Ways of the Samurai - Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

It has 50 paylines and five reels with an RTP of 95.4% and a medium to high variance. The theme has been inspired by Asia, and there are bonus features such as a wild symbol, Ways of the Samurai bonus and free spins.

Ways of the Samurai Review Introduction 

The Samurai were highly skilled fighters hailing from Japan and have become very popular characters thanks to popular culture. They’ll be the main focus in the Ways of the Samurai slot, a game from RedRake that was released in September 2021. Use the five reels and 50 paylines to win up to 6,338x your total bet. Don’t forget to use the different bonus features,, including a wild round and free spins to boost your prizes. You can find out more about this slot in our review below. 

Overall Theme 

Ways of the Samurai is an Asian inspired slot that can be seen on both the reels and in the symbols. The reels are set in a garden which is where Samurais would live, despite them being fearless warriors. You’ll see red maple trees on either side of the screen and lots of great graphics. In the background is a soft tune playing, which really adds to the overall atmosphere. A similarly themed game is the Kara the Neon Samurai slot if you want to play something like this. 

Ways of the Samurai RTP and Variance

Standing at 95.4%, Ways of the Samurai’s RTP is just a little bit below the industry average. This shouldn’t put you off because it only misses the mark slightly. The variance is medium to high, so you can expect low and high wins but they won’t be rolling in frequently. 

How to Play Ways of the Samurai

If you are interested in playing Ways of the Samurai for free or real money, you can find out how to do so in our guide below. 

1. Change your total bet in the betting window by clicking on the plus and minus buttons. This will increase or decrease your bet accordingly. 
2. Use the green spin button to spin the reels once for your chosen bet amount. 
3. Your current balance and win is displayed at the bottom of the screen. 
4. The purple play button will set up autospin mode where the reels spin on their own. 
5. Click on the paytable button to view the payouts for each symbol, plus information on other aspects of the slot. 

Bet Sizes & Paytable Wins

The betting range for Ways of the Samurai is on the smaller side considering it’s higher on the variance scale. You can start out your bets for 0.10 coins per spin and increase this up to the maximum allowed, which is 15 coins. 

The paytable consists of various themed symbols that can land in combinations of three to five across an active payline to form a win. Below we have detailed the maximum amount you can win from each symbol combination. 

All Japanese Writing Symbols - 5x multiplier 

Arrows - 10x multiplier 

Katana & Helmet - 12.5x multiplier 

Landscape - 25x multiplier

Scatter - 500x multiplier 

Ways of the Samurai Bonus Features

Wild Symbol 

The wild symbol can substitute in for all of the other symbols on the reels, helping to create more winning combinations. It can’t substitute in for the scatter or Lucky Castle icons. The wild will only land on the first and second reels. 

Ways of the Samurai 

When you land a wild symbol on the first and second reels at the same time, the Ways of the Samurai feature is activated. Once this is triggered you can land the Lucky Castle symbol on the third, fourth and fifth reels. The symbols will have different values depending on what reel they land on. 

Third reel - Lucky Castle symbols have 2x, 3x and 5x bet multipliers 

Fourth reel - Lucky Castle symbols have 5x, 10x, 20x and 100x bet multipliers 

Fifth reel - Lucky Castle symbols have 20x, 50x, 100x and 200x bet multipliers 

Free Spins 

Landing three or more of the Samurai scatter symbols will trigger the free spins round. You will instantly win 15 free spins and a multiplier depending on how many scatter symbols you landed. Three scatters gets you a 2x multiplier, four scatters sees 10x and five scatter symbols will give you a 100x multiplier. Landing a further three scatter symbols during the round gets your 15 more free spins. 

During the free spins round, all wild symbols land with 2x or 3x multipliers. These multipliers can also be applied to any Lucky Castle symbols that you manage to land. 

Our Verdict 

Ways of the Samurai is a well designed slot that gives players an entertaining game. The wild symbols are lucrative, especially in the free spins round where they come with multipliers. The free spins round will also help you increase your winnings and reach for that maximum payout. The lower RTP shouldn’t be a dealbreaker, but if you like a lot of range for your bets, you may find this title to be a bit of a letdown. 

Disclaimer: Ways of the Samurai trademark / license is owned by Red Rake Gaming. This site is not endorsed by Red Rake Gaming.