Slot Description
RIP City opens on a neatly designed grid of 5x5 reels and 19 winlines. Rollers can head into the game with a betting range of 0.10 to 100 coins per spin, which we consider quite regular. Even though the max prize money is always the rarest occurrence in any slot, there's always a chance it might come up sometime. In this regard, RIP City's max win potential of 12,500x the stake might sound promising, especially for a medium variance slot.
RIP City RTP is 96.22%, which, even though it is not the highest from Hacksaw, is pretty good too. A score above 96% is considered above average; in that respect, RIP City looks promising. But a hit frequency of 18% might not stand up to the mark for some players, as it did for us. This means it will theoretically take more than five spins to land a winning combination on the reels.
A straight comparison of RIP City (released in 2023) with another mid-variance Hacksaw slot, Dork Unit (2022), reveals that the latter has a much better hit frequency, going slightly above the 30% mark. But again, RIP City offers higher paylines, a higher max win reward, and a larger grid, so the numbers are bound to differ. Regardless, even in our long playing sessions, wins didn't appear as much as expected despite it being a medium volatility slot.
Theme, Design, and Sound
The theme of RIP City is pretty straightforward: it focuses on an ever-going brawl between Ro$$ and Maxx, the cat-and-mouse duo. But the game design and setting make this game look even better. The background is a noir-like dark city setting with a retro appeal, where texts like the game title and character names are painted in individual color schemes (yellow, pink, and green). Also, the color contrast pops out well, and the same goes for the reels and pay symbols.
Of the two characters, we really liked Maxx, who comes off as a badass rodent holding a cigarette between his lips. As for Ro$$, he is a monocular cat with a typical messy look, as if coming straight into the game right after a cartoonish fight.
The background score is a bouncy jazz track with several elements especially included to keep the soundtrack in line with the cartoonish theme. Overall, the retro-themed aesthetics are exquisite, but someone familiar with Hacksaw slots will find nothing exceptionally unique in it.
Symbols and Payouts
RIP City has a total of 12 pay symbols, including 2 wilds. We can divide the paying ones into two low and high-paying symbols. 10 to A card royals belong to the low-pay category and offer 5 to 10x the bet amount for hitting five similar ones. Next in line are the high-value symbols: peeled bananas, skulls with candles at the top, dice, smileys, and 8 balls with hearts. These upper-end symbols offer 15 to 20x the stake for hitting five matching symbols in a spin.
As for the two wild symbols, one is a regular Wild logo, while the other, denoted by Ro$$, is an expanding Wild Cat symbol. Both these wilds are the highest paying game symbols offering 25x the stake provided you land 5 identical ones simultaneously.
Features and Bonuses
Hacksaw slots have a way of experimenting with typical bonus features. Although RIP City doesn't have too many of them, a good deal of creativity is still visible in the game.
Wilds
The Wild Cat is an expanding symbol, but it expands only when there's a guarantee that the expansion will lead to at least one line win. Each position covered by the expanded wild is considered to be an individual wild position. Note that the Wild Cat symbol expands only downward. So, if you have an expanding Wild Cat symbol on the middle row, it will only expand to fill the bottom cells of that reel and not the top ones. If the Wild Cat symbol doesn't expand, it is treated as a standard 1x1 wild symbol.
Suppose the Wild Cat symbol expands through or via a regular wild symbol. In that case, a multiplier also becomes active, which applies to all the positions covered during expansion. Possible multipliers range between x2 to x200. If there is more than one multiplier in a line win, they are added together and multiplied by the bet amount.
Ro$$ Bonus
Hitting 3 FS Scatter symbols anywhere in the same spin triggers the Ro$$ Bonus feature with 10 free spins. This feature increases the chances of landing wild and Wild Cat symbols. Furthermore, repeating 3 FS scatters while the bonus game is active awards +4 free spins. And if you hit 4 scatters at one go, the Ro$$ Bonus feature upgrades to the Maxx Bonus feature.
Available free spins for the upgraded feature increments to 10 if they are below that count. If free spins are higher than 10, they remain unchanged.
Maxx Bonus
Landing 4 FS scatters simultaneously in the base game activates the Maxx Bonus feature with 10 free spins. Once the bonus round is active, you can activate each reel by hitting a Wild Cat symbol on it. The activated reel is guaranteed to land a Wild Cat symbol on each spin for the remainder of the feature. Moreover, 3 FS symbols during the Maxx Bonus feature offer +4 free spins.
Buy Bonus
If you find spins taking too long to trigger a particular feature, a direct route would be to enable the Buy Bonus option and choose the following features at their requisite cost.
Feature
Cost
Volatility
RTP
BonusHunt FeatureSpins (5x better chances to trigger a bonus game)
3x
High
96.44%
Two Wild Cats FeatureSpins
20x
Very High
96.34%
Three Wild Cats FeatureSpins
50x
High
96.31%
Ro$$ Bonus
110x
High
96.20%
Maxx Bonus
200x
High
96.41%
Note that the Buy Bonus feature is unavailable in some jurisdictions—for instance, the United Kingdom.
About the Game Provider
Hacksaw Gaming is one of the leading brands in the igaming industry, known for creating online slots with unique designs and visuals. The company started in 2017 and focused initially on Scratchcards. But they didn't take long to prove their forte in online slots. The game provider already has over 50 slots in its portfolio, each of which is innovative in their look and design.
Since their reels are vertically designed, Hacksaw Gaming slots are also very well-optimized for mobile devices. The company holds multiple licenses from esteemed regulatory bodies like the Malta Gaming Authority and the UK Gambling Commission. With Hacksaw operating in over 20 regulated markets and having +300 partners, it's already a testament to how rapidly the company is growing.
