Rad Maxx

Rad Maxx Review

Just hearing the title, you may think Rad Maxx is a dystopian post-apocalyptic desert adventure, but in reality, it’s a follow-up to Hacksaw Gaming’s RIP City. While the previous release gave both Ro$$ the cat and Maxx the mouse equal screen time, Rad Maxx is mostly focused on the drinking and chain-smoking mouse. The monochrome, cartoon-style visuals are similar, and Rad Maxx also plays out on a 5x5 grid set in a back alley. The soundtrack is even more energetic in this follow-up, and hits the spot perfectly for this game.

To start with the basics, you can play with bet levels between €0.1 and €100 per spin, catering to most player types. The number of win ways is 76, and you win by landing matching symbols starting from the leftmost reel towards the right. At least that’s the default setup in Rad Maxx. However, landing the Wild Plus symbol can award up to 360 wins, meaning you can win from all 4 directions. Maxx is the top-tier symbol, followed by a rotten fish, a banana, a pizza slice, and an apple core. These premium symbols award between 5x and 10x your stake for 5 of a kind wins.

Rad Maxx Slot - Reels Screen

Ro$$ the cat serves as the multiplier wild symbol in Rad Maxx slot, landing with values of up to x20 and multiplying together if more than one cat wild is involved in the same win. The multiplier wilds are sticky in the bonus round, with added benefits like guaranteed wild plus symbols and guaranteed 360 wins in the two bonus round tiers above the regular feature. All 3 features are triggered from the base game, but the top-tier bonus round cannot be purchased via the Bonus Buy menu.

With a hit rate of 40 %, you can expect to win something on almost every other spin on average, which is a big difference from the 18 % you get in RIP City. The volatility is dialed up a notch, though, to 4 out of 5 in this game. The Rad Maxx top-tier RTP of 96.32 % is a bit above average, but keep in mind that this game also has the possibility of lower RTP settings. The max win of 12,500x your stake has not been changed, and you can take the Rad Maxx demo for a spin at the top of this page after reading our full review.

Rad Maxx Features

Get ready for 360 wins and plenty of wild multiplier action in Rad Maxx Hacksaw, and we know the arrows can be a bit confusing at first. That’s why we explain everything below, so you can hit the ground running with no confusion when you start playing this game. Let’s dive in!

Crazy Cat Multiplier Wilds

The Crazy Cat Multiplier Wild symbols land with values between x2 and x20, boosting any win they partake in accordingly. If you land more than one Crazy Cat Multiplier Wild in the same winning combo, the multiplier values are multiplied together before boosting the win.

Pay Direction Arrows and Wild Plus Symbols

You’ll see the 4 Pay Direction Arrows up in the right corner outside the game area, with highlighted arrows indicating the direction of the winning paylines. The left arrow is therefore always highlighted and active, since this is the default win direction. The Wild Plus symbol not only substitutes for pay symbols to help complete wins, but also activates 1 to 3 Pay Direction Arrows randomly. This can lead to extra wins, and the arrows reset between spins.

Mad Maxx Free Spins Bonus

The Mad Maxx Bonus Round triggers from 3 FS scatters in view on the same base game spin, awarding 10 free spins. It plays out similarly to the base game, but you can expect the Wild Plus symbol to land more frequently. Also, the Crazy Cat Multiplier Wilds are sticky for the duration of the bonus round. Landing 2 or 3 FS scatters awards +2 or +4 extra free spins, respectively.

Maxximice Free Spins Bonus

Landing 4 FS scatters triggers the Maxximice Bonus Round, with 10 free spins granted. It plays out like the Mad Maxx Bonus Round, but you’re now guaranteed a Wild Plus symbol on each free spin. You can win extra spins the same way as in the Mad Maxx feature.

To The Maxx Free Spins Bonus

You need 5 FS scatters in sight on the same base game spin to trigger the To The Maxx Bonus Round, with 10 free spins being the starting value also here. It plays out like the Mad Maxx feature, but you’ll benefit from all 4 Pay Direction Arrows being active on each spin.

Rad Maxx Bonus Buy (not UK)

Eligible players can check out the Bonus Buy menu via the yellow Buy Bonus button down to the left. It comes with the following options in Rad Maxx slot:

• BonusHunt FeatureSpins - pay 3x your stake to boost your bonus round chances by 5 times.
• Feline Frenzy FeatureSpins - pay 50x your stake to get at least 1 Wild Plus symbol and 3 Crazy Cat Multiplier Wilds on the spin that follows.
• Mad Maxx FS Bonus - is priced at 100x your stake.
• Maxximice FS Bonus - costs 200x your stake.

Theme & Graphics

Rad Maxx is a cartoon-style slot game with a monochrome color scheme punctuated by splashes of colors here and there, including the most important symbols. You’re reunited with the charming animal character duo, Maxx and Ro$$, that you may remember from RIP City. The game plays out in a back alley with neon-green graffiti, and Maxx the Mouse reacts to anything exciting happening. The cat-and-mouse rivalry is accompanied by a slapstick-inspired soundtrack, keeping the atmosphere lively and lighthearted all the way.

Pros and Cons of Rad Maxx

Our Verdict

Hacksaw has been flirting with rotating grids in several previous releases, like Strength of Hercules and Twisted Lab RotoGrid, but the Win Direction system in Rad Maxx is a bit more difficult to grasp at first. To clear up any confusion, the default win ways run from left to right, with the Wild Plus symbol activating win ways that go from top to bottom, right to left, and bottom to top. Don’t worry, you will get used to it after a while.

Unlike in the predecessor, Ro$$ the cat is only present as a symbol on the reels in Rad Maxx, and the dynamic humor between the two characters has been toned down. Maxx the mouse is mostly standing there with his energy drink (or whatever it is) and his cigarettes (one hanging from his mouth and one between his fingers), looking mean. He reacts when something exciting happens, though, but in my opinion, the soundtrack steals the show in this release. It’s more upbeat than in RIP City, although similar enough to feel familiar.

While expanding multiplier wilds of up to x200 took center stage in RIP City, you get regular-sized multiplier wilds of up to x20 in Rad Maxx. These multiply together instead of combining, though, which helps, and we should mention that the 12,500x potential is achievable in all stages of the game. This is a hallmark of Hacksaw slots, where sudden massive wins tend to come out of the blue thanks to some kind of multiplier feature. However, in Rad Maxx, it kind of feels like the bonus round is needed for truly massive payouts.

As usual, the more triggering FS scatters you land, the better results you can expect from the bonus round. It’s a bit strange that the top-tier feature is not included in the bonus buy menu, though, and needless to say, it doesn’t come along all that often. With sticky multiplier wilds and wins from up to all 4 directions, things can heat up quickly. Still, If I had to choose, I would probably prefer RIP City over Rad Maxx. That being said, Rad Maxx is an enjoyable game, and we do appreciate that Hacksaw keeps coming up with innovations.