Outlaws Inc

Outlaws Inc: Slot Overview

After developer Hacksaw Gaming's splendid flirtation with the Wild West in Wanted Dead or a Wild, we were ready to settle in for some more gunslinging action from a slot of theirs called Outlaws Inc. However, in a case of don't judge a slot by its cover, or title, Outlaws Inc has absolutely nothing to do with Wild West banditry. Instead, it follows a biker gang called Outlaw Inc, made up not of people but of a group of gruff-looking animals in helmets.

That sentence might have brought back memories of ELK's Nitropolis series, yet apart from anthropomorphic animals and their association with fast rides, the two slots have very little in common. For one, the Nitropolis range is an explosion of colour, whereas Outlaws Inc continues Hacksaw's use of a predominantly dark background, slashed with bright neon flourishes of colour. Outlaws Inc has clear links to a game like Itero, not only in palette, but its multiplier feature isn't a hundred miles away either. It's not as serious, though, being closer to Chaos Crew in terms of emotional tone.

Whilst Outlaws Inc might not be quite as volatile as it can get from Hacksaw, a rating of 4 out of 5 means this is no Sunday cruise on a touring bike either. RTP, meanwhile, is variable, so a quick look through the paytable will let you know if you're about to take on the highest 96.23% version or one of the less generous ones. If happy with the setup, bets of 10 p/c to $/€100 per spin can be selected, and the biker gang mayhem is available on any device.

Outlaws Inc is played on a 5-reel, 4-row grid, crossed by 26 fixed paylines, firing out a win when three or more identical symbols land left to right, from the leftmost reel. Players encounter 8 regular pay symbols in this 'wrong part of town', half of them being low pay tough tokens such as bats, knuckle dusters, knives, and grenades, whereas a chicken, eagle, and two dogs are the four high pay symbols. Landing a five of a kind winning line is worth 1-2x the bet when made up of low pays and 5-20x the bet for five high pays. Five wilds on a line will also get you 20x the bet, though most of the time, wilds are used to link winning lines by replacing any pay symbol.

Outlaws Inc: Slot Features

Two more critical symbols used in Outlaws Inc are the Cougar and the Orc. First of all, take a look at the top left side of the reel; here, you will find the Global Multiplier. When free spins or extra spins are active, Cougars reveal a value of 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x, 50x, 75x, or 100x, which is added to the Global Multiplier, whereas Orc symbols multiply the Global Multiplier by x2, x3, x4, x5, x10, x15, or x20. To make use of the Global Multiplier, you will need to land a Gorilla symbol to activate it. If no win is present when this happens, then the multiplier simply resets. Also, if more than one Gorilla symbol lands at the same time, the Global Multiplier is applied once for every Gorilla in view.

Star Bar

The Star Bar sits to the right of the reels to indicate how many base game extra spins you have or how many bonus round free spins remain. When a Star symbol lands in the base game, it awards 1-3 Stars on the Star Bar, equating to one spin each. The Global Multiplier does not reset during extra spins.

Bonus Game

The bonus game starts when 3, 4, or 5 FS symbols land to award:

• 3 Stars with a starting x1 Global Multiplier.
• 4 Stars with a starting x5 Global Multiplier.
• 5 Stars with a starting x10 Global Multiplier

In free spins, the Global Multiplier does not reset between spins, so it can be progressively increased. Two new box symbols also appear. When Star Boxes hit, they reveal Star Badges, which refill the Star Bar with 1-7 Stars, or empty Star symbols, which increase the number of spaces on the Star Bar up to 7. Smile boxes reveal a Cougar, an Orc, or a Gorilla symbol.

Bonus Buy

Pressing the Bonus Buy button, if it is there, displays three feature buy options. Paying 100x the bet gets you 3 Stars and a 1x starting Global multiplier (RTP 96.33%), 200x the bet gets you 4 Stars plus an x5 starting Global Multiplier (RTP 96.33%), or 300x buys 5 Stars and an x10 starting Global Multiplier (RTP 96.34%).

Outlaws Inc: Slot Verdict

From the initial slight disappointment that the game wasn't a Western (not its fault), Outlaws Inc didn't grip as tightly as some of Hacksaw's other slots have done recently. As was as if Outlaws Inc was a precursor to Itero or Hand of Anubis, despite being released after both of them. The theme didn't have the same in your face attitude as Chaos Crew though it seems to be going after the same crowd, and the features didn't feel as developed. It can certainly blow up when it wants to; no arguments there, but there was something about Outlaws Inc that felt a bit underdone.

It wasn't very obvious after perusing the game rules, so to clarify, it appears the Global Multiplier is pretty much dormant until the bonus round or extra spins are triggered. Until then, Orcs and Cougar symbols do not seem to do anything when they hit. The paytable isn't super clear on this point, so a solid playthrough should help fill in any gaps. For all intents and purposes, it might be best to discount the multiplier entirely until extra spins are awarded or the bonus round has been triggered.

When either free spin phases are active, the game makes a lot more sense. Then, whenever an Orc or Cougar hits, its value is applied to the Global Multiplier. Since the multiplier is persistent at these times, it continues to grow until you blast a regular line win with it. Or not, because if no Gorilla lands, it will go unused. Also, if a Gorilla hits but a win does not, too bad, the multiplier gets annoyingly reset anyway.

Unsurprisingly for a Hacksaw game, the Global Multiplier reached some pretty impressive heights in testing, and Stars in free spins could be abundant, meaning 3, 4, or 5 initial free spins could be significantly extended. Not all the time, of course. This is Hacksaw, and they are well versed in mixing tease with potential rewards. As to rewards, Outlaws Inc can reach 10,000x the bet, and there is very little doubt it is capable of hitting this amount with a monstrous Global Multiplier burning a hole on the screen.

All in all, Outlaws Inc had its hair-raising moments, and its multiplicative powers can be a thrill, but it was overshadowed by the more engaging stuff Hacksaw Gaming has been doing of late.