Rise of Samurai IV: Slot Overview

For anyone keen to face off with warriors who never stay down, take a look at the online slot Rise of Samurai IV from software provider Pragmatic Play. This marks the fourth outing for the series, after Rise of Samurai, Rise of Samurai Megaways, and Rise of Samurai III. Alongside the Asian warrior theme, these games have typically worked some kind of multiplier mechanic into the action. In Rise of Samurai IV, multipliers are tied to wild symbols, which can expand to fill entire reels, and the game can be played in two distinct modes.

Players who know Zeus vs Hades should immediately recognise the setup, as Rise of Samurai IV mirrors that title closely. Right away, you’re asked to choose one of two profiles – Date or Sanada. Notably, this selection isn’t purely visual. In Date mode, the probability of landing free spins is higher, but the typical free spins payout is lower; in Sanada mode, free spins trigger less often, but the average free spins return is higher. If you end up regretting your first pick, you can switch profiles from within the base game. Visually, the two differ as well: Sanada places the base game indoors (dojo-like), while Date shifts the setting outdoors to a Forbidden Palace-style backdrop.

Whichever profile you choose, stakes range from 10 c to $/€100 per spin, and there’s no ante bet option. There is, however, a bonus buy priced at 75x the bet in Date mode or 150x the bet in Sanada. On top of that, both modes include another purchase option costing 300x the bet, which awards free spins with one guaranteed expanding wild on the first free spin, and this option is extremely volatile. Outside of that, Rise of Samurai IV’s volatility has been rated high (5 out of 5), while RTPs sit between 96.01% and 96.14% depending on the chosen profile and bonus buy.

Each profile technically uses its own symbol set, though in practice they’re almost identical. The low pays are the same 10 to A card ranks, followed by drums, chests, swords, masks, and a character symbol as the premium icons. Rise of Samurai IV runs on a 5×5 gaming grid with 15 paylines. A 5 OAK low-pay win returns 1x the bet, while landing 5 matching high-pay symbols pays 5 to 20 times the bet. Wilds can also appear on every reel. They substitute for all standard paying symbols and share the same payout value as the character symbol.

Rise of Samurai IV: Slot Features

Rise of Samurai IV includes expanding wilds with multipliers, and they can show up both in the base game and during the free spins feature.

Expanding Wilds with Multiplier

Expanding wilds appear on all reels in either the base game or free spins. When one lands, if a win would result after it grows, it expands to cover its entire reel and is assigned a multiplier of x2 to x100. That multiplier boosts every win the wild contributes to, and if multiple wilds are involved in the same winning line, their multipliers are added together. Expanding wilds also carry the same payout values as the character pay symbol.

Free Spins

Scatter symbols can land on reels 1, 3, and 5 in the base game. Landing 3 of them on screen awards 10 free spins. In the free spins round, any expanding wild symbol that lands will expand, receive a random multiplier from x2 to x100, and remain on the grid until the end of the round. Free spins cannot be retriggered.

Rise of Samurai IV: Slot Verdict

It was somewhat unexpected to see the Rise of Samurai series return for a fourth entry. Earlier instalments, while perfectly serviceable, often felt like copies or were strongly shaped by other Pragmatic Play titles such as Madame Destiny Megaways and The Dog House, so the franchise didn’t seem to have endless momentum. Rise of Samurai IV keeps that inspiration/reskin approach as well, and in this case it’s essentially a rework of the mythology-driven slot Zeus vs Hades: Gods of War.

The two-profile format is back, and a useful way to think about the choice is to consider the stats associated with Zeus vs Hades. In that game, free spins arrived roughly twice as frequently in Olympus mode (Date), though with poorer chances of reaching the max win, compared to Hades mode (Sadana), where the max-win odds were better. It’s not always easy to spot the difference just by playing, but it’s reasonable to expect the same or very similar behaviour in Rise of Samurai IV since so much else has carried over. The same 15,000x max win is still present and, at least in theory, can be achieved in both free spins modes. Either bonus can deliver strong outcomes, especially with high wild multipliers in play, and the sticky element adds an extra layer of appeal.

If you’d prefer a slot with a bit more originality, or you’re simply done with samurais, then options like Densho, Beast Below, or various other Hacksaw Gaming releases are worth considering, since expanding wild multipliers are one of the studio’s standout strengths. Still, overall, Rise of Samurai IV combines a set of thrilling gameplay ideas (once again), implemented well, and backed by enticing win potential.