Katana demo

Katana gameplay

Once I had taken a good look around the 5-reel and 3-row grid, I wanted to discover the mechanics. One of the first things I noticed was the paylines, which you can adapt from 1-20 for each of your spins. This Novomatic slot helpfully visualised the patterns to enable you to make a more informed choice. The minimum you can play with is €0.01 up to a max of €40. 

I next headed into the paytable, which is easily accessed as below. 

The medium to high-value symbols stay true to the theme, whilst the lower values are the card Royals and 10. Here are some screenshots which I took based on prizes from the max bet:

A storyline steeped in history

I wasn’t sure what Katana was, but my research showed that this is the name of the sword that Samurais use in battle. I think the unusual theme makes this game stand out from the majority of other Asian themed online slots. 

As far as the tale goes, you’ll be joining Shogun the warrior in his quest to fight for the rich rewards which lie within!

What about the look, feel and user experience?

I think the design of the game is eye-catching and I felt immersed in the ways of the Samurai! The symbols are beautifully created with plenty of details. There is a little animation whenever you get a win, and some of the characters spring to life. Let’s face it I expected much less for a online casino game launched in 2011!

I enjoyed the sound effects, with realistic arcade noises and suspenseful music whenever I got a win or landed a Scatter. 

The simple layout of the game made for easy navigation. I had no problems getting to the paytable, alternating the paylines and making bets.

All the Katana slot bonus features

I usually find that most of these older Novomatic slots are a little light on the bonuses. But that isn’t the case with Katana. I think that there’s plenty here to keep even the slot pros among you entertained. 

Shogun Wild

The warrior offers some generous payouts, here’s what you could win with a bet of €40:

Scatter pays

The sword is the highest-value bonus symbol and pays in any direction. Here are the prizes for a max bet:

Retriggerable free spins

It wasn’t long before I landed the 3+ Scatters required to activate this feature. No matter the number of Swords, you still get 10 free spins, but these can be retriggered multiple times!

The Shogun Wild landed and expanded for every one of my wins. He turned Sticky and covered all positions on my winning reel. 

Take a chance to boost all your wins!

Whenever I got a prize in the base game, I was given the option to either GAMBLE or COLLECT.

Clicking on the former will reveal a simple feature where you need to guess the correct colour of the next drawn card. If you are successful, you get another chance, and so on, with 5 goes in total. If you lose at any stage, then you will lose your entire win. It could give you a chance to multiply your win, though, by 5x. It’s also available in free play slot demo mode

How to play Katana

Follow my steps for a quick start:

1. Load the game and click to enter via the lobby screen.

1. Check out the layout, paylines and betting range.

1. Head into the paytable to get familiar with the symbols, prizes and bonuses. 

1. Choose your paylines (1-20) and place your bet from €0.01 to €40.

1. Click the START button and get spinning! Good luck!

What is Katanas RTP and volatility?

I did find that the return to player is slightly below the industry average of 96%. It comes in at 95.02% for free play mode, though some of the best online casinos offer it with a higher rate for cash wagers. Volatility is medium to high, which gives a balance of average-sized payouts on a frequent basis.

How can you win at Katana?

You’ll need to land 3,4 or 5 matching symbols on any of the active paylines. Prizes are for combinations from left to right on the grid. 3, 4 or 5 Scatters will pay out in any position on the screen, though. 

Don’t forget that the paylines are not fixed for 20. You will need to choose the number for each of your spins. You can check out the patterns as you navigate the betting controls.

How to get more from Katana

Here are my tips to get the best experience at Katana:

1. Play with a range of bet sizes. This will give you a decent chance of getting into the free spins with a larger wager. Instead of playing with constant minimum bets.

1. Try out the gamble game at least once. But do this in demo mode, or if you are making cash wagers, play with a small win to minimise the risk.

1. Activate as many paylines as your budget allows. This goes without saying if you have more coverage on the grid you will have a greater potential to win.

1. Play responsibly! Never chase your losses, and always fix a strict budget before you begin. Make use of your online casino's responsible gaming tools for every session.

What I won during my Katana gameplay

• I triggered the free spins within my first ten testing rounds. I made a win on the first game and this generated the Shogun Expanding and Sticky Wild to come into play. He was around for the majority of the round and, by the end, had generated a hefty overall win.

• I tried the gamble game with 10 wins and was successful with 3 of these. I managed to get to the fourth correct card with one and then collected my wins and quit. 

• I played with the full range of bets and alternated between 1-20 paylines.At the end of testing I had made a considerable profit.

How I tested Katana

I used an iMac and iPhone to give me the best overall experience for mobile and desktop. I chose Safari as the browser and experienced zero glitches. 

Katana vs similar-themed games

How does the Shogun compare to his rivals in the slot world?

Slot	Paylines	Developer	RTP	Max Win	Volatility	Bonus Features
Samurai Code	12 fixed	Pragmatic Play	96.08%	4,000x	Super high	Ante Bet, free spins buy-in, Money Multiplier symbols, up to 20 retriggerable free spins.
Ninja Ways	Up to 4,096 ways to win	Red Tiger	96.03%	10,000x	Medium	Up to 15 free spins, Mystery Door game with Mega Symbols and guaranteed win and up to 8x Multipliers.

My final thoughts on Katana

I did have some apprehensions when I got my brief to review this game. I am not a great fan of the older classic slots, but Katana has changed my mind. It may not look that modern but it had plenty of extras to keep me entertained. The free spins are a great addition and I love that you can retrigger them, even though I didn’t manage to. The Expanding Wildsealed the deal and helped me boost my wins.

Thebet sizes will appeal to all of you with a regular budget though the RTP is a little low for my liking. I did like the volatility, though, this is the ideal range for me. The maximum win of 4,000x is a decent size compared to many of Novomatic's earlier slots.