Fighter Pit

Fighter Pit: Slot Overview

If there was a studio that tore off its rumpled business casual clothes at the end of the day to get all sweaty in a dark, dusty basement while throwing punches at each other, would it be a big surprise to find out it was Hacksaw Gaming running the underground fight club? With the number of VS and beat 'em up slots the studio has produced over the years, maybe not. Here's another one. Titled Fighter Pit, it sees two teams of fighters square off and use Fist symbol strikes to spread wilds and multipliers over the gaming grid as it recycles the mechanics and features of Hacksaw's 2024 release Fists of Destruction.

Fighter Pit takes the form of a retro console/arcade game, where a metallic frame houses the gaming grid, complete with buttons and a directional movement pad. Next to the grid, a pair of fighters can be made out on either side of the screen. There are two teams, unimaginatively called the Green team and the Red team, and one representative of each team joins gamblers as they do battle. Players can actually choose their preferred fighters to be displayed by clicking on the images above the grid, keeping in mind this is a cosmetic effect only, which has no bearing on the outcome of the game.

Punch, hit, or tap lightly on the spin button sparks the 5x4 reelset into life, which makes use of 14 paylines to land winning combinations of 3 OAK+ along. Gamblers may stake 10 c to $/€100 per base game spin in this medium-high volatile slot, which has a maximum RTP value of 96.3%, and is able to produce its max win in any mode.

Shiney metallic 10 to A card ranks are Fighter Pit's low-paying symbols; all are worth 2 times the bet for a 5 OAK winning combination. Four fighter high pays are up next; they award 5 to 10 times the bet when 5 of the same type land in a line. Wild symbols help create winning combinations by replacing any regular paying symbols, and a line of 5 wilds pays 10x.

Fighter Pit: Slot Features

Fighter Pit punches its way through a Wild Fist Reels feature where multipliers may be awarded, a Showdown bonus, an Ultimate Showdown round, and bonus buys.

Wild Fist Reels

When a Fist symbol activates, it expands into a Wild Fist Reel, starting from its position to the top of the reel. Fist symbols activate if the expanded version will be part of a win. Wild Fist Reels substitute for all paying symbols. Fist symbols belong to the Red team or the Green team, as indicated by their colour. If the Fist passes through Fighter symbols of the opposite team or a wild, a multiplier is added to the Wild Fist Reel of x2 to x200. Multipliers apply to all of the wins they are part of.

Showdown

Landing 3 FS scatters in the base game triggers 10 free Showdown spins. The mechanics of the base game are brought over. In addition, the Red and Green teams battle each other to reach Victory Levels. Teams start at Victory Level 3+. Each time a Fist punches an opponent's Fighter or a wild, the Fist's team gets +1 Victory Point. When a team collects 3 Victory Points, a respin with an Epic Drop is awarded, and the winning team's Victory Level increases by +1. The number of Fist symbols guaranteed to land on the Epic Drop is at least 3 at Victory Level 3+, at least 4 at Victory Level 4+, or 5 at Victory Level 5+ - all Fists are of the winning team's colour. Fists that land on Epic Drops do not count towards increasing the Victory Level. In addition, landing 2 or 3 FS scatters awards an extra +2 or +4 free spins, respectively.

Ultimate Showdown

Landing 4 FS scatters in the base game triggers 10 Ultimate Showdown free spins. This feature has the same mechanics as the Showdown round, but each team starts on Victory Level 4+.

Bonus Buys

Players may activate BonusHunt FeatureSpins for 3x the bet to make each spin 5 times more likely to trigger a bonus game. Throwing Punches FeatureSpins cost 50x to guarantee at least 3 Fist symbols land, or Epic Drop FeatureSpins cost 150x to guarantee at least 4 Fist symbols hit. The Showdown bonus may be bought for 100x, or the Ultimate Showdown for 250x.

Fighter Pit: Slot Verdict

On a side note, Hacksaw Gaming’s reskin count is starting to creep up a bit. This is more of a muttering out-loud ponderation rather than a name-and-shame exercise, though, since we haven't reached disgraceful proportions or anything like that. But, where once the studio used to drop original release after original release, it has developed a slight habit of reusing old pieces of work. Hacksaw Gaming does like its spreading wild/multiplier features in general, and seeing them morph to form differing effects in new slots is generally as welcome as it is entertaining. And whilst Fighter Pit is an entertaining game, it doesn't provide a lot that wasn't delivered to players' faces by its punchy predecessor, Fist of Destruction.

Visually, the game is populated by a different set of no-name fighters in a new snazzy retro gaming environment, meaning the presentation is actually quite cool. Beyond the surface, the same things that thrilled or not about Fist of Destruction apply as well. Fist symbols can be great when they land low on the reel and punch through opponents' faces or wilds, stacking the resulting multiplier. On the opposite side of the coin, landing a Fist at the top of the reel is closer to a blow below the belt, though it is better than not getting them. This system gets a handy boost in the bonus round when linked to Epic Drops, enhanced further if you're able to ascend to higher Victory Levels.

Consequently, you can see how the game is capable of tapping its 10,000x win cap in any of its phases, such is the latent ability of expanding wilds with multipliers. If you can get them, then Fighter Pit can be every bit as exhilarating as the slot it has been made from. Still, it's hard not to feel like the justification for Fighter Pit's existence is a little thin.