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Sword of Shoguns Review

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The Sword of Shoguns is a Japanese history-inspired samurai-themed slot with expanding symbols and reels akin to Megaways. The game was released by Thunderkick in 2023 and it features 6 reels with up to 5040 winning ways. Bonus mechanics include expanding symbols, the buy feature, and sword symbols which are both wilds and scatters. You can score up to 25200x the bet in this game and it is available on both desktop and mobile devices.

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INTRODUCTION

Thunderkick is back with a samurai-themed game titled the Sword of Shoguns slot. The game is steeped in a beautiful ancient Japanese aesthetic with Shinto shrines, Sakura cherry blossom trees, and samurai symbols. Another element players will notice are the Megaways-inspired reels with varying rows. This is where you can score on up to 5040 winning ways.

Furthermore, in terms of extra mechanics, the game takes a simple but effective approach. The base game is focused on the sword symbol that is both a wild and a scatter. Then, once you trigger free spins you can experience numerous expanding symbols for increased winning chances. You can win up to 25200x the bet in this slot with 96.15% RTP but note that the volatility is very high. Let us discuss these extra features and payout statistics in this Sword of Shoguns slot review and learn more about the game.

sword of shoguns Media Gallery

HOW TO PLAY SWORD OF SHOGUNS

As we mentioned, the base game of the Sword of Shoguns slot by Thunderkick is quite simple. You will be attempting to form a winning way of at least 3 identical symbols on adjacent reels. The trick is that the reels must be consecutive and start from the leftmost reel but the vertical positions of symbols do not matter.

There are 6 reels in total with varying amounts of rows because row sizes vary. This reminds us of Megaways but there are no cascading wins and not as many winning ways. Speaking of which the number of pay ways is up to 5040. All unique winning ways reward a payout and multiple ways are combined.

As for the regular symbols, there are 11 of them in total. The 6 low-paying ones appear as card symbols 9, 10, A, J, Q, and K. Furthermore, the high-paying symbols appear as a samurai sword, fan, armor, helmet and the samurai himself as the highest-winning symbol. The regular paying samurai sword symbol is not to be confused with the Sword wild and scatter.

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Casino Bloke Best tips for Sword of Shoguns

  • 1The Sword symbol acts as both a wild and a scatter in Sword of Shoguns
  • 2Three Sword symbols trigger 5 to 12 free spins and additional three Sword symbols retrigger them up to 7 extra spins

EXTRA FEATURES

Quality over quantity is the design philosophy in the Sword of Shoguns slot by Thunderkick. This means that there are not that many extra features, especially in the bonus game. However, the ones present can help the player achieve more frequent and higher-paying wins. Here are the bonus mechanics:

  1. Sword Symbol – This symbol acts as both a scatter for triggering free spins and a wild for replacing regular symbols for a win. Note that the Sword symbol does not substitute for Expanding symbols in the free spins mode.
  2. Random Reel Heights – The game has random reel heights of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 symbols which appear in random order on each spin.
  3. Free Spins – Land 3 Sword symbols to trigger anywhere from 5 to 12 free spins. In the free spins, they can be retriggered by landing another set of 3 scatters and thus score 3 to 7 more. The reel heights in the spin that triggers the free spins will be the reel configuration for the bonus mode.
  4. Expanding Symbols – During the bonus mode, a random symbol is selected to become an Expanding symbol for the rest of the free spins. The selected symbol is shown in the meter below the reels. Up to 4 Expanding symbols can be won during the bonus game. Expanding symbols only expand if the expansion would form a win. The Sword symbol is never eligible to expand.

Note that all the free spins are played with your current bet level that triggered them.

PAYOUTS

As with any slot before playing, we must first place a bet to score a payout. The wagering range for the regular bets is €0.1 to €100. The maximum you can win in the Sword of Shoguns slot is 25200x the bet. Both of these values provide a high-rolling experience that is extremely volatile. Expect lower hit rates but grander payouts on average. The RTP of the game is 96.15% which is just above the 96.00% industry average.

Additionally, the player can also opt for an alternative betting option by purchasing the free spins. This style of betting has the player pay 120x their bet for potentially much grander payouts. The maximum win still remains.

Lastly, regular symbol payouts vary based on the low-win and high-win symbols. The most you can win by landing the maximum 6 identical symbols in a winning way is 1x to 1.3x the bet for low-wins. High-win symbols can get you 2x to 5x the bet in the same circumstances. We must note that these values are quite low and you would need to trigger multiple winning ways per single spin to compensate.

what we like

  • Up to 4 expanding symbols in the free spins
  • The wilds also count as scatters
  • Up to 19 free spins in total to be triggered

what we don’t like

  • Low symbol payouts

SWORD OF SHOGUNS (THUNDERKICK) – CASINO BLOKE’S VERDICT

Thunderkick has brought us a visually stunning release decorated with beautiful Japanese motifs. The game’s graphics and soundtrack are excellent, but does the game hold up mechanically? In truth, we are sad to see a lack of extra features in the base game besides the varying rows and wilds. We would have liked to see additional ways to score and not just the expanding symbols in the free spins.

That said, the free spins are quite powerful and can payout a lot. Especially when you start chaining expanding symbol wins and re-triggering extra spins with scatter wilds. Overall, the Sword of Shoguns slot is nothing revolutionary but it is still a decent game if you like the slot’s aesthetic and a very high volatility playstyle.

Sword of Shoguns total score:

Total Score Overall
83%

Game developed by:

Release year:2023

Available on:Desktop, Mobile

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