Shadow Strike Slot Review

Shadow Strike Slot Overview

Backseat Gaming has gone full hi-yah with Shadow Strike, a martial arts slot that drops you into a quiet dojo and tells you to prepare to strike, or be stricken. The 5-reel engine runs on a 4-row main grid, while the two outer rows sit locked most of the time, waiting to become Ninja Reels. There are 14 paylines and stakes from 10p up to £100, handled through the familiar Hacksaw-style interface.

On the maths side, Shadow Strike runs on volatility that leans towards the high end, though it feels more medium-high in long sessions. RTP floats around the 96.3% mark depending on configuration, with lower options around as well. The headline figure is the 15,000x max win, which is live in every mode. From my experience, the slot can stay quiet, then suddenly spring to life when the Ninja Reels decide to help.

Gameplay and Features in Shadow Strike

The base game in Shadow Strike uses weapon icons as the low pays and a crew of colourful warriors as the premiums. Five-of-a-kind weapons give up to 5x the bet, while the best warrior and wild line can hit 20x. Wins run across 14 fixed lines, so you are mostly hunting for stacked warriors and wilds that decide to bring multipliers with them. It feels simple on the surface, but the extras add plenty of bite.

Each spin starts with both Ninja Reels locked above and below the grid. Land any of the three bonus symbols and the corresponding Ninja Reels spring open for that spin. When they are live, they can show wilds, MultiSplit icons and +FS symbols, with the rest being dead tiles. The whole game flows around getting those Ninja Reels involved, as that is where the wild generation and multiplier antics really start to kick off.

Shadow Strike Symbols and Paytable

Shadow Strike keeps the paytable focused. Four weapon symbols act as the lows, paying from 2x to 5x for five of a kind, while four different warriors form the high section, paying from 7.5x up to 20x for the best premium. The wild symbol substitutes for all regular pays and matches the top warrior with 20x for five. On top of that you have separate Dojo, Scroll and Koi scatters that trigger the three main bonus rounds.

Symbols and Paytable

Symbol	Quantity	Payout
	5	x20
	4	x5
	3	x2
	5	x10
	4	x5
	3	x2
	5	x7.5
	4	x3
	3	x1
	5	x7.5
	4	x3
	3	x1
	5	x5
	4	x2
	3	x0.5
	5	x2
	4	x1
	3	x0.2
	5	x2
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.2
	5	x2
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.2
	Wild
	5	x20
	Wild, Multiplier
	Bonus
	Scatter

Bonus Features in Shadow Strike

Hit 3, 4 or 5 Dojo scatters and you get 10, 12 or 14 free spins in the Mysteries of the Dojo bonus. Here, both Ninja Reels stay unlocked, so wilds, MultiSplit symbols and +FS icons can appear on every spin. Any wild that lands or is created on the main grid sticks for the entire feature, and the +FS symbols can drop in to add 1 to 3 extra spins each. Good sticky coverage can snowball nicely.

The Secrets of the Scroll bonus uses the same entry thresholds, again giving 10 to 14 free spins. Ninja Reels are unlocked throughout, but instead of sticky behaviour, wilds expand to cover their full reels whenever they land on the main grid. These wilds can carry multipliers, so lining up several full-reel wilds on key paylines can go wild pretty fast. The +FS symbols are back here as well, handing out extra spins in the same range.

The Wisdom of the Koi feature is the one that stands out for me. Triggered by 3 Koi scatters, it starts with a Collection Phase and 3 lives. Only non-paying, wild, multiplier and MultiSplit symbols show up. Every time you land a wild, multiplier or MultiSplit, lives reset to 3, and reel multipliers above the grid climb from x1 upwards. MultiSplits also work to unlock spots on the bottom Ninja Reel for the next stage, the Payout Phase, where 3 final spins send all collected wilds back onto the grid with their reel multipliers applied, and further MultiSplits can pump those values even higher.

Win Potential and Maths in Shadow Strike

From a grinder’s perspective, Shadow Strike has a fairly balanced but swingy profile. The RTP sits close to 96.3% on the standard setting, with alternative values and feature buy figures around that mark. Volatility feels high once you start firing bonus buys or chasing the Koi feature, yet the base game can still throw out decent lines with wild multipliers. The headline 15,000x cap is reachable in any mode, at least in theory, though you need those multipliers to do heavy lifting.

Shadow Strike Design and Atmosphere

Visually, Shadow Strike puts you in an open-air dojo framed by a curved roof, lanterns and soft light. Gentle music plinks away in the background, which works nicely with the martial arts theme rather than overpowering it. Weapons and ninja warriors fit the look, and the Ninja Reels above and below the grid sit neatly inside the structure, so the layout still feels clean even when the action gets busy.

On mobile, the slot runs smoothly and the compact interface means the Ninja Reels are still easy to follow. Animations on wild creation, MultiSplit hits and expanding wilds are clear enough that you can track what is going on without needing a manual. As someone who often spins on a phone, I had no trouble following the different phases of the Koi feature or spotting when those all-important multipliers were lining up.

Shadow Strike Slot Verdict

After decent time with Shadow Strike, I see it as a proper Backseat Gaming effort layered on top of the Hacksaw maths style. The three bonuses share some DNA, yet they each have a different flavour – sticky in the dojo, expanding on the scrolls, and that two-phase Koi setup for the more involved sessions. The Ninja Reels concept ties everything together and keeps even the base game from feeling like dead spins all the way through.

For me, the game really shines when the Ninja Reels are active and wild multipliers start stacking across several reels. The Koi feature can bloody your nose when the Collection Phase whiffs, but when you land stacks of wilds with decent reel multipliers, you see why the 15,000x figure is on the table. If you enjoy punchy, kicky warrior slots with layered bonuses rather than just one recycled feature, Shadow Strike is worth putting through its paces.

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