Buried by Night – Overview
Hacksaw Gaming released a new Western-themed slot game called Buried by Night.
This one takes us back to the Wild West, where gunslingers, outlaws and revolver duels are the main ingredients. Hacksaw Gaming introduces something called DuelRows, which brings an interesting twist to the gameplay.
The game uses 5 reels that are 4 symbols high and comes with 14 paylines.
Besides low-paying card symbols and medium to high-paying Western-themed items like cowboy hats, revolvers, skulls and sheriff badges, you will also find Wild symbols. Scatter symbols can also appear to trigger the free spins features. And there are also Hot 100 Scatters. Lastly, there are special VS symbols that can expand into entire rows of Wilds.
Buried by Night comes with a maximum payout of 15.000 times your bet and has a high volatility rating.
Features
DuelRows
Special VS symbols can appear on reels 2, 3 and 4. If one of these symbols can become part of a winning combination, it will expand horizontally into a full row of Wild symbols.
The length of the expanded row depends on which reel the VS symbol lands on.
A VS symbol on reel 2 will cover reels 1, 2 and 3. If it lands on reel 3, it will cover all 5 reels. And when it lands on reel 4, it will cover reels 3, 4 and 5.
Once a DuelRow is formed, two gunslingers will face each other in a duel. The winner determines which multiplier will be awarded to the Wild row. These multipliers range from x2 up to x100.
If multiple DuelRows contribute to the same winning combination, their multipliers are added together.
Free Spins Features
When 3 or more regular scatter symbols appear, you will trigger one of the two free spins features. Depending on how many scatters land, you will receive a different bonus.
Trigger Warning – 3 scatter symbols – 10 free spins – This feature uses the same mechanisms as the base game, but increases the chances of landing VS symbols. 2 scatter symbols during the feature awards 2 extra free spins, while 4 scatters award 4 additional free spins.
Shoot to Kill – 4 scatter symbols – 8 free spins – This bonus uses the same mechanisms as Trigger Warning, but adds a DuelSpin Bar. During the feature, landing scatter symbols fills up the bar. Every time you complete 3 steps, you reach a new level and receive additional rewards.
- Level 1: 2 extra free spins, a DuelSpin with at least 1 VS symbol and 3 Nudges.
- Level 2: 2 extra free spins, a DuelSpin with at least 2 VS symbols and 4 Nudges.
- Level 3: 2 extra free spins, a DuelSpin with at least 3 VS symbols and 5 Nudges.
- Level 4: 2 extra free spins, a DuelSpin with at least 4 VS symbols and 6 Nudges.
The DuelSpin takes place immediately after the spin that unlocks it and does not use any of your regular free spins. During the Nudges, all reels move down one position at a time, with wins being evaluated after each movement.
Six Feet Under – 3 Hot 100 symbols – 1 free spin – This is a separate bonus feature that can be triggered by landing 3 special Hot 100 scatter symbols. Instead of giving you a regular series of free spins, this bonus starts with one spin where the reels will continuously receive Nudges until 100 wins have been awarded. Each nudge moves the reels down one position, with wins being evaluated along the way. So you get a guaranteed 100 wins during this feature.
Bonus Buy
Buried by Night offers several FeatureSpins and bonus buy options. For 2x your bet you can activate BonusHunt FeatureSpins, which triples your chances of triggering a bonus. For 60x your bet you can activate Fast Hands FeatureSpins, which guarantees at least one VS symbol on every spin.
You can also buy the Trigger Warning free spins feature for 80x your bet. And for 200x your bet you can buy the better Shoot to Kill bonus, which starts with 8 free spins and includes the DuelSpin Bar. Six Feet Under isn’t available as a bonus buy option.
Verdict
Buried by Night is another Western-themed slot from Hacksaw Gaming, but this time they have changed things up a bit by introducing the DuelRows mechanism.
Instead of having expanding Wild reels, we now get expanding Wild rows. And I think this is a pretty nice change. Especially when you manage to land a VS symbol on the middle reel, which can cover all 5 reels horizontally.
The duels themselves are also a nice touch, as you never know which multiplier you are going to receive. And with multipliers going all the way up to x100, there is certainly some potential here.
The free spins features are also quite interesting. Trigger Warning is the more straightforward bonus, while Shoot to Kill adds the DuelSpin Bar, which can award additional spins, guaranteed VS symbols and Nudges.
And then there is Six Feet Under, which is a rather different bonus feature. Getting 100 guaranteed wins during a single bonus spin is certainly an interesting concept.
Overall, Buried by Night looks like a solid addition to the Hacksaw Gaming portfolio. It combines a familiar Western theme with a different take on the VS mechanism and offers several interesting bonus features.
Let me know your opinion on this new slot game. Do you prefer these new DuelRows, or would you rather see Hacksaw Gaming stick with the traditional DuelReels? Leave a comment in the comments section below.
You can find Buried by Night at casinos offering Hacksaw Gaming slots.
