Ronin StackWays Slot by Hacksaw Gaming 🎰 Free Demo and Review

Ronin StackWays Review

Anyone well-versed in Japanese movies will know what a Ronin is, and for everyone else; a Ronin refers to “a samurai without a master that wanders the land on his/her own”. Ronin StackWays follows in the footsteps of Mayan StackWays. However, it’s safe to say that this game also “wanders on its own path”, as it’s quite different from the StackWays debut release. Hacksaw puts their innovation on full display this time, as all stages of the game is infused by it.

You get 2 different StackWays symbols in Ronin StackWays, but you can still stack up to 10 symbols per reel. The number of win ways can thus still rise to 100,000, and the StackWays feature does not trigger unless a win is guaranteed. Both bonus round tiers revolve around this feature as well, and the Super FS round gives you only the top-tier Revealing StackWays symbol. The 5,000x potential is cut in half, but this is also a far less volatile installment.

Ronin StackWays Slot - Reels Screen

Ronin StackWays Slot Features

The premium symbols, consisting of samurai pandas, bears, foxes, tigers, and monkeys, pay between 2 and 4 x your stake for 5 of a kind wins. There are no Wild symbols in Ronin StackWays, but you get 2 different StackWays symbols that can appear on all 5 reels. A maxed out stacked grid gives you 10 positions per reel, which amounts to a 100,000 ways win.

When the Regular StackWays symbol hits, the reel will be stacked with 2, 3, or 4 matching symbols. The stacked symbol is chosen based on what will create the longest winning combination, so you are guaranteed to win if the StackWays feature triggers. Revealing StackWays symbols will stack the reel with 5 to 10 matching symbols based on the same condition, and a random symbol is chosen if 2+ winning combos are of equal length.

You trigger the Stack Spins Bonus Round by landing 3 FS symbols in view, and this gives you 10 free spins. The feature comes with a higher hit rate of StackWays symbols, and you win +2 or +4 extra spins from landing 2 or 3 FS symbols on the same free spin, respectively.

The Super Stack Spins Bonus Round triggers from 4 FS symbols in view, and this also gives you 10 free spins. Once again, the StackWays symbol hit rate is increased, but you only get the Revealing StackWays symbols in this feature. The Super FS round is retriggered exactly the same way as the regular FS round.

The Bonus Buy menu is available in some jurisdictions, but not in the UK for sure. It comes with the following 4 options in Ronin StackWays slot:

• BonusHunt FeatureSpins (high volatility and 96.29 % RTP) - pay 3x the stake per spin to boost the bonus rounds hit rate by 5x.
• Stackways FeatureSpins (very high volatility and 96.25 % RTP) - pay 40x the stake per spin to get at least 2 StackWays symbols.
• Stack Spins (medium volatility and 96.27 % RTP) - pay 100x the stake to get this bonus round.
• Super Stack Spins (medium volatility and 96.34 % RTP) - pay 200x the stake to get this super version of the bonus round.

The 200 Spins Ronin StackWays Slot Experience

You get a brief taste of the base game, before we purchase the Super Stack FS feature at 0:26 into the 1:42-minute highlights video. It took a while before we landed any StackWays symbols, but when they finally arrived there was somewhat of a ketchup effect. Anyway, you can check it all out for yourself by hitting the play button below.

Review Summary

After the more complex StackWays debut set in the Mayan kingdom, it’s understandable that Hacksaw wants to narrow the focus and see how their innovation can fare without anything else backing it up. Ronin StackWays comes with stunning visuals, and the presentation alone makes this game worth checking out. It wasn’t bad in Mayan StackWays either for that matter, but Ronin StackWays is a completely different animal altogether. Visually, both installments stick out from most other Hacksaw releases, and we like that this developer keeps experimenting with new styles.

The somewhat paradoxical math model has been watered down significantly, as the 5,000x potential is sliced in half. This is a far less volatile game, however, which makes it more of an allrounder. The StackWays symbols take center stage, and they act like mystery symbols that also increase the number of win ways. You get more of the same in both bonus rounds, and as long as the stacking happens you know you’re in for a win. The max win hit rate of 1 in 572,000 spins is far better than the 1 in 3m spins you get in the first game, and Ronin StackWays is definitely a solid release all things considered.