Rising Samurai: Hold & Win Slot Review 2022

Release your inner zen Warrior and embrace the way of the Samurai, in iSoftBet’s latest Hold & Win release, Rising Samurai: Hold & Win!

It’s no secret that iSofetBet has a particular soft spot for the Hold & Win mechanic, with pretty much every new release having this feature. The Hold & Win feature works well in Gold Digger Megaways but will it be a perfect fit for Rising Samurai?

iSoftBet has chosen safety over special in terms of theme, sticking to a common and overused Asian theme rather than pushing the boat out. It’s fair to say that most Providers has given this type of theme a go at some point in their slots, but the one that truly grabs our attention is Bushido Ways from Nolimit City. Although no Provider has managed to outdo Nolimit City just yet, Hacksaw Gaming has Warrior Ways due to release at the end of March, and it’s pretty impressive.

Will Rising Samurai be the Hold & Win slot we’ve been waiting for? Let’s play on and find out!

Rising Samurai: Hold & Win Betting and Symbols

Rising Samurai: Hold & Win has quite the selection of betting options for players to choose from. For those who prefer a lower stake, the minimum bet available is £/€0.20 per spin. For those who prefer a higher stake, the maximum bet available is £/€200 per spin, with plenty of other options in between the two.

The highest paying regular symbol in Rising Samurai: Hold & Win is the Red Warrior, followed by the Purple, Blue and Green Warriors. Lower paying symbols are standard Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten.

Wild symbols substitute for all symbols except Scatters and Coin symbols.

Rising Samurai: Hold & Win Base Game and Features

Rising Samurai: Hold & Win is a 5 reel slot with 576-3,087 ways to win. In order to form a winning combination, you will need to connect 3 or more of the same symbol types from left to right, starting from the left-most reel.

Like most iSoftBet titles, Rising Samurai: Hold & Win has 2 gripping features for players to enjoy. The Katana Modifier and the Hold & Win feature may not be to everyone’s taste, but it certainly keeps the base game interesting whilst you wait for Free Spins to land. More on these below.

Katana Modifier

During any random spin in the base game, the Katana Modifier can randomly appear.

Once this happens, the Katana Modifier will deliver one of the following Modifiers.

• A winning spin.
• The Hold & Win bonus round.
• The Free Spins round.

Hold & Win Feature

Landing 5 or more Coin symbols in any position on the reels, triggers the Hold & Win feature, awarding 3 Respins.

During the Hold & Win round, all Coin symbols that land will become Sticky and will remain in their fixed position for the duration of the round, resetting the Respins meter back to 3. Any Boosters that may land do not stay on the reels but will reset the Respins meter.

Each Coin symbol comes equipped with its own Cash Value of either 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x, 8x and 10x. Keep an eye out for Jackpot Coins which have a special Cash Prize attached to them.

• Mini Coin – Awards 25x your current bet.
• Major Coin – Awards 50x your current bet.
• Maxi Coin – Awards 100x your current bet.
• Grand Coin – Awards 250x your current bet.

Samurai Boosters

During both the Hold & Win feature and Free Spins round, special Samurai Booster Coins can land randomly on the reels.

These special symbols have their own unique Modifier that adds a little excitment to the Hold & Win feature.

• Arrow Coin – Unlocks and extra row on reels 2, 3 and 4. This symbol can only land on reel 1.
• X Coin – Increases the win Multiplier by +1. This symbol only presents itself on reel 5.

Once 3 of the same Samurai Booster symbols land on the reel, you will be unable to land this Booster again on its active reel.

Rising Samurai: Hold & Win Free Spins

Landing 3, 4 or 5 Scatters in any position on the reels, triggers the Free Spins round, awarding 10, 12 and 15 Free Spins respectively.

Samurai Boosters from the Hold & Win feature are also active during the Free Spins round. The expanding Booster can only expand up to 3 rows on reels 2, 3 and 4, unlocking the reels full potential of 3,087 ways to win. The maximum multiplier that can be achieved by the Multiplier Booster is x4.

Once 3 of the same Booster has been awarded, that partiuclar Booster is no longer active.

The Free Spins round cannot be retriggered.

Rising Samurai: Hold & Win: Our Verdict

If you’re looking for a slot that is less dramatic and more relaxing, then Rising Samurai: Hold & Win is ideal. We won’t lie, we didn’t particularly have high hopes for this slot considering it falls prey to the Hold & Win mechanic, and yet here we are writing a somewhat disappointing verdict. It seems the more Hold & Win slots iSoftBet pump out, the worse for wear they are unfortunately, so its becoming difficult to get excited about a new iSoftBet slot now’a days.

Rising Samurai: Hold & Win isn’t all terrible though, we can appreciate the efforts iSoftBet has put into the design and theme, but its not quite the eye candy we see in Bushido Ways from Nolimit City. The Hold & Win feature seen here is nothing out of the ordinary in our opinion and probably is the least thrilling of the bunch. The Samurai Boosters are a great edition to the Hold & Win round, but the Modifiers they offer are pretty standard.

The RTP for Rising Samurai: Hold & Win sits below average at 95.98%, but that’s what we would expect to see in a slot that has Medium Volatility. The maximum win capacity looks a lot more hopeful at 16,215x, but with gameplay being slightly tedious, this may not be worth staying for.

For players who enjoy a Hold & Win slot, you will probably enjoy what’s on offer here, but for those looking for something more, you won’t find it here unfortunately.