Stormforged (Hacksaw Gaming) Slot Review

Stormforged: Slot Overview

We’re pretty sure that everyone knows the exciting stories about the looting vikings that fought off demons from hell while they went out for raids. Okay, admittedly, the story with the demons is a bit far fetched. However, raiding vikings did exist in history. But according to Hacksaw Gaming they had to fend off burning demons from hell in their online slot game Stormforged.

Playing Board

Stormforged is played on 5 reels with 4 rows and 14 set paylines. Yes, we were also confused about 14 paylines, but that’s how it’s designed. Hacksaw themselves give Stormforged a 4/5 volatility rating, making it a highly volatile game. Bet sizes for Stormforged range from 0.10 to 100€ (or equivalent), but can vary depending on where you play.

Winning Symbols

The online slot game from Hacksaw Gaming features 10 different winning symbols, with 4 of them being on the lower end, 3 in the middle and another 3 as higher tier symbols. First of all we will take a look at the lower end of things. For this occasion Hacksaw Gaming went with classic winning symbols from J to A, designed more or less like nordic runes. As for the payouts, these are done pretty quick, J’s and Q’s clock in at 4 times your bet size per full line and K’s and A’s will net you 6 times your bet size.

The mid-tier symbols resemble known equipment and armory of the vikings. That’s why we will find the grey Crossed Swords for 10 times your bet size per full line. Next up is the green Hatchet, already coming in for 15 times your bet size. And the last mid-tier symbol will be the blue Iron Helmet, paying you 20 times your bet size for a full line.

Last but not least we will take a look at the high paying symbols. These are displayed by animals that play some sort of role in the northern mythology. So at first you will find the yellow Goat for 30 times your bet size per full line. Second to last is the purple Raven, clocking in at 40 times your bet size. And finally, the last winning symbol will be the red Wolf, netting you 50 times your bet size for a full line. But be aware, although the wolf is the last winning symbol, it is not our top symbol.

Stormforged: Special Symbols and Stats

One thing you need to know about the online slot provider Hacksaw Gaming, is that they love their Special symbols and interactions with them. So it should come as no surprise that there are plenty of them in Stormforged.

Scatter symbols

In Stormforged you will find 2 different Scatter symbols. The first Scatter symbol is the demon’s head, also known as Surtur. When landing 3 or more of these Scatters in the same spin, you will be able to enter the Surtur’s Vengeance Feature.

The other Scatter symbol is the viking, typically portrayed with an iron helmet, blue eyes and a long beard. You will also need 3 or more Viking Scatters to enter the Warriors of the Storm Feature.

What exactly these features do will be covered in the Feature Overview section of this online slot review.

Wild Symbol

Stormforged also features a Wild symbol, displayed by a stone etched with runes and a big „W“ in the style of nordic runes. Wild symbols will substitute for any winning symbols except Scatters.  Wilds also have their own payout, but only for full lines. If you manage to get a full line of Wilds you will be payed with 100 times your bet size per full line.

If you can’t manage to get full lines of Wild symbols, they will always pay for the next symbol in line, so for example: If you have 4 Wild symbols on a line and the last symbol on the line is a Q, you will be paid a full line of Q’s, instead of a 4 of a kind of the top symbol.

Treasure Chests

On your journey through the icy winds of the north, you will come across Treasure Chests. These Treasure Chests can be very lucrative, given that they can contain random money values anywhere between 5 times and 2,500 times your bet size. However, opening them up requires another mechanic that we will cover next. Treasure Chests also have their own payout, for a full line of Treasure Chests you will get 4 times your bet size. A pretty low payout, considering that a full line of Treasure Chests is very unlikely to get.

Hand of Surtur

On some occasions you will see a demon hand. This hand belongs to Surtur, the demon from hell. The Hand of Surtur plays a pivotal role in the base game. What exactly it does will be covered in the Feature Overview, since there are many important game mechanics that are tied to this Special symbol.

Feature Exclusive Symbols

Stormforged also features Special symbols that are exclusive to Bonus Features. One of these symbols is the Ice Brand symbol, displayed by an icy nordic rune. This symbol is basically the same like the Hand of Surtur, only that it is exclusive to the Surtur’s Vengeance Feature.

The other exclusive Special symbol is the Hammer of Thor. This symbol can only be found in the Warriors of the Storm Feature and plays a major role in it.

Stats

After all these Special symbols it is time to look at some stats of Stormforged. The game comes with a base RTP of 96.41%, very solid. The maximum win potential of Stormforged is capped at 12,500 times your base bet size, which is pretty much around the usual win cap for Hacksaw Gaming. And the last thing we can tell you: On average you have a hit chance of 24%, meaning that you will get a win round about every 4th spin.

Stormforged: Feature Overview

Alright, let’s see what thrill and excitement awaits us in the features of Stormforged.

