Shaolin Master Slot Review

Shaolin Master Slot Overview

Shaolin Master is a casino slot from Hacksaw Gaming, encouraging players to set off on a journey to find the inner balance and perfect one of the oldest martial arts in the world. Its genesis dates back hundreds of years, even before the establishment of the legendary Shaolin Monastery. Monks were always considered prosperous people running large estates that brought considerable income. And where there's money, there's usually also someone who wants to take it, hence the need for protection. What started as primary forms of boxing and wrestling, during centuries transformed into an elaborate form of Kung-Fu. Luckily, players who enter this picturesque Chinese scene won't have to defeat any skilled fighters to grab the max win of 15,000x the bet. It's enough to land a favorable sequence of cascades boosted by multipliers in the base game or activate one of two exciting bonus rounds. With a bit of patience, anything is possible!

Shaolin Master is a video slot from Hacksaw Gaming with 6 reels, 5 rows, and a cluster-pays system requiring at least 5 vertically/horizontally adjacent symbols to form a win. Players can choose their stake from a range of options, starting from a Min.bet of 0.10 up to a Max.bet of 100. The game offers a default RTP of 96.31%, although three lower variants of 94.24%, 92.31%, and 88.25% are also available for operators. Players will experience medium volatility, with a max win capped at 10,000x the bet. The base game hit frequency sits at 41%.

You need to know a variety of moves to defeat your opponent in Kung-Fu, just as you need a solid arrangement of features to help you win big in a slot. The features of Shaolin Master are Cascading, Chi Orbs, The Student Bonus, The Master Bonus, and Feature Buy.

Shaolin Master Slot Information

The scene in Shaolin Master brims with serenity and balance. A gentle soundtrack peppered with sounds of strings and flutes flows effortlessly in the background while the grid stands firmly in the center, supported by carved wooden beams. The backdrop shows a peaceful landscape of mountains looming in the distance and some traditional Chinese architecture. The experienced master stands on the left, watchfully observing the efforts of his student, who practices the Kung-Fu poses on the right. With every hit of the spin button, square-shaped symbols land softly on the board. To form a winning combination, at least 5 of them must align into a cluster by being vertically and/or horizontally adjacent. The game comes with a universal design suitable for all modern devices, from desktops to smartphones and tablets.

Among the low-value symbols, we recognize wooden blocks adorned with the traditional royals: 10, J, Q, K, and A, all awarding 15x the bet for a set of 15 or more. The high-value icons come in the form of a blue fist, a pink beaded necklace, a golden shuriken, and portraits of the master and the student. Prizes for matching 15 or more identical premium symbols in a cluster range from 20x to 60x the bet.

Alongside the regular symbols, players will also see Blue Chi Orbs, Red Chi Orbs, and Balance Chi Orbs in the base gameplay and a variety of special blocks in the bonus rounds.

Shaolin Master Slot Features

What is the max win in the slot Shaolin Master?

You can win up to 10,000x the bet.

What features are available in the slot Shaolin Master?

The features are Cascading, Chi Orbs, The Student Bonus, The Master Bonus, and Feature Buy.

Cascading

Thanks to the cascading mechanism, it's possible to generate multiple wins over the course of one spin. Every winning cluster will disappear from the view, triggering the drop of other symbols to vacant positions and the appearance of new ones to complete the grid. Cascading continues until no more wins can be created.

Chi Orbs

Symbols adorned with the shape of a dragon are Wild Multipliers that will substitute for any regular symbol when creating a cluster. Blue and Red orbs are sticky and don't disappear with winning combinations.

Blue Chi Orb lands with a value of 1x that increases by 1 every time it's part of a winning combination.

Red Chi Orb lands with a value of 1x that increases every time it's part of a winning combination, and the growth equals the number of matching symbols in that set.

Balance Chi Orb can appear only during cascades. It lands with a multiplier value that's equal to the number of Red and Blue Chi Orbs currently on the grid. After being used in a winning cluster, it disappears together with the successful combination.

The Student Bonus

Landing 3 or 4 FS Scatter symbols activates the bonus comprising 10 or 12 free spins, respectively. During the round, a multiplier value is placed under every reel. Each winning cluster increases those multipliers by the number of winning symbols currently situated on the respective column. A new symbol, the Green Gem multiplier modifier, may land at any time and further boost the value under the reel by multiplying it by 2x - 10x. Landing the Green Chi Orb activates the multiplier under the reel. All multipliers are global and added together before being applied to the win.

The Master Bonus

Landing 5 FS Scatter symbols activates the bonus with 3 refilling lives. During the bonus, all regular icons are replaced with stone blocks carrying multipliers. They are sticky and always fall to the bottom of the grid. Each reel has a multiplier above it, which can be increased by landing special symbols.

Blue Gem = adds a multiplier between 2x - 10x to the respective reel.

Epic Blue Gem = adds a multiplier between 2x - 10x to all reels.

Green Gem = multiplies the multiplier of the respective reel by 2x - 10x.

Epic Green Gem = multiplies the multiplier of all reels by 2x - 10x.

Additionally, there are also Ice Blocks and Crusher Blocks available. The Ice Block will be destroyed, and a new stone block with the value equaling the multiplier on that reel will fall in from the top. The Crusher Block falls through all symbols on the reel it lands on, after which it settles at the bottom. It acquires values from any stone block symbols that were destroyed in the process.

At the end of the bonus, all stone block multipliers are added together and paid out. If any of the columns were filled to the top, the respective multiplier will also apply.

Feature Buy

The game offers several options to boost the chances of triggering the features or activate them instantly for a fixed price.

3x = Bonushunt Featurespins with a 5 times higher chance to trigger a bonus game (RTP 96.28%).

50x = Enlightened Featurespins with a guaranteed Red Chi Orb symbol and at least one winning combination (RTP 96.28%).

100x = The Student Bonus with 10 or 12 free spins (RTP 96.29%).

200x = The Master Bonus (RTP 96.30%).

Shaolin Master Slot Conclusion

Hacksaw Gaming consistently delivers a mix of themes from both ends of the spectrum, producing such adorable scenes as Get the Cheese, only to dive into an ominous setting like Wings of Horus a moment later. Shaolin Master may not overflow with cuteness, but it undoubtedly sits on a softer side. The setting is utterly friendly, spreading the aura of serenity from the first moments with its peaceful soundtrack and eye-pleasing visuals. It follows the studio's usual format, adding a key character (a tip of the hat to legendary Mr. Miyagi) on one or both sides of the screen, and we can't deny that it always enhances the atmosphere to have some figures moving outside the grid. Symbol design, like usual, doesn't emphasize low-value ones too much, keeping them in the same style. All effort is shifted into premiums and specials, which really make a splash with their triggering and winning animations. 

Players who are familiar with the studio's creation from their early years will surely recognize the mechanical model. Even though it has been enhanced with additional symbols and small statistical changes here and there, at the core of it is the good old Hand of Anubis. As before, there's a lot of variety in the gameplay. The base game offers three Wild Multiplier Orbs that increase their values in different ways using clusters on the grid. Two distinct bonus rounds offer a more traditional free spins format with growing multipliers on each reel and a hold&win-style game with a range of modifiers to boost the prizes. If you were looking for this type of mechanics in a bit more peaceful environment, Shaolin Master fits in perfectly, especially considering a solid max win of 10,000x the bet and a generous base hit frequency of 41%.

Shaolin Master revisits the mechanics from the studio's older and darker production to revamp the experience with subtle technical additions and a spiritual theme.