Samurai’s Katana by Push Gaming is a cyberpunk samurai slot. While samurai are historically dated somewhere between the 12^th and 19^th centuries, Push Gaming came up with an innovative idea of placing them in a completely new setting. And it works. Instead of going back to feudal Japan, you get modern samurai who still keep their katana blades as sharp as they get.

This modernized version is no joke. The highly volatile slot game has 20 paylines that go both ways. As a Push Gaming slot, you know you’re getting amazing visuals packed with exciting features. Samurai’s Katana slices through the competition with its high winning potential, too, and it’s all thanks to the numerous nudging specials.

This video slot is as modern as it gets. Push Gaming has truly pushed the envelope with many of its recent releases, and this one fits that profile. It looks fantastic, it’s fun to play, and the minimalistic approach in layout and design makes it a breeze to spin. Read my Samurai’s Katana slot review below.

Samurai’s Katana has quite a modern aesthetic. It’s a lot about samurai in a contemporary cyberpunk era. The graffiti in the background and the neon pink glow give it a very decent look and feel. The symbols fit the aesthetics well, including card royals that look like chips, a digital coin, katana wilds, and a band of samurai.

Push Gaming has taken a minimalistic approach with this slot. The controls are on the right side of the slot, with just a few transparent icons. You can easily check out the paytable, use the bonus buy feature, or choose the bet size with a few clicks. The slot works great on both desktop and mobile devices, so playing it is a breeze.

To start betting, you’ll want to adjust your bet first. The default is a solid $1 per spin. You can choose from 10c to $100 per spin. Hit the spin button to get things going. You need three or more matching symbols across the 5x4 grid to hit a win. The katana wilds can help you link wins, either completing them via substitutions or improving them.

Hitting five identical symbols across the grid pays up to 50 times the bet. Wins pay left to right and vice-versa. Wild stacks are the highest-paying symbols, with a 5-of-a-kind combination paying 60x the bet. In the base game, wild stacks land on the three central reels. In the free spins round, they can land anywhere. When a wild stack lands, it triggers a nudging wild. Each nudging wild drops down one position per reel while the other reels spin as usual. This will repeat until all the wild stacks are removed from the reels.

Instant cash prizes can also land across the grid. The values range from 1x to 1,000x the bet. You can only win these prizes when at least two wilds land on the reels.

There are two types of scatters in Samurai’s Katana. One’s a regular scatter; the other is a gamble scatter. When a free spins prize lands with a gamble scatter, it triggers the bonus round. In it, reels 2 and 4 are fully stacked with wilds. The bonus round also comes with a global multiplier that equals the number of awarded bonus spins. On each spin, wild stacks move down one position down. Nudges also fill the multiplier meter. For every 5^th nudge, you reach the higher level.

The global win multiplier applies to all wins in the bonus round. There are six levels in total, boosting wins by x1, x3, x5, x10, x25, and x100 respectively. Any win also nudges the multiplier by +1.

If you land the regular and gamble scatters at the same time, you’ll trigger the gamble feature. In this case, prizes awarded by the gamble scatter can either be gambled or collected. Thanks to this, you can win a higher number of free spins or wild stacks. The possible cash prizes range between x3 to x100, and you can win a maximum of 1-3 wild stacks. 

Samurai's Katana also boasts a bonus buy slots element that lets you purchase the bonus round as well as regular features like wilds and multipliers.

I love the simplicity and non-complex features of the Samurai’s Katana online slot. It mostly relies on wild stacks and nudges, and I can confirm that these features can be pretty rewarding. The good thing is that the symbols pay in both directions. The free spins bonus round is where the slot truly shines, reaching epic winning potential thanks to the six multiplier levels.

In my opinion, the gamble feature was a nice addition. It’s usually a feature we see in vintage slot machines, but it works just as well—if not better—in this one.

The RTP in this slot is set to 96.4%, which is perfect for a highly volatile slot game. Samurai’s Katana maximum payout is 10,000x the bet.

Samurai’s Katana doesn’t ‘drown’ the gameplay with as many features as other Push Gaming releases. The result is a toned-down slot that can still pay decent returns and has impressive visuals and animation with a retro cyberpunk samurai aesthetic. It sounds crazy, but it works.

If you prefer samurai in a feudal Japan setting at top casinos, you can’t miss Sakura Fortune and Sakura Fortune 2 by Quickspin. Playtech’s Silent Samurai Mega Cash Collect is a good alternative, and so is Pragmatic Play’s Rise of Samurai series.