Within the past few months, there has been an online slot that has gripped everyone in the iGaming community. Hacksaw Gaming’s Wanted Dead or a Wild was released in September 2021 and became a blockbuster slot.

Despite having strong competition at release with branded slots such as WWE Legends: Link & Win, The Goonies Return and Jurassic World: Raptor Riches, Wanted Dead or a Wild managed to come out on top and remain there.

It’s common to find the slot at the forefront of reputable casino lobbies. The game even continues to remain popular amongst affiliate review sites and streamers months after release. This ultimately leads to many within the iGaming industry pondering about this enigmatic hit and why it’s so popular.

Throughout this article, there will be a deep dive into Wanted Dead or a Wild with an analysis of the general theme, design, features and the pop-culture inspiration behind it all.

A prominent genre

Like most mediums, there are factors that flourish and others that fail. In the iGaming world, it’s clear to see the themes that tend to triumph. There are three top genres that continue to do well - ancient Egyptian slots, Irish inspired slots and wild west slots.

Each of these themes has its own appeal, but the wild west has skyrocketed in popularity and demand within the past year. One of the hottest slot developers, Nolimit City, has responded to this with three online slot releases in the past 10 months that are focused solely on the wild west with Tombstone R.I.P being the most recent.

Wanted Dead or a Wild is a western slot that embraces the unique period of history where people took risks and had the power to use their own initiatives. Many people, not just within the iGaming world, are constantly entertained with the wild west and it certainly doesn’t hurt that it’s been romanticised in the movies as well.

As a wild west slot, Wanted Dead or a Wild joins a long list of fan-favourite slots such as Dead or Alive 2, Wild Wild West, Deadwood, Money Train and Gunslinger Reloaded. Whilst the genre certainly helped the slot gain attention, it’s not the sole reason why Wanted Dead or a Wild remains so popular.

Inspired by mainstream culture

When hearing the name of Wanted Dead or a Wild, many different aspects of popular culture come to mind. Firstly, the Wanted: Dead or a Alive TV show as there are clear similarities between the name of the slot and the show. It seems that the online slot from Hacksaw Gaming pays homage to the show as it’s considered a cult classic that made Steve McQueen into a movie star.

In the TV show, McQueen stars as John Randall, a civil war veteran with a sawed-off rifle who makes a living by working as a bounty hunter in the wild west. The song of the same name from Bon Jovi also pays tribute to the wild west heroes with McQueen acting as one of the biggest inspirations.

It’s not hard to see that the team behind Hacksaw Gaming took inspiration from popular culture to deliver something that players wanted. There are other references in the game such as the Great Train Robbery Free Spins paying tribute to one of the earliest western films by Edwin S. Porter aptly called The Great Train Robbery.

In addition to the previously mentioned inspirations, the music in the slot is truly something of beauty. Players can be transported to a spaghetti western film as the score seems like a hybrid of Ennio Morricone’s greatest hits. All of this combined together makes for a unique experience that is rarely found in online slots.

Grittier design

Whilst Hacksaw Gaming is no stranger to success with 2020’s Chaos Crew gaining a multitude of awards and die-hard fans, Wanted Dead or a Wild completely changed the game for them. The slot studio is known for softer looking slots with bright colours and cartoon designs.

All the slots prior to Wanted Dead or a Wild featured innovative designs but were nowhere near as gritty. This is definitely something unexpected from Hacksaw Gaming and a welcomed change. The unusual move from the developer goes against the norm of what players expect from them.

Players do not want to play the same thing over and over again but instead want something different. Ultimately, this is why the departure in tone works for Hacksaw Gaming’s Wanted Dead or a Wild. Slots with a darker tone are expected from developers such as Nolimit City and Pragmatic Play but no one could’ve predicted this slot from Hacksaw Gaming.

Trending features

Of course, the design and overall theme is an important part of the popularity - but these are not the only factors. A game can be visually stunning but still lack the thrilling gameplay to make it entertaining. Wanted Dead or a Wild delivers on all fronts with a full selection of features within the game.

There are two different types of free spins with Duel at Dawn Free Spins and The Great Train Robbery Spins but the game also adds a different type of spin mechanic. Although free spins are always appreciated, respin mechanics are the current trend in online slots.

This all stemmed from the popularity of Relax Gaming’s Money Train 2. Whilst there had been many respin mechanics before, Money Train 2 popularised the feature and made it a household name within the world of iGaming. At the time of release in 2020, Money Train 2 was Relax Gaming’s most successful launch, tripling the company’s previous record.

Since then, many developers have created their own respin mechanics with Microgaming’s Link & Win, Wazdan’s Hold the Jackpot and Pragmatic Play’s Hold & Spin to name just a few. Wanted Dead or a Wild uses a similar mechanic to the ones previously mentioned but adds sticky wilds and multipliers instead of fixed jackpots.

The biggest appealing factor to the respin mechanic is that the spins reset to three with each symbol that lands. Essentially, these can continue until the board is full or when there are no more spins left. Players are no longer restricted to a numbered set of spins and there is a greater feeling of suspense throughout as anything could happen on the reels.

Closing thoughts

All of the factors previously mentioned contributed to the success of Wanted Dead or a Wild as the slot developers managed to combine them together to make an absolute sensation. If the design was closer to Hacksaw Gaming’s previous style, the features were lacking or a different genre was focused on, then perhaps Wanted Dead or a Wild would have faded into oblivion.

It’s worth noting that the wild west genre is becoming oversaturated and other developers may try to recreate the magic that Wanted Dead or a Wild delivered. Online slots are just like any other medium and players want to experience something original and engaging. Only time will tell if other studios will try to clone Wanted Dead or a Wild and its success, but the original game has the longevity to remain a classic that many will play for years to come.

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