Neon West: Slot Overview

If Captain Kirk is to be believed, space is the final frontier — and Yggdrasil Gaming has clearly decided to ride that frontier head-on. The result is Neon West, a sci-fi collides with Wild West slot where a bounty hunter wanders “neon-lit deserts and outlaw-infested towns in search of fortune and justice.” For players, that translates into roleplaying as cyberpunk cowboys roaming the cosmos, stepping into interstellar saloons and chasing profits via free spins with sticky wilds, free spins with multipliers, or a trail bonus game.

It’s hard to think of another Western slot that comes backed by such a groove-heavy disco soundtrack. Then again, Neon West isn’t aiming to be a standard-issue Western; it’s pitching a future frontier instead — whether that’s Earth or some newly settled world light-years away is anyone’s guess. With Multifly, 6 in the Chamber, a faint whiff of Money Train 4, plus steampunk cowboy styling and a cyberpunk edge, it leans into a mash-up identity. Considering how many Wild West slots already exist, a different spin on the theme is welcome. Beyond the offbeat setting, Neon West also brings a set of slightly unconventional features that help it stand out and spark interest.

Would-be neon gunslingers can set their wager anywhere from 20c to $/€70 per spin before taking on Neon West. The game comes with three RTP setups, with 96% being the preferred return, and the volatility rating is high. In theory, around 1 in 4 spins should land a win, paid across 20 paylines on the 4×3 gaming area.

Low-paying symbols are hearts, clubs, diamonds, and spades, and they only make 4 OAK wins, paying 0.25x the bet. Higher-paying symbols are the four character icons, which can form 3 or 4 OAK combinations worth up to 2.5x to 6.25x the bet. Wild trains substitute for all symbols except scatters. Wilds can appear on every reel and award 7.5x for a 4-of-a-kind hit.

Neon West: Slot Features

A growing wild mechanic spices up the base game, and once the bonus round is triggered, players must choose between three options — sticky, multiplier, or trail.

Growing Wild Feature

Whenever a wild symbol lands, it expands randomly across 1, 2, or 3 neighbouring symbol positions. It can’t expand over scatters or wilds that are already on the reels. The Growing Wild feature can occur in both the base game and the free spins round.

Bonus Choice

Landing 3 or 4 scatters grants the bonus choice, letting players select 6 free spins with sticky wilds, 5 free spins with multiplier, or the trail bonus game.

• Sticky Wilds – when wilds land, they expand after the first win is counted, and then stay sticky for the rest of the round.
• Multipliers – at the start of the round, 3-8 random symbol positions have a cover with a multiplier of x1 to x5 placed over them. If a symbol behind a cover takes part in a win, the cover is destroyed, and its value is added to a total multiplier. At the end of the feature, the total amount won is multiplied by the total multiplier.

The Trail Bonus Game

During this bonus, players move 1 to 6 steps around a trail per turn. Each turn removes one spark from a meter, which starts with 3 sparks. The spark meter is refilled by landing on certain nodes along the trail. Each time the player completes a lap and passes through the starting gates again, +1 extra spark is added, and all prize nodes increase by +3x. The bonus finishes once the spark meter runs out.

The playfield is built as a main loop with multiple smaller side loops branching off. Every node on the loop contains either a prize, a feature, or a golden feature. Landing on a Streamliner train node activates any feature, while landing on a regular node that holds a prize pays out that amount. The Golden Streamliner train node may trigger only persistent features or the collect all feature. The available features are:

• Cash – 15x to 30x is added to the win.
• Sheriff – 3x to 5x is added to each prize node.
• Persistent Sheriff – acts as the Sheriff after each move.
• Two Guns – 75x to 125x is added to 2 to 3 prize nodes.
• Persistent Two Guns – acts as Two Guns after each move.
• Sniper – multiplies 2 to 4 prize nodes by 2.
• Persistent Sniper – acts as a Sniper after each move.
• Refuel – a spark icon is added to some prize nodes that don’t already have one.</li<>
• Throw Back – the value of the collected win is added to several prize nodes.
• Collect – the value of the next 4 prize nodes is added to the collected win.
• Collect All – the value of all prize nodes is added to the win.

Feature Buy

By paying 30 times the bet, players can purchase direct access to the Trail Bonus round.

Neon West: Slot Verdict

Neon West barges into the packed Western slot lineup determined to claim a corner of the universe for itself — and it comes close. There’s plenty here that feels relatively fresh to experiment with. While the idea isn’t entirely unheard of, sci-fi Westerns are still uncommon enough to give Neon West a noticeable dose of personality. Some choices are a bit strange — the driving disco soundtrack being the obvious one — yet other elements land well, like the Native American pay symbol and the old-school-meets-high-tech visual blend that prompts fun “future frontier” daydreaming.

Not everything hits with the same force, though. Most notably, the initial wow factor of the two free spin modes faded sooner than the trail bonus. They’re not failures — stacking sticky wilds on a 4×3 game grid has potential, and building up an end-of-round multiplier will appeal to certain players. Still, the lack of retriggers does sting. The trail is where most of Neon West’s pull really sits, and it shares some similarities with Relax Gaming’s Dead Man’s Trail bonus. My first couple of attempts were underwhelming, with the trail ending quickly and paying very little. After that, results improved, with multiple laps around the trail and the occasional feature popping along the way. Cash showed up most often, but there are stronger options in the mix if you manage to land them — especially the persistent versions, which are always the most desirable.

Unlocking Neon West’s full upside won’t bankroll a voyage to the stars, but a 5,500x max win is a solid target to aim those cyber-revolvers at. It’s a quirky slot that takes a slightly different route, and it should keep players entertained while they decide whether it’s ultimately their kind of ride.