Sword of Shoguns Slot Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

Sword of Shoguns Review

Thunderkick has seen decent success with their 2019 ‘Book slot’ release, Sword of Khans, and they have certainly taken their sweet time with this similarly themed follow-up. Sword of Shoguns is set in the Land of the Rising Sun instead of the Mongolian empire though, and the mountain backdrop instills a certain sense of peaceful zen. The visuals are harmonious and pleasant in other words, and the soundtrack only adds to that atmosphere.

We have seen Megaways ‘book slots’ before, of course, and Sword of Shoguns comes with a somewhat similar, albeit unlicensed, dynamic grid experience. You get up to 7 symbols per reel in all stages, and this gives you up to 5,040 ways to win. There are no other base game features to speak of, but you can get up to 4 different special expanding symbols in the bonus round. This happens via retriggers, and the 25,200x potential is certainly above average for the ‘book of’ mechanic genre.

Sword of Shoguns Slot - Reels Screen

Sword of Shoguns Slot Features

The premium symbols pay between 2 and 5 x your stake for 6 of a kind wins, and the top-tier Shogun symbol also pays for 2 of a kind wins. The sword symbol serves double duty as both the Wild and the Scatter symbol in this game, which is hardly unusual for ‘book slots’, and as a Wild the sword steps in for pay symbols to help complete and/or improve wins.

The Free Spins Bonus Round triggers when you land 3 Sword of Shogun scatters in view, and this gives you 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or 12 free spins randomly assigned.

The sword is pulled from its sleeve just a tad to reveal a random pay symbol, and this symbol becomes the special expanding scatter pay symbol for the bonus round.

The special expanding symbol can land anywhere in view, and as long as enough instances land to create a win, it will expand to cover the full reels it appear on. This gives you a full payline win that can potentially fill the whole screen. You can retrigger the bonus round as well, and this awards between 3 and 7 extra spins. In addition, you get an additional special expanding symbol per retrigger, and you can play with up to 4 special symbols at the same time.

The Bonus Buy feature is available in some jurisdictions, but not in the UK for sure. If eligible, you can purchase the bonus round for 120x your stake, and the RTP increases to 96.4 % if you purchase the bonus round.

At least this is true for the top-tier RTP version of this game.

Sword of Shoguns Slot - Reels Screen

Review Summary

Sword of Shoguns is visually more pleasing than the predecessor from 2019, Sword of Khans, with the red maple trees and the majestic mountains in the backdrop. The soundtrack is excellent as well, and the number of win ways has exploded from 10 to 5,040. The grid is similar to a Megaways installment, with different sized symbols adding up to a dynamic grid experience, and this can, in theory at least, also land you solid payouts in the base game.

We wouldn’t cross our fingers too hard for that to happen though, but at least the opportunity is there in comparison to the 10 paylines you usually get in most ‘book slots’. Having so many ways to win can do serious damage in the bonus round, where the single spin max win ranges from 5,040x to 25,200x your stake depending on the expanding symbol. Sword of Shoguns is a solid ‘Book of’ mechanic installment all things considered, but similar things have been seen before.

Pros

• Dynamic grid w/ up to 5,040 win ways
• FS w/ up to 4 special expanding symbols
• Win up to 25,200x your stake

Cons

• Need retriggers to get extra special symbols
• Beware of adjustable RTP ranges

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