Densho: Slot Overview

Not being speakers of Japanese, a Google search was required to figure out what 'Densho', the name of a slot from Hacksaw Gaming, meant. The results returned were rather unexpected. Below Densho Investments was an entry for a website called Densho which is a nonprofit organisation which aims 'To preserve and share history of the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans to promote equity and justice today.' Serious, important stuff, in other words. However, Densho the slot does not really refer to WWII, but rather, concepts such as 'leaving a legacy' or 'passing on to future generations' (translations from densho.org), which is also pretty serious stuff when you think about it.

With the way Densho is presented, however, it's easy to let go of serious thoughts and float harmoniously into a lushly drawn Japanese-inspired world. Hacksaw Gaming has poured some seriously nice artwork into the game, and different scenes materialise and vanish from view like a watercolour seeping into and out of a piece of paper. It's very nicely done and looks like nothing else out there, though one comparison might be Avatar UX's MonkeyPop. It's amazing when you think this is the same team that has released cartoonish-looking games like Om Nom or Dork Unit, proving how versatile the studio's art team is. Really, it's impressive stuff.

Clicking the up and down arrows next to the spin button scrolls through the stake menu, going as low as 10 p/c or as high as $/€100. From the info screen, players can confirm the RTP configuration they've got, where the highest default value is 96.4%, though the return changes when using the four options from the bonus buy menu. Volatility alters, too, when buying features, though the overall rating has been given as 4 out of 5, so relatively high. Set in the middle of the changing art scene is Densho's game grid which has 5 reels holding 4 row each and is crossed by 10 paylines.

Players win when matching symbols land along paylines, left to right, from the leftmost reel. Four brush-stroked symbols make up the low pays, awarding 2 times the bet for a 5 OAK hit, increasing to 10 to 20 times the bet when landing 5 OAK winning combinations made up of the 5 premium picture symbols. Wilds appear on all reels, substituting for any pay symbol or paying out 20x the bet for a 5 wild winning line.

Densho: Slot Features

Not the highest value symbols in a 10 payline slot, but payouts are able to get a shove from the Wild Multiplier Reel feature, which is available in the base game and in the two free spins rounds.

Wild Multiplier Reels

When a Densho symbol lands, it expands into a Multiplier Reel; if by expanding, it would be part of one or more winning combinations. Multiplier Reels are wild, so they substitute for any pay symbols, and they apply a multiplier to each winning combo they are part of. If a winning combo has more than one Multiplier Reel in it, the multiplier values are added together before being used. Only one Densho can land on a reel at once. The value of the multiplier depends on the type of Densho symbol that created it:

• Common Densho – x2 to x10.
• Rare Densho – x5, x10, x15, x20, x25, or x50.
• Legendary Densho – x10, x15, x20, x25, x50, or x100.

Free Spins

Getting 3 FS scatters in view in the base game awards 10 free spins. In free spins, progression trackers appear above each reel. The level of the progression tracker indicates the lowest possible type of Densho symbol that can land on the reel. Landing upgrade symbols level up the progression tracker on the respective reel. Also, landing 2 FS symbols awards +2 free spins while landing 3 FS scatters awards +4 free spins.

Super Free Spins

Getting 4 FS scatters in the base game awards 10 super free spins. The rules are the same as regular free spins, except the progression trackers start at level 2.

Bonus Buy

From the bonus buy menu, players can access these options:

• BonusHunt FeatureSpins – 3x the bet where each spin is 5 times more likely to trigger a bonus game. Highly volatile, RTP 96.35%.
• Densho FeatureSpins – 50x the bet where each spin guarantees at least 2 Densho symbols land. Very highly volatile, RTP 96.34%.
• Free Spins – 100x the bet. Very highly volatile, RTP 96.37%.
• Super Free Spins – 250x the bet. Highly volatile, RTP 96.33%.

Densho: Slot Verdict

Densho is a game which stood out the moment it loaded. After reviewing or playing a ton of slots, over time, they can sometimes blend together, the not-so-great ones, that is, regurgitating many of the same thematic ideas in an endless conveyor belt of repetition. Then along comes a game like Densho to blow away the cobwebs and stun with its original artwork. Needless to say, Densho made a strong first impression and interest was indeed aroused as to how it would follow through.

The gameplay, by contrast, was not quite as special. Nothing wrong with it by any means, but technically, Densho follows in the footsteps of previous Hacksaw Gaming slots like Temple of Torment, Beast Below, or Stormforged. All use some sort of expanding wild, multiplying components, but all are different in their own way. As is Densho, which straight up just expands Densho symbols into full reel symbols (while looking très cool in the process while doing so) should they become part of a win by doing so, then giving them a multiplier. Easy in theory, while possessing the ability to be effective, too. In all phases of play, the base game, free spins, or super free spins, Densho is capable of hitting its max win of 10,000x the bet. Free spins, you would think, might be more conducive since that's where Densho symbols can level up, but as the game info makes clear, the max win is also achievable in the base game.

So wraps up a rather stunning online slot trip to Japan. Densho's gameplay and features might not reach the same impressive levels of creativity its presentation hits, but it's a sturdy game all around, and as far as Asian-themed slots go, heck, as far as a slot goes in general, Densho is one of the most graphically memorable ones.