Lone Rider XtraWays Slot Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

Lone Rider XtraWays Review

Finally, a worthy opponent to the now iconic Megaways engine, as developer Swintt debuts with its flashy XtraWays mechanic in the Wild West-themed Lone Rider slot. The brand new reel engine produces more than twice the number of Megaways paylines, and players will be able to win up to 1,541x the stake here via the exciting Free Spins bonus round.

Lone Rider XtraWays - Slot Outlook

Loading the game will take you to the American frontier, where a small town of Old West sets the stage for the game's action. Swintt executed the theme pretty well, but don't expect to see anything new in the setting. The backdrop showcases the town's main street where saloons, bars, and banks are located, and a jolly cowboy soundtrack adds a final touch to the Wild West atmosphere whilst you spin the reels.

Lone Rider XtraWaysn Slot - Reel Screen

Now to the XtraWays engine that works in a completely different and unique way in comparison to other grid mechanics. By default, the 6-reel grid hods 3 symbols in each row and produces 729 win ways, but expands up to a maximum of 6x8 with unbelievable 262,144 ways to play. Unlike the Megaways setup, the XtraWays grid doesn't change at random, and there's a counter above each reel displaying the number of symbols appearing on corresponding reels. On any spin, bonus symbols displaying random numbers from 1 to 5 can appear on each reel, and then those numbers will be added to the meter on top.

If a bonus symbol doesn't land on the reel, its counter will decrease by 1 with each spin.

Playtable on any device, the Lone Rider XtraWays slot comes with a betting range of $0.1 to $100 per spin. The volatility is high, and the default RTP is decent at 96.13%, yet the values can vary depending on where you play. Thus, it can be lowered to either 94.02% or 92.07%, so pay attention to the game's rules and check the paytables before making a deposit. Unfortunately, it has a rather ridiculous potential of 1,541x the stake, which is far lower than you expect from a highly volatile machine.

The paytable present in this title work includes 10 regular pay symbols that are split into highs and lows. The lower section is made up of neckerchiefs, bota bags, cowboy boots, horseshoes, gunbelts, and sacks.

The premiums, in turn, include in ascending order barrels, Stetson hats, and female and male cowboys. You'll need to land at least 3 instances of the same symbol adjacently starting from the leftmost reel to achieve a win, and 5-of-a-kind wins are worth up to 6x your bet. The sheriff badge symbol is Wild, which appears on reels 2-6 and substitutes for any other regular symbol.

Lone Rider XtraWays - Bonus Features

Aside from the brand new dynamic reel mechanic, the Lone Rider XtraWays slot is light on features, and central to the gameplay is the Free Spins bonus game. Landing 3, 4, 5, or 6 horse Scatter symbols anywhere in view during the base game activates the feature with 10, 15, 20, or 25 free spins, and players proceed to the bonus with the same layout that triggered the feature.

The Free Spins feature works in a similar way to the base game, and there are no extra features included to bump up the entertainment. The major change is that, unlike the base game, the reel counters don't decrease between the spins and stay for the remainder of the bonus. Retriggers are not possible, and upon finishing the Free Spins, all reel counters will reset back to 3.

Lone Rider XtraWays - Slot Verdict

All said and done, Lone Rider XtraWays is worth trying for those who chase innovation, as this one surely delivers a change. However, there's little to do aside from checking the novel mechanics since no features are included in the base game, and Free Spins feature plays identically to it. Moreover, Swintt for sure failed to master the art of balancing, as the math model is just poor with an unacceptable 1,541x max win.

Anyway, its main function is to act as a vehicle for the XtraWays system, so we're looking forward to seeing what next will come powered by the brand new engine.

Pros

• Immersive Wild West theme
• Brand new XtraWays reel engine with up to 262,144 ways on each spin

Cons

• Ranging RTP values
• Weak potential of 1,541x the bet