The Wild West and the cowboy era have long been popular themes for online slots developers. Swedish slots provider NetEnt has now joined the trend as well with their video slot Dead or Alive, which is based on the same classic theme.
Dead or Alive plays out over 5 reels and 9 paylines, and is based in a small town in the dusty West where cowboys and outlaws battle for land. The pokie offers themed symbols, wilds, scatters, and a free spins game.
Graphics, Themes and Symbols
The reels of Dead or Alive are set in a wooden notice board that players might expect to see in a traditional Western blockbuster. Behind the reels is a scene of an old prospector town, complete with dusty mountains and a windmill in the background.
All of the symbols are quintessential Wild West items that relate to the theme of the game, and even the playing card symbols have taken on a topic-related resemblance. To complete the effect, suitable sound effects and a Western soundtrack have also been added to this NetEnt online slot.
Dead or Alive Symbols and Payouts
The reel symbols in Dead or Alive slot are a mixture of both theme related symbols and playing card icons. The theme related symbols often wins of a higher value, and include a 10 gallon cowboy hat, whisky shooters, a golden sheriff’s badge, cowboy boots, and a gun in its holster.
The sheriff’s badge is the most valuable of these symbols, awarding 1,000 coins for 5 of a kind. Next is the gun, which awards 750 coins when players land 5 of them in a winning combination. Third most valuable are the 10 gallon hat symbols, offering 400 coins for 5 on the reels.
Wild and Scatter Symbols
The Wanted poster acts as a wild symbol in the Dead or Alive online slot from NetEnt. This poster wild acts as a substitute for all other symbols in the game but the scatter, and also has a unique role in the free spins bonus game.
The scatter symbol here is a pair of crossed pistols. Landing 3 or more of these symbols anywhere in the base game will begin the free spins round.
Dead or Alive Slot Free Spins Game
The Dead or Alive free spins bonus game will award players 12 free spins when it is activated. Over and above the free spins, any winnings won during the feature will also be doubled. The Wanted poster wild symbols come into play here too, and there are 5 of them on the reels, each depicting a different character.
If players can land one of each of these characters on each of the reels in the free spins game, they will win themselves an extra 5 free spins. Additionally, these wilds act as sticky wilds in the bonus feature, sticking in place as they land for the remainder of the free spins. The bonus feature cannot be retriggered from within the round.