Stormborn Slot Review
Born of a God’s wager and forged with fire by dwarven masters, the Hammer of Storms seeks a new wielder. Legend’s whisper of a God who possesses a power beyond measure, but who will be worthy of the hammer Mjolnir?
Stormborn from Hacksaw Gaming places us into treacherous weather conditions in this 5-reel Video Slot, where the myth of the Mjolinir is brought to life. It’s here you will find a thrilling Respin feature and an incredible selection of Free Spins modes.
Hacksaw Gaming has us stepping back into ancient civilisation in their latest inspirational Norse Mythology-themed slot release. Mythology slots offer some of the best and immersive content in the iGaming industry, drawing inspiration from legendary Gods.
Games like Thunderstruck: Wild Lightning and Viking Runecraft: Apocalypse are just two in a long line of releases that explore this theme in great depth, offering immersive gameplay and creative artistry, but does Stormborn have what it takes to top them? Let’s find out…
Base Game & Features
Stormborn is a high volatility release from Hacksaw Gaming, consisting of 5 reels, 4 rows, and 14 fixed pay lines. When 3 or more symbols land on reels 1-5, they create a winning combination, so long as they are part of an active pay line.
The 10 paytable symbols, displayed as Viking Icons and A, K, Q, J, & 10 card suits, award payouts between 0.1x and 10x your bet, where applicable. Additionally, Wild symbols appear on all reels, substituting for all symbols when completing a winning combination.
Lastly, FS Scatters are responsible for triggering multiple Free Spins modes when enough of them land in view. Please note that FS Scatters do not appear in any Thunder Respin sequence.
Thunder Respins
During gameplay, when at least 5 Coin symbols (Bronze, Silver, or Gold) land within a single spin, the Thudner Respins Feature is triggered. Once active, the Respin sequence will only contain Coin, Collect Chest, & Dead symbols.
During this feature, each Coin & Collector Chest that appears will remain sticky on the reels, while Dead symbols act as non-paying instances with no other effect. As the reels spin, continue to land Coin symbols of any kind for a new Respin to be granted.
When no new Coin or Collect Chest symbols hit, the Thunder Respin feature ends. Once complete, all Coin symbols available are given a random Cash Prize as follows:
- Bronze Coins: 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x
- Silver Coins: 5x, 10x, 15x, 20x
- Gold Coins: 25x, 50x, 75x, 100x, 250x, 500x
The Collector Chest symbol may land with or without a Multiplier (between x1 and x20). Once all Coin symbols reveal their respective prizes, the Collector Chest will gather them all and apply them to itself. Please note that multiple Collector Chests will collect the same Coin Prizes.
The final win is the total prize of all collected Coin symbols, multiplied by the current Collector Chest Multiplier.
Stormborn Free Spins
Landing 3 or 4 FS Scatters in the base game triggers the Free Spins feature, which takes players to a Bonus Choice Menu, where the following modes are available:
- 3 Scatters: Allows players to choose between Stormbreaker (3 Free Spins) & Perfect Storm Free Spins (10 Free Spins) modes
- 4 Scatters: Allows players to choose between Legacy of Lightning (3 Free Spins) & Hammer of the Heavens Free Spins (10 Free Spins) modes
Stormbreaker
During this mode, each spin triggers a new Thunder Respin sequence. Throughout Thunder Respins, a minimum of 2 Coins & 1 Collector Chest symbol is guaranteed to land in view.
Perfect Storm
In this mode, all Wild symbols that appear on the reels will remain sticky until the end of the feature. When a Wild symbol hits, it will reveal a random Multiplier between x1 and x100, which is applied to all wins that pass through it.
If 4 Wild symbols cover an entire reel, they will instantly transform into a full Wild God Reel with a random Multiplier. The total multiplier equals the sum of each Wild Multiplier that participated in the Wild God Reel.
If a winning combination includes more than 1 Wild God Reel, their Multipliers will be added together from left to right, and applied to the total win amount. Please note that Wild God Reels stick to the reels and remain there until the end of the feature.
Finally, landing 2 or 3 FS Scatters awards an additional +2 and +4 Free Spins, respectively.
Legacy of Lightning
This option maintains the same mechanics found in the Stormbreaker Free Spins mode. Throughout Thunder Respins, a minimum of 4 Coins & 1 Collector Chest is guaranteed to land on the grid.
