Bushido Ways xNudge Review
Bushido Ways xNudge is a high variance far-Eastern themed slot from Nolimity City with 1,024 win ways expanding to 12,288 with the introduction of Slice Wilds. This slot has an astonishing 30,000x top payout and runs on a 96.01% RTP. With this Geisha slot this Australian outfit have taken their xWays model to a new level with extra Wilds, Free Spins and an Oni Transform features to boost up wins.
OUR RATING:
Name: Bushido Ways xNudge
Developer: No Limit City
Paylines: Up To 12,288
Reels: 5
Rows: 4
RTP: 96.01%
Variance: High
Top Payout: 30,000x
About This Slot
After Big Time Gaming, Australia’s finest are here with another of their super-charged, barking mad super-slots on the xNudge model, stacked to the rafters with features and boucing along with compelling and thrilling gameplay. The setting is an ancient-era Japan, with what looks like a battle-torn backdrop, flames and feudal flags setting the scene. Like many Nolimit City slots, it has lots of energy, uses sharp and attention-grabbing graphics, and takes no prisoners when it comes to the gameplay and volatility. If you enjoyed San Quentin xWays then the chances are you will love this game too.
Bushido xWays was released at UK slot sites in April 2021. We will come onto the intricacies of the features in a moment but on the most basic level payouts are triggered when 3 or more matching symbols appear on adjacent reels from left to right.
The game starts out on a grid that contains 5 reels and 4 rows to offer 1,024 paylines. But the action gets hotter as the rows can expand to 16 spaces high to creat up to 12,288 ways to win. You can start playing from just 20p per spin.
RTP, Variance and Top Payout
Bushido Ways xNudge is a game of very high variance. This is important because it means a very choppy maths model with an uneven distriution of wins. It is effectively a very risky slot to play – you may be waiting a long time for the big payouts, but when they come, they can be very rewarding and get you close to that 30,000x top win. Remember, as the number of rows per reel increases, so too does the number of paylines and your odds of wins.
The RTP during base game is placed at 96.01%, but it does get bigger for those who enter into the Bonus Buy rounds. Buying into Shogun Spins increases the RTP value to 96.13%, while purchasing Geisha Spins brings a RTP of 96.82%.
Symbols and Graphics
No-one can deny the quality of the artwork in Bushido Ways. Once again Nolimit City have produced a truly sensational-looking slot whose artwork more than matches up with its compelling gameplay. This is carried through from the backdrop and reel set to the icons themselves, which work as follows:
Low-value symbols are once again represented as Playing cards from 10 through Ace to award prizes of between 2x and 3x the bet when 5 appear adjacently. Three fearless Samurais are the premium symbols and deliver 4x, 6x and 8x your wager for 5 of a kind.
Importantly, these icons land Stacked at all times thus offering more opportunities for wins.
Look out as well for the Wilds which appear on reels 1, 2, 4 and 5 substituting any icon apart from the Scatter when completing wins. Note that obtaining 5 Wilds awards the payout of the game’s top paying icon.
What’s more, the Wild symbols can be sliced into 2 on reel 3, into 3 on the 4th reel and, finally, it is sliced into 4 Wilds when it hits reel 5. This is how the expanding reels feature plays out.
The other Geisha Wild lands only on the 3rd reel and replaces all symbols except the Scatter which is represented by A Shogun warrior present on all reels but the 3rd. He will trigger the free spins round.
Gameplay and Features
Like other Nolimit City slots, this game is heavy on features which makes it a really fun slot to play. The key is to unlocking the expanding reels and extra spins where a combination of wilds and multipliers can sky rocket your payouts! Let’s see how that all works:
The xNudge Feature
The Geisha Wild has an important role in contributing to base game wins. The middle reel is reserved for this 4-rows high icon. Whenever it hits, whether it is partially or entirely visible, it always Nudges so that it covers the whole reel. Each movement results in the win Multiplier increasing by 1x.
The Oni Transform Feature
Whenever Stacked premium symbols land simultaneously with the Scatter symbol, all Samurais will be turned into the highest-paying icon on the grid.
The Shogun Free Spins Feature
3 Scatters appearing initiate Shogun Spins with 8 freebies during which Sliced Wilds are bound to appear. Should the Geisha Wild hit in this Round, players are upgraded to Geisha Spins.
The Geisha Free Spins Feature
This Feature is unlocked when Geisha Wild and 3 Scatters land at the same time. Players receive 8 free spins throughout which Geisha Wilds award Sticky Multipliers for each Nudge. With each spin in the round you get a GUARANTEED Wild on reels 2, 4 or 5.
Our Verdict
Once again Nolimit City have produced a blockbuster slot that delivers a frenetic mix of super-charged gameplay and big win potential, all driven by a super-high variance maths model and fronted by stunning artwork. Despite the high volatility that may put some players off, Bushido Ways xNudge has enough features that hit regularly to make the pace of winning events frequent enough for most players. In short, whilst you may be waiting a long time for a decent sized win but there will be plenty of feature-led events to keep you entertained in the meantime. It’s not quite on a par with Punk Rocker or San Quentin, but Bushido has enough in the tank to keep Nolimit City’s growing fanbase happy for now.
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