Wanted Dead or a Wild Slot Review

About the Game: Wanted Dead or a Wild

Released in September 2021 by Hacksaw Gaming, Wanted Dead or a Wild throws you straight into a grim Wild West setting with outlaws, duels and train robberies on a 5x5 grid. There are 15 fixed winning ways, high volatility and a headline max win of 12,500x stake. Stakes run from 0.20 to 100 per spin, with an RTP set around 96.15 percent, so the maths model suits players who enjoy hard hitting slots.

For me, Wanted Dead or a Wild works because the base game already feels tense, then the special features push it further. Regular spins still pay nicely whenever wilds or VS symbols line up with the premium icons, but the real thrills arrive in the bonus rounds. The mix of sticky wild spins, VS reels and the collector style feature gives the game a distinct character without feeling overcomplicated.

How to play Wanted Dead or a Wild slot machine?

To play Wanted Dead or a Wild slot machine you start by adjusting the stake with the arrows next to the spin button, then hit spin and let the 5x5 grid do its work. There are 15 fixed paylines paying from left to right, starting on reel one. Wins land when three or more matching symbols line up on a line, with card ranks as lows and Western themed items as the premiums.

From long sessions I find the slot quite swingy, which matches the official high volatility rating. The hit rate sits around one win in five spins, while bonuses average about one in 288 spins, so dry spells can happen. I tend to size bets so that the balance can handle extended runs without a feature, then push the stake once the balance climbs after a strong bonus.

Wanted Dead or a Wild Slot symbols

In Wanted Dead or a Wild Slot symbols fall into two clear groups. The low paying icons are 10, J, Q, K and A, all sharing the same payout ladder. Hitting three, four or five of a kind on a line pays 0.1x, 0.5x or 1x stake. These card ranks show up often, so a lot of smaller wins come from steady streams of low value lines.

The premium symbols bring the bigger hits and carry the Western flavour. Bull skulls and bandits pay 0.5x, 2.5x and 5x for three, four or five, while bags of cash and whiskey bottles pay 1x, 5x and 10x. The shotgun chamber tops the regular table at 2x, 10x and 20x for three, four or five of a kind. The wild symbol mirrors that top line at 2x, 10x and 20x for three to five and substitutes for other icons.

Special symbols drive the features in Wanted Dead or a Wild. DUEL, DEAD and TRAIN ROBBERY scatters trigger their own bonus games when three or more land. VS symbols are the other big piece, expanding into a full reel wild whenever they can form part of a win. Two outlaws appear with multipliers from 2x up to 100x, and if every reel shows VS the whole grid counts as wild.

Symbols and Paytable

Symbol	Quantity	Payout
	Wild
	5	x20
	5	x20
	4	x10
	3	x2
	5	x10
	4	x5
	3	x1
	5	x10
	4	x5
	3	x1
	5	x5
	4	x2.5
	3	x0.5
	5	x5
	4	x2.5
	3	x0.5
	5	x1
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.1
	5	x1
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.1
	5	x1
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.1
	5	x1
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.1
	5	x1
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.1
	Scatter
	Scatter
	Scatter
	Scatter
	Multiplier

Bonus Features in Wanted Dead or a Wild

Wanted Dead or a Wild has three main bonuses that play very differently. The Great Train Robbery starts when three or more TRAIN ROBBERY scatters land and grants ten free spins with sticky wilds, so every wild that lands stays locked in place. Duel at Dawn needs three or more DUEL symbols and also awards ten free spins, but here the reels are packed with extra VS symbols for volatile, multiplier driven screens.

The Dead Man’s Hand bonus is the one that keeps me glued. Three or more DEAD scatters start a collect phase with three spins that reset whenever wilds or multipliers land, building a pool of wilds and a total multiplier. After three dead spins you get three showdown spins where those wilds drop in and every win is multiplied by that stored value.

The coins in Wanted Dead or a Wild

You can play Wanted Dead or a Wild from 0.20 up to 100.00 in the currency your operator uses, so it suits low stakes sessions and more aggressive shots. The official RTP sits at 96.15 percent, with long term stats showing about 96.11 percent over more than sixty million rounds. Some versions offer feature buys priced at 80x, 200x or 400x stake, which I treat as high risk shots rather than standard play.

Wanted Dead or a Wild: Slot Verdict

I keep coming back to Wanted Dead or a Wild because it hits that balance between dark atmosphere, simple spins and explosive bonus rounds. The 5x5 setup with just fifteen lines keeps the base game easy to follow, while VS reels, sticky wilds and the two phase Dead Man’s Hand feature give it serious punch. If you enjoy volatile Western slots with big upside, this one earns a place in the rotation.

Screenshots