Furthermore, landing a Mjolnir symbol in a Thunder Respin will multiply a random number of Coin symbols between x2 and x20. Lastly, the Collector Chest symbol will only activate after the Mjolnir symbol is complete.
Hammer of the Heavens
During this feature, the mechanics found in the Perfect Storm Free Spins mode are carried over. In addition, each Mjolnir symbol that hits will reveal a random Multiplier of x2, x3, x4, x5, x10, x15, or x20, which is applied to certain Wild symbols or expanded Wild God Reels.
When the current spin ends, all Wild symbols will revert to their original state for the next spin. Finally, landing 2 or 3 FS Scatters will award a further +2 and +4 Free Spins, respectively.
Hidden Bonus: Blessings of the Bifrost
Alternatively, landing 5 FS Scatters in the base game triggers the hidden bonus, Blessings of the Bifrost, awarding 5 Free Spins.
This mode continues to utilise the mechanics from Legacy of Lightning, while guaranteeing at least 5 Coins, 1 Collector Chest, & 1 Mjolnir symbol to land within each Thunder Respin sequence.
Featurespins & Bonus Buy
Players may purchase one of the following Featurespins & Bonus Buy options:
- Bonushunt Featurespins: Each spin is 5 times more likely to trigger a Free Spins mode for 3x your bet per spin (96.28%-96.34%)
- Godly Featurespins: Each spin guarantees at least 3 Coins & 1 Collector Chest symbol on the reels for 50x your bet (96.26%)
- Heir of Thunder: This option grants players the choice between Stormbreaker & Perfect Storm Free Spins modes for 100x your bet (96.29%-96.37%)
- Mighty Mjolnir: This option guarantees a choice between Legacy of Lightning & Hammer of the Heavens Free Spins modes for 200x your bet (96.28%-96.32%)
All of the above options utilise a ‘very high‘ volatility rating, except Heir of Thunder and Mighty Mjolnir, which reveal a ‘high/extreme‘ volatility rating.
Stormborn has a max win potential of 15,000x your bet. If a single mode exceeds this, the current mode ends, and the player returns to the base game with the qualifying amount.
Our Honest Verdict
Stormborn from Hacksaw Gaming really is the calm before the storm. When you first load into the game, you’re met with great artistry, impressive graphics, and a variety of exciting sound effects, including the bellowing of a Viking Horn.
Hacksaw Gaming challenges us to brave treacherous conditions and sub-zero temperatures for a chance to secure the game’s 15,000x maximum win potential. Throughout the base game, players can participate in the Thunder Respins Feature, which trades regular paytable symbols for Coin Prizes & Collector Chests.
Although this feature shares the same characteristics as the Hold & Win mechanic, Hacksaw Gaming has modified it so that it remains organic. One noticeable difference is the lack of refilling Lives, which are traded for a single Respin that will only continue so long as Coin Prizes & Collector Chests appear.
While it may feel like you’ve drawn the short straw, the available Multipliers in the Thunder Respins feature outdo any Hold & Win feature we’ve come across recently – it wouldn’t be a Hacksaw release without a few Multipliers now, would it?
Another staple Hacksaw tradition is a game with multiple Free Spins modes. To our surprise, Stormborn introduces us to 5 Free Spins modes, with the first 4 paired to 3 & 4 Scatter triggers, respectively.
The fifth mode is what Hacksaw like to classify as a ‘hidden bonus’, which happens to be the best of the bunch, but it comes at a cost of landing 5 Scatters in a single session. Unfortunately, the hidden bonus is not available for purchase via the Bonus Buy tab, either, so there’s no shortcut even for non-UK players.
Two of the four Free Spins modes award an enhanced Thunder Respins feature, while the other 2 guarantee 10 Free Spins and sticky Wild symbols. Alternatively, the hidden bonus guarantees several promising enhancements of the Legacy of Lightning Free Spins mode.
All in all, Stromborn is a top-tier addition to Hacksaw Gaming’s innovative portfolio, and one that will appeal to players with a love for both Free Spins and the Hold & Win mechanic.
*The images found in this slot review are currently from Demo Play. On average, our reviews are written prior to the initial release date and before real play is available.
