Snow Slingers

Snow Slingers: Slot Overview

For a studio that turns out its fair share of cute games, Hacksaw Gaming isn't huge on Christmas slots. There was 2023's Xmas Drop as well as the 2020 release Let It Snow, and now we have Snow Slingers. What these three slots have in common isn't just seasonal. All of them were built off the back of previous games, from RIP City and Cash Compass to 2 Wild 2 Die. It's the last game on that list which has relevance in this instance, as Snow Slingers wheels out mostly the same list of features, stats, and mechanics as the Western one did.

At the polar opposite of gunslinging violence, we find Snow Slingers' charming, cold world. Two loveable penguins, Ruth and Rupert, decked out in Christmas hats and scarfs stand to each side of the active grid in a deeply chilly scene. Behind the ledge, our penguin pals perch on a land of snow-coated trees, mountains, and a frigid-looking sky. The gameplay might be near the same, but the gaming world could not be further away from 2 Wild 2 Die. Even the name of that older slot seems scary now.

Snow Slingers is a line wins game, where 14 bet lines pass across its 5x4 gaming matrix. Winning combinations begin on the left-hand side and are able to be augmented by potentially sizable multiplier values, as you will see. On the mathematical side, Snow Slingers keeps things medium volatile while generating an RTP of 96.29%, though three lower return configurations have also been made. As well as bonus buys, the bet range goes from 10 c to $/€100 per base game round.

Bloated J, Q, K, and A card ranks are the first symbols on Snow Slingers' list of pays. Hitting a line of 5 of them pays 2.5 times the bet. On the next line down are candy canes, teddy bears, stockings, Christmas trees, and bells, paying 5 to 10 times the bet for 5 OAK. Hitting on all reels, wilds substitute any regular pay symbol and award 20x for a 5-wild win line.

Snow Slingers: Slot Features

Aside from some name changes, there are few major changes in the features section. Here, we cover Normal and Epic Snow-volver symbols, the Throw Snow! bonus, the Reap What You Snow bonus, and bonus buys.

Snow-volver Symbols

Regular and Epic Snow-volver symbols may land with 1 to 6 Snowballs in the chamber. When a Snow-volver lands, Snowballs are thrown at random grid positions. The first time a position is hit by a regular Snowball, it sticks to the grid and transforms into a wild symbol. When a Snow position is by a Snowball, a random multiplier of x2 to x200 is added to make it a wild Snow Multiplier. Subsequent hits on a Snow Multiplier increases its value.

When a position is hit by an Epic Snowball, it immediately becomes a Snow Multiplier. In the base game and the You Reap What You Snow bonus, the Epic Snow-volvers always activate before regular Snow-volvers. When a Snow-volver is empty, it transforms into a wild. When more than one Snow Multiplier is in the same win, the multiplier values are added together before being used.

Throw Snow! Bonus

Landing 3 FS scatter symbols triggers this bonus. It is played on a grid that lands only Snow-volver symbols, Reload symbols, and non-paying symbols. The bonus has 3 lives (spins) that reset when a Snow-volver or Reload symbol lands. When all lives are consumed without a reset, the feature ends. If all positions are filled, the feature will also end.

When a Snow-volver lands, the shown Snowballs are thrown at random Gift Boxes above the reels instead of at the grid. When a Snowball hits a Gift Box, the multiplier displayed is added or multiplied by the Snow-volver's total value. Possible adding values are x2 to x500, and possible multiplying values are x2 to x20. Regular Snow-volvers stick to the grid, keeping their value till the end of the feature. Epic Snow-volver total multipliers are added to all existing sticky regular Snow-volvers and Reload symbols present on the grid. All Epic Snow-volvers disappear on the next spin.

Reload symbols activate after Normal Snow-volvers. It does so by collecting all the multipliers from the sticky regular Snow-volvers in view and reloading them with 1-6 new Snowballs. These Snowballs are immediately thrown at the Gift Boxes. Reload symbols stick to the grid, keeping their collected multipliers till the end of the feature. At the end of the bonus, all Normal Snow-volver and Reload symbol values in view are awarded.

You Reap What You Snow

Landing 4 FS symbols in the base game activates the Reap What You Snow feature with 10 free spins. The mechanics of this round are similar to the base game, except all Snow Multipliers are sticky and remain in place till the round ends. Hitting 2 FS symbols awards +2 free spins, while hitting 3 FS symbols awards +4 free spins.

Buy Bonus

At the bonus buy, players may activate these bonus buy options: BonusHunt FeatureSpins (2x the bet) - each spin 3x more likely to trigger a bonus game, Snow Day FeatureSpins (50x the bet) - each spin guaranteeing at least 3 Snow-volvers hit. FS symbols do not appear in this mode, Throw Snow! Bonus (100x the bet), or You Reap What You Snow Bonus (200x the bet).

Snow Slingers: Slot Verdict

How a slot is dressed up obviously plays a huge part in how entertaining it is, and this fact was highlighted when reviewing Snow Slingers. For the most part, Snow Slingers slings the same gameplay, features, and stats at users as 2 Wild 2 Die, but the gentle snowball approach plus the endearing cartoon penguins cushioned the blow. Not to the point where Snow Slingers was a tedious mess, nothing like that, but the engaging immediacy of shootin' up the joint from 2 Wild 2 Die was noticeably absent.

But, what should we have expected? Snow Slingers is a Christmas slot, after all, so snowballs are a better fit for the season than a hail of bullets and a burning saloon belching black smoke into the air. There have been a few other adjustments as well. The RTP is ever so slightly higher this time, which is never a bad thing, and the bonus buy price tags have been adjusted, as have some of the buy rules. One of the biggest changes, however, is the omission of the 'Best of' bonus variants. No longer is it possible to trigger or buy the 'Best of' version, thereby winning the best result from 3 consecutively played bonus rounds. Now it's trigger a bonus, get the rewards, that's it.

Interestingly, maximum winning potential has plunged off a snow drift as well, dropping from 15,000x to 10,000x. Still, this is a decent amount to shoot for and still achievable in all game modes. Snow Slingers winded up being a jolly festive slot to have a crack at during the Xmas season, but one that's less grittily good as the slot it was made from.