Time to raise those fists, pinkie and index fingers extended, while we mosh and headbang rocker punters! The 7th installment in Play’n Go’s branded rock slots is finally out. Like they did last time out with Twisted Sister, the developers go for yet another band guilty of taking the rock n’ roll world by storm in the 80s, the mighty Saxon! And although the band needs no introduction to most, especially the staunch metalheads, allow us to just make it part of this review’s curtain-raiser for the sake of those who haven’t heard of the band, as well as those history buffs who are yet to be convinced that this is not a slot about the ancient Saxons.
Rechristened from a zany Son of a Bitch, Saxon are the undisputed NWOBHM pioneers with over twenty studio albums, nine live albums, and more than ten compilation & video albums under the belt. The timeless metal act has had too many hits to mention and is surprisingly still in the game 40+ years after inception, releasing the latest album only about two years ago. As for the band’s members, there have been some changes of the years, with the lead singer, Peter Rodney, and guitarist Paul Quinn the only remaining members of the original Saxon.
Now that everyone’s up to speed on Saxon, let’s fire up the slot named after them to put it through its paces.
Saxon is a slot from Play’n Go that is based upon the British band of the same name and it takes players back to the 1980s. It is a 5 reel slot with 3 rows and 10 fixed paylines with the reels set in a bar lined. Play’n GO has released its latest game – a 5-reel slot themed around 1980’s British heavy metal band Saxon. Saxon are regarded as one of the era’s most influential metal bands, helping shape later rockers like Metallica and Megadeth. Those playing the Saxon slot can listen to a selection of authentic tracks while they spin. Saxon is a music-theme video slot from Play’n Go with 5 reels, 3 rows, and 10 paylines. The reel structure does not “sell” the slots for real cash. But, it’s what goes on in and between the reels that matter. Right off the bat, Saxon is not for everyone.
Music Slot Specialist Play’n Go rocks on with one of the most influential metal trailblazers that influenced the likes of Metallica and Slayer to bring you, Saxon! Play it for real money here or enjoy a free demo below:
At first glance, Saxon might look like it’s about to join the weaker slots in Play’n Go’s Rock Series, but unbounded multipliers collaborate with a decent paytable to push the math model to the limit thus ensuring it’s not the case. Before doing the potential reveal to see how it compares to the other slots in the category, let’s give every aspect of the game a thorough look-over, as we always do.
Saxon opens up to a typical 5X3 playing area set in front of a front bar, where players line up winners on ten paylines. The developers might have figured that a stage setting is becoming clichéd, and it worked out well, making it feel like you are playing inside a pub blasting heavy metal anthems from Saxon. And quite exciting, you can switch between different songs or put your favorite one on repeat with the music button available on the UI.
As for the Graphics, they are heavy as usual, with the recurrent bike art probably being a reference to Motorcycle Man from the Album Wheels of Steel. Underneath all the art, players are greeted by stats worth moshing to, starting with a slightly above-average default RTP of 96.24%. The volatility, on the other hand, is rated high, just as you would expect from a slot portraying a hardcore theme.
Browse the menu pages and you will come across a paytable brandishing a jacket adorned with band’s logo patch, a piece of Saxon album art we saw in The Eagle has Landed among other albums, a crusader helmet as a nod to Saxon’s 1979 album going by the band’s name, and a bunch of blackjack icon fillers. There are no disappointments when it comes to the values as rewards of up to 30X on a single line are possible with the premium regular payer.
The developers combined elements from the 1979 Saxon Album art with the band’s logo to create wilds that occupy entire reels. These are much more effective than 1X1 wilds when it comes to substituting for all the regular payers to help complete winning combinations. Furthermore, wilds can pay rewards of up to 50X.
The win multiplier is boosted by one whenever you land a full stack of identical symbols. Things are even better when a wild appears since the win multiplier is boosted by two. That said, the highest multiplier players can achieve in the base game is 11X with wilds occupying all five reels to unlock a gross winnings multiplier of 5500X (11X50 on 10 paylines). Is that the best this slot can do? Well, no. Things get even better in the bonus round!
Saxon’s lead singer and a bike represent the scatters. A sighting of these two on the grid award anywhere from five to fifteen free spins, where the win multipliers after stacks of identical symbols and wilds do not reset. With it being possible to retrigger the free spins, huge win multiplier boosters are possible here, further boosting this game’s potential.
Were it not for the win booster multipliers, Saxon would have been easy to disregard as another slot without much to offer. That is more so when it comes to the bonus round, where the multipliers are basically limitless, elevating this slot’s potential to about ten thousand times the players bet. It still doesn’t go over Testament’s mind-blowing potential of 20000X, but it mercilessly trumps over the rest, including Twisted Sister, Annihilator, Demon, Sabaton, and Black Mamba. That alone is enough reason for all serious wagerers to give it a good go.