Ancient Warriors: Overview

Players, get ready to sweep a leg in the Asian themed slot, Ancient Warriors, from developer Crazy Tooth Studio. It’s not the first trip the studio has made to the exotic Far East, but it is the first time they’ve used their new trademarked See-Thru-Reels mechanic. Much like their other recent mechanic, the Big BuildUp seen in Banana Drop, it feels a touch more promoted than it probably deserves, though we’ll come back to that. For now, let’s ‘Awaken the Ancient Warriors to unlock the treasures within‘ as the studio suggests.

Powered by Microgaming, Ancient Warriors runs on a 4 reel setup, with 6 rows on each reel for the action. 50 paylines run across this unusual layout, and it also features the Any Adjacent Pays system. In practice, this allows winning combinations to begin from the second reel rather than being restricted to the first.

There’s a broad betting spread for would-be warriors, starting at 20 p/c, rising to $/€115 per spin at the top end. The math model’s volatility is also high, while the 96% RTP sits right around the industry norm. Another notably strong stat is the hit rate of 29.22%, delivering wins on close to a 1 in 3 spins basis.

As for the See-Thru-Reels mechanic, it’s easy to wonder what’s actually new here. Transparent reels have existed before, and in truth See-Thru-Reels is exactly that—see-through reels, and not much beyond it. Still, Ancient Warriors is a sharp-looking slot, and the transparent reels do suit the presentation.

Crazy Tooth’s designers lean into parallax scrolling, lively animations, and a panning viewpoint to strong effect. The end result feels video game-like, which will appeal to some players while potentially making others a bit queasy. Either way, it’s polished work, so credit to the graphics team.

Looking at Ancient Warriors’ symbols, two familiar Crazy Tooth quirks stand out right away – both the high and low pay groups share the same values. On top of that, the values are small. Why? Hard to say, but it’s a recurring Crazy Tooth hallmark.

In that vein, the low symbols are J-A neon royals paying 0.3x or 0.7x for three or four of a kind. The high pays are similarly neon styled animals like serpents, cats, and monkeys, worth 0.5x or 1.5x for three or four of a kind. Thankfully, the features bring in some wild/multiplier action, which is badly needed with numbers like these.

Ancient Warriors: Features

There are two special symbols to understand if you want to follow the features – the feature symbol and the scatter. The feature symbol is a circular, Chinese character style icon that changes into one of two modifiers depending on how it lands.

If exactly 1 or 2 feature symbols land in stacks of 3, 4, or 5 symbols, they convert into a Yin & Yang wild. Wilds substitute for any regular symbol from the paytable to help form winning combinations.

The other modifier is the Stacked Multiplier, which can also occur when feature symbols land stacked in groups of 3, 4, or 5 symbols. When this requirement is met, the symbols transform into an Ancient Warrior who slashes across the reels with a weapon, converting the symbols into wild multipliers. Wild multipliers show values of x2, x3, x4, x5, or x10. Feature symbols can satisfy both requirements at once, meaning both modifiers can appear on the same spin.

The final feature is the Ancient Warriors Bonus Spins, activated when 3 or more scatters are visible. When triggered, 5 bonus spins are awarded, and any modifiers created by feature symbols are locked onto the reels for the entire round. In addition, every scatter that lands awards one extra free spin, up to a maximum total of 10 spins.

Ancient Warriors: Verdict

You have to give Crazy Tooth Studio credit: their games nearly always include something that leaves you scratching your head. Whether it’s good, bad, funny, or just plain confusing, there’s usually at least one element that sparks a reaction.

This time it’s the trademarked See-Thru-Reels gimmick. It’s unlikely to shake up the iGaming world, since transparent, semi-transparent, or see-through reels have been around for years. As with Banana Drop’s Big BuildUp, it comes off as a slightly gloomy attempt to ride the trademark hype wave. Still, it’s early—maybe Ancient Warriors is only the beginning, and we haven’t yet seen what this device can really do.

Even so, See-Thru-Reels does add to the game’s overall visual appeal. Ancient Warriors has a console vibe thanks to touches like the animations during the Stacked Multipliers feature, and the way symbols burst off the reels. Some players will find these effects annoying; others will like them. Overall, the animations contribute more than they detract, and in some ways they’re more memorable than the See-Thru dynamic itself.

With Ancient Warriors, it feels like Crazy Tooth Studio is edging closer to the mainstream. Maybe their more experimental slots didn’t capture the audience the way they’d hoped. In some respects, that’s a positive – The Incredible Balloon Machine anyone? In other respects, it’s a little disappointing. Still, it’s nice knowing there are mad professor types out there pushing boundaries, even if what they create is a Lovecraftian madness from staring into reality’s warp for too long.

To wrap it up without drifting too far off course, Ancient Warriors is another Crazy Tooth slot that puts in the effort but doesn’t quite land. It looks fantastic, See-Thru-Reels are neat, and the graphics/animation are strong. The downside is that even if you do ‘unlock the treasures’, there isn’t a whole lot waiting, thanks to the game’s low potential.