Life and Death

Life and Death Review

Hacksaw’s catalog of slots is about as black and white as this game, with contrasts almost as stark as life and death when it comes to theme choices. Needless to say, Life and Death slot falls into the “dark side” of their impressive portfolio, playing out in a mysterious gothic cathedral with ghostlike grim reaper figures flanking the 6x5 grid. Melancholic, almost religious music accompanies each spin, and the sparse use of colors makes the important parts stand out.

You start by choosing your bet level between €0.1 and €100 per spin, a bet range that should cater to most types of players. Just like the rest of the color scheme, all the pay symbols are grayscale, with a Janus-like statue as the top-tier symbol. It’s followed by other mythologically loaded icons, like an all-seeing eye inside a hand, a sun, a goblet, and an eye-pendant. The symbol values range from 3x to 50x for 6 of a kind, and you can win on up to 19 paylines.

Life and Death Slot - Reels Screen

Wins start from the leftmost reels toward the right, with 3 of a kind awarding between 0.1x to 2x your stake. The Wild symbols come in 4 different colors, each representing the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Each Wild is linked to 1 of the 4 middle reels with a matching color at the top, but they can land on any of the 4 reels. The wilds expand when they land on a reel with a matching color, and they also boost your winnings by up to x200 multipliers.

You can look forward to 2 bonus rounds in Life and Death slot, with the Devastation Bonus playing out like the base game but with more frequent multiplier wilds. The Reckoning Bonus takes things up a notch, with the possibility of activating Death Reels that allow wilds to expand on any reel it appears on. The 96.36 % top-tier RTP is a tad above average, but beware of customizable RTP ranges. With a volatility level of 4 out of 5 and a 15,000x max win, Life and Death is not as “life or death” as many other Hacksaw games.

Life and Death Features

You get plenty of expanding multiplier wild action in all stages of Life and Death slot by Hacksaw, but with an unusual twist. Let’s dive in!

Multiplier Wilds & Expanding Wild Reels

Multiplier Wilds can land on reels 2 to 5, substituting for any pay symbol and boosting any win that passes through them. Each of the 4 different Multiplier Wilds represents one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, with the color surrounding the stained glass at the top of each reel being tied to a specific wild of the same color. Here’s an overview:

• Pestilence (blue wild linked to reel 2) - reveals multipliers of x2, x3, or x4.
• War (red wild linked to reel 3) - reveals multipliers of x5, x6, x7, x8, or x9.
• Famine (yellow wild linked to reel 4) - reveals multipliers of x10, x15, x20, or x25.
• Death (green wild linked to reel 5) - reveals multipliers of x30, x40, x50, x75, x100, or x200.

When Multiplier Wilds land on the reel they are linked to by color, they expand to cover the full reel if this means a win is created. The multiplier value does not change and the values are added together if more than one multiplier wild partakes in the same win. To be clear, all 4 wild types can land on any of the 4 middle reels, not only the reel they are linked to by color.

Devastation Free Spins Bonus

Landing 3 FS scatter symbols in view on a base game spin triggers the Devestation Bonus Round, awarding 10 free spins. It plays out like the base game but with an increased chance of landing Multiplier Wilds. You win +2 or +4 extra free spins from 2 or 3 FS scatters in view, respectively.

Reckoning Free Spins Bonus

The Reckoning Bonus Round triggers from 4 FS scatters in the base game, also awarding 10 free spins. It plays out like the Devastation Bonus Round, but with the possibility to turn each of the 4 middle reels into persistent Death Reels. Death Reels are activated by landing their linked wild once. This activated wild will then expand regardless of which reel it lands on for the duration of the bonus round. Landing 2 or 3 scatters awards +2 or +4 extra spins, respectively.

Life and Death Bonus Buy (not UK)

Eligible players can take advantage of the Life and Death bonus buy menu, offering the following options:

• BonusHunt FeatureSpins - pay 3x your stake to increase your bonus round chances by 5 times.
• Four Horsemen FeatureSpins - pay 60x your stake to get 3+ guaranteed Multiplier Wilds per spin (this mode cannot trigger the bonus rounds as no scatters will land).
• The Devestation Bonus - cost 100x your stake.
• The Reckoning Bonus - is priced at 200x your stake.

Theme & Graphics

Life and Death Hacksaw plays out in a gothic cathedral with a bleak grayscale color scheme that creates an atmosphere of eerie mystery. Two identical grim reaper-like ghosts are praying on either side of the grid, but it’s unclear if they’re attempting to boost your luck or curse you. The somber soundtrack has religious overtones, with the sparse use of colors underscoring the importance of the Four Horsemen Wilds and highlighting the reels they expand on.

Pros and Cons of Life and Death

Our Verdict

Hacksaw proves once again that they are not afraid to tackle deep and existential themes in their games, with the more philosophical oriented Itero coming to mind as thematically related. Aesthetically, the two games are quite similar as well, but Life and Death is a bit more elaborate and pleasing to the eye. The sense of spaciousness is impressive, and you really feel that you’re taken inside this eerie cathedral to witness whatever strange seance is playing out.

The grayscale color scheme is a perfect match for this game, underscoring the somber tone and allowing the key symbols and features to shine. Speaking of, features like multiplier wilds and expanding multiplier wilds are hardly revolutionary. However, as usual, Hacksaw has come up with a unique spin on things that makes the game feel surprisingly fresh. Another thing I like about Hacksaw is the sense of balance they always deliver in each game.

Many developers tend to neglect the base game or throw in a few ineffective features for good measure, but not Hacksaw. Each game is meticulously crafted in a way that makes each spin feel like it matters. Multiplier wilds will expand out of the blue, awarding potentially massive payouts at any given time. Each colored symbol you see brings a surge of anticipation, as you know it can expand to deliver a solid win.

That being said, having two bonus rounds seems like a drawback in this game, to be honest. It would’ve been better to focus all the oomph into the Reckoning round since it stands out more from the base game. Being able to upgrade the wilds to expand on any of the 4 middle reels is a solid improvement, but unfortunately, this feature does not trigger all that often. The volatility is a tad less forgiving than in many other Hacksaw releases though, and the 15,000x potential is hard to complain about.