well as the highly volatile multiplier sticky wilds option. The
111,111x potential is legendary, and the tense atmosphere alone is worth a spin or
ten.