• Portals to Muspelheim

The Portals to Muspelheim are the corresponding features linked to the Hand of Surtur and the Ice Brand symbols. When a Hand of Surtur/Ice Brand lands, it will slash down from its current position to the lower end of the reel, creating a portal. Every position on that reel, that is covered with a portal, is considered a Wild symbol, therefore substitutes for any winning symbol. Important note here: Hand of Surtur/Ice Brand symbols will only activate when a winning combination is possible, otherwise they will stay inactive.

Coming with the Portals of Muspelheim are two very important game mechanics. The first one is the multiplier Wild. When a Hand of Surtur/Ice Brand slashes down and has a Wild symbol on its path, the portal will gain a multiplier. The multipliers are random and range from x2 to x200. Additionally, the multiplier will count for the whole portal it is on. If a winning combination passes more than one multiplier, they are added together and then applied to the win.

The second mechanic is the Treasure Chest. So to actually open a Chest, a Hand of Surtur/Ice Brand has to slash through it, only then it will reveal its contents. But it can also happen that a Wild symbol and Treasure Chest are on a reel at once. If this is the case, and the Hand of Surtur/Ice Brand slashes through both of them, the portal multiplier is applied to the Treasure Chest win.

• Surtur’s Vengeance

3 or more of the Surtur Scatters in the same spin will trigger the Surtur’s Vengeance Feature. You will be granted 10 Free Spins, with every Scatter that exceeds the initial 3 giving you +2 Spins, for a maximum of 14 Free Spins. During the Feature, Sticky Wild symbols are active, meaning if a Wild symbol lands, it stays there until the end of the Feature. Any Wild symbols that were present when triggering the Feature, will be carried over. Important to know here, is that you can only have 1 Sticky Wild symbol per reel. If a reel already carries a Sticky Wild symbol, other Wilds on this reel will not become sticky.

The rest of the feature is pretty much just like in the base game, except that you now have Ice Brand symbols instead of the Hand of Surtur. Ideally you want to have a Sticky Wild on every reel as low as possible, so that the Icy Brand symbol will guarantee you a multiplier on the portal. Retriggering the feature is possible, 2 Surtur Scatters will grant you another 2 Free Spins, with every Scatter more granting you 2 additional Free Spins.

• Warriors of the Storm

The Warriors of the Storm feature is triggered when 3 or more Viking Scatters land in the same spin. You will get 10 Free Spins, every additional Scatter will grant you 2 more Free Spins. During this feature you can encounter the Hammer of Thor symbol. This symbol is vital for getting big wins. Because you see, when a Hammer of Thor lands, it will turn the reel it has landed on into a Storm Reel. These Storm Reel are always considered as Wild symbols, so they will substitute for any winning symbol. Additionally, Storm Reels will reveal one of the three Vikings and a multiplier. This multiplier is of course applied to all wins that pass the Storm Reel. The three Vikings are: The Rogue, a pretty slim guy with a knife. Next is the Shieldmaiden, who doesn’t actually carry a shield, but a big Zweihander. And the last Viking is of course the Berserker, wielding axes. The Vikings represent the multipliers they can come with:

But another thing the Storm Reel can reveal is a Storm itself. When you see the word „Storm“ spelled out vertically, the Storm Reel will not carry a multiplier, but will change its position. The Storm Reel will take a step to the left, every Storm Reel that is in its way will move with it. If they have no place to move, they will simply not move. Although we must say, during testing we never had the occasion that a Storm Reel showed „Storm“ when it couldn’t move, so maybe it’s not even possible.

Just like Surtur’s Vengeance, the feature can be retriggered. For 2 Viking Scatters you will get 2 additional Free Spins, with every additional Scatter granting you 2 more Free Spins.

• Bonus Buy Feature

Just like many other online slot games by Hacksaw Gaming, Stormforged comes with a Bonus Buy Feature. But you can not only buy Bonus Features, you can also buy base game features. Here’s a list of features and their price:

The RTP of the Bonus Buy Options actually varies a lot. It can go as low as 96.24% for the Surtur’s Vengeance Feature Buy, but it can also increase to 96.43% in the 3 Hands of Surtur Feature Buy. But in the end these RTP ranges are still very solid.

Stormforged: Conclusion

You don’t need to be an expert to see that Stormforged features everything a Hacksaw Gaming fan might want. Lots of features, lots of multipliers, Wild reels and the maximum win potential of 12,500x are all screaming Hacksaw.

Alright, jokes aside, Hacksaw Gaming did a really great job with Stormforged, especially with the design of the game. With the deep tones of the background music you really kind of feel like you’re stepping through the icy winds of the fjord.

All the different features are a guarantee for exciting and thrilling moments. And having a Bonus Buy Option to skip the line is always something that is nice to have. Although we have to warn you, Stormforged is a highly volatile game. Although it „only“ has a rating of 4/5, it feels much more volatile than that. So be careful when buying bonuses.

All in all, Stormforged is another wonderful game from online slot provider Hacksaw Gaming. We had a total blast testing it. We hope we answered all of your questions and didn’t leave anything open. This concludes our online slot review about Stormforged. We are very sure that you will have just as much fun as we had.