Samurai’s Katana

Samurai's Katana: Slot Overview

Samurai might have walked the earth from the 12th century till they were abolished in the 1870s, but gamblers get a chance to pretend this mighty warrior caste has been revived while playing Push Gaming's slot Samurai's Katana. Instead of revisiting the feudal Japan of yore, Samurai's Katana inhabits instead a world of cyberpunk. And speaking of revisiting, Samurai's Katana also contains nods to Push Gaming's illustrious past, most notably the way it revives the Wild Stack action contained in a game like Tiki Tumble.

Samurai's Katana is a modernised cyberpunk version. Not only does it bulge with extra features and gambling possibilities, but its game world is that of contemporary Japan or even Japan of the near future. Pink is the predominant colour, perhaps reflecting the neon lighting found in the city, where a gaming grid sits before a Torii amidst graffitied shopfronts and towering skyscrapers. There's a blend of old and new happening here, though mostly new, where the samurai of tomorrow are able to hack corporate IT rather than enemy bodies and slice their way into bank accounts rather than limbs. 'The sky above the port was the colour of television, tuned to a dead channel.' William Gibson might have been describing Chiba City, but the quote fits Samurai's Katana nicely, too.

By clicking the coins icon, players can pick their preferred stake from options ranging from 10 c to $/€100 per spin - no Push Bet this time, sorry folks. Hitting spin sets the game grid in motion, which consists of 5 reels holding 4 symbols each and 20 paylines. Regular line wins pay left to right from the leftmost reel, but Coins pay both ways. More details below. Push Gaming has rated Samurai's Katana's volatility as high, while the default RTP is 96.32% (when not using the gamble feature, 95.99% when using it).

Sim card-styled J-A royals are Samurai's Katana's low pays, awarding 1 times the bet when 5 matching card ranks create a win. Then we've got a gun, a roller shoe, a lady character, and a male as the 4 highs. Hitting a line of 5 identical high pays awards 4 to 50 times the stake. The regular wild symbols and Wild Stacks substitute for all regular pay symbols. A line of 5 winning wilds pays 60 times your stake.

Samurai's Katana: Slot Features

Slicing and dicing, Samurai's Katana's features are Wilds Stacks, Instant Prize symbols, Nudging Wilds, a gamble feature, free spins, and feature buys.

Wild Stacks & Nudging Wilds

Wild Stacks are the wild symbols landing fully stacked on the reels. In the base game, wilds and Wild Stacks are available on the three center reels; however, in free spins, they can land on any reel. Nudging Wilds, meanwhile, are triggered when a Wild Stack lands on the grid. After landing on the reel, the Wild Stack nudges one position downwards while the other reels spin as usual. This repeats until all the Wild Stack symbols have been removed from the reels.

Instant Prize Symbol

Instant Prize symbols are bet multipliers with values of 1x to 1,000x the bet. They land on the leftmost and rightmost reels in the base game and in free spins. Instant Prizes pay when at least 2 wild symbols land anywhere on adjacent consecutive reels. Matching combinations can be created both ways – left to right and right to left.

Scatter Symbol and Gamble Scatter Symbol

The scatter symbol lands only on the leftmost reel, and the gamble scatter symbol only on the rightmost reel. When the gamble scatter lands, it spins through all the potential free spins prizes on its position.

Gamble Feature

Landing the scatter symbol and the gamble scatter symbol at the same time triggers the gamble feature. During this feature, the prize awarded by the gamble scatter can be gambled (or collected) for a chance to win a higher free spins prize or Wild Stacks. Possible prizes are x3 to x100 starting multipliers in the free spins round or 1-3 Wild Stacks. Won Wild Stacks are played out in the base game. Landing a no-prize segment when gambling means players get nothing.

Free Spins

When a free spins prize is landed by the gamble scatter, free spins are won. The feature starts with reels 2 and 4 fully stacked with wilds and a starting multiplier corresponding to the awarded free spins prize. For each spin, the Wild Stacks nudge down 1 position. Each nudge fills the multiplier level meter – it requires 5 nudges to get to the next level. During the round, a multiplier applies to all wins regardless of pay or instant prize symbol wins. The Level 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 multiplier value is x1, x3, x5, x10, x25, or x100, respectively. Any additional wilds that land also nudge by 1. The last nudge down does not increase the multiplier.

Bonus Buy

From the feature buy menu, it is possible to get these:

• 2 Wilds Stacks – 18.8x the bet.
• 3 Wilds Stacks – 83x the bet.
• Random Wild Stacks – 30x the bet.
• Free spins with a starting x1 Multiplier – 51x the bet.
• Free spins with a starting x3 Multiplier – 118.5x the bet.
• Free spins with a starting x10 Multiplier – 488.9x the bet.
• Free spins with a starting random multiplier - 100x the bet.

Samurai's Katana: Slot Verdict

Bit of a Push Gaming reminisce this one. Samurai's Katana overflows with bits and pieces that are recognisable from previous releases from this provider. The main one is Tiki Tumble, with Wild Stacks nudging downwards on following spins. It's Razor Shark-ish, too, except these stacks are wilds rather than mystery symbols. Still, players get a touch of the mystery symbol reveal roller coaster courtesy of the gamble scatter/gamble feature as they spin through treasure troves of possible prizes or losses. Another very popular Push Gaming device is instant prize coins, which consistently show up in the studio's work. Here, they don't really do a lot aside from being awarded when matching with at least 2 wild symbols, or spin-off. The upper values are decent, but other than that, they don't interact with other features much, and they can be a pain to link up. Since Wild Stacks in free spins begin on reels 2 and 4, for example, they aren't able to automatically award cash if a Coin hits.

All in all, Samurai's Katana isn't one of Push Gaming's more imaginative slots, mechanically speaking. It's more a revival of the past that takes some cool components which have been used before and gives them another chance to entertain players all over again. Don't expect to be dazzled into submission, like, say, Razor Returns or anything like that. Samurai's Katana is a gambler's delight, though, what with all of the opportunities dangling about the place to have a punt, try to improve a free spins award, and what have you. Cruel at times when they leave you empty-handed, but that's gambling. Get it swiping, and Samurai's Katana can slice out wins all the way up to 10,000x the bet.

Just pondering in words here, has Push Gaming reached the level of maturation where it's looking backwards as much as it's looking forward? Reminiscing about the good old days, reliving them in the mind (and on the reels), as well as glancing sideways to see what others are doing for inspiration or motivation to keep pushing forward? Maybe, maybe not, but Samurai's Katana felt like a game, a decent game, that's looking backwards as much as it's looking forwards, a sensation reinforced by the bringing samurai back concept.