Arizona James and the Lost Relics review
Arizona James and the Lost Relics is a 6-reel, 5-row cluster slot by Hacksaw Gaming, and the Pistol Cylinder chain is what this Arizona James and the Lost Relics review keeps coming back to. In our recordings the base game reached Cursed Temple twice in 100 spins, while three buys of each bonus returned 51.9% (Cursed Temple) and 49.6% (Tomb of Gold) of their cost.
Our verdict
7.5/10How we rate
Arizona James and the Lost Relics is a well-built mid-volatility cluster slot whose Pistol Cylinder and Reload chain gives the base game real substance, and the three-tier scatter ladder with Holy Grail gambles adds genuine decisions. The Crystal Caverns, with its progressive Bullet Collector firing every spin, is the clear endgame, but it can only be reached through 5 scatters or a 1-in-8 Grail pick. In our small sample the buys underdelivered against their prices while the base game and Into the Wild ran hot, which says more about variance than about the game.
Pros
- Pistol Cylinders, Reloads and Coin upgrades create a layered reveal phase on any spin where a Wild joins a win
- Holy Grail gambles offer real choices, including upgrade paths from Cursed Temple to Tomb of Gold and from Tomb of Gold to the Crystal Caverns
- 25,000x max win is reachable in all game modes, including the buys and FeatureSpins
- Volatility 3 with a 38.74% hit frequency keeps base-game play from going stone cold
Cons
- The Crystal Caverns can't be bought, only reached with 5 scatters or a single winning Grail out of 8
- Tomb of Gold's Bullet Collector only fires on the last free spin, so the 250x buy hinges on one moment
- FS symbols can't land while Pistol Cylinders are on the grid, and Into the Wild blocks them entirely
- Casinos can run versions as low as 86%, so the return depends on the operator
Score 7.5/10 with our formula ss-1: studio figures and our test results, each weighted. How we rate
| Part | Input | Weight | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| From the studio | |||
| Return to player | 96.28% default RTP | 30% | 7.6 |
| Win potential | 25000x max win | 15% | 9.0 |
| Ways to play | 4 feature-spin and buy options | 10% | 10.0 |
| Base-game pace | 38.74% hit frequency (studio) | 10% | 10.0 |
| From our tests | |||
| Paid features in our tests | 6 buys and 10 FeatureSpins rounds returned 92% of their costSmall sample: counted at 52%, pulled toward 5 from 6.1. | 20% | 5.6 |
| Bonus access in our spins | 5 bonuses in 200 spins (400x staked) vs a 65x buySmall sample: counted at 33%, pulled toward 5 from 4.5. | 15% | 4.8 |
Highlights
- Any winning cluster that includes a Wild turns that Wild into a Pistol Cylinder with 2-6 shots, and repeat hits upgrade Coins up the Bronze, Silver, Gold and Diamond ladder.
- Three bonuses sit on a scatter ladder: 3 FS symbols for Cursed Temple, 4 for Tomb of Gold and 5 for the Hidden Epic Bonus, with a Holy Grail gamble that can upgrade you a rung.
- Max win is 25,000x the bet, reachable in all game modes, with the studio putting the odds at 1 in 28,000,000 rounds.
- Into the Wild FeatureSpins™ was the standout of our sessions: 10 spins at 75x each won 1,086x, with a 686x hit on the second spin.
- Our three Tomb of Gold buys at 250x paid 123x, 77.6x and 171x, so none came close to covering its price in this tiny sample.
What happened in our test sessions
All recordings were made on 3 November 2026 as automated, recorded runs of the free demo with play money, in turbo with autoplay. We ran three spin sessions and six bonus buys:
- Base game, 100 spins at 1x: staked 100x, won 147x, a payback of 146.8%. Two Cursed Temple rounds did the heavy lifting, 44% of spins won something and the longest dry patch was 8 spins.
- BonusHunt FeatureSpins™, 100 spins at 3x: staked 300x, won 170x, a payback of 56.8%. Three bonuses landed, all Cursed Temple, and 33% of spins paid; the longest losing run was again 8 spins.
- Into the Wild FeatureSpins™, 10 spins at 75x: staked 750x, won 1,086x, a payback of 144.9%. Every single spin paid, but no bonus triggered.
- Bonus buys: three Cursed Temple at 65x and three Tomb of Gold at 250x, each played out over 10 free spins.
The base game's 44% hit rate sat above the studio's stated 38.74%, which is the sort of drift 100 spins produces. Tomb of Gold never triggered naturally and the Hidden Epic Bonus never appeared. A few hundred spins and three buys per bonus show how the game played for us, not what to expect: results swing a lot between sessions.
BonusHunt FeatureSpins™ · 100 spins: paid back 56.8%
- Cost per spin
- 3x (€6.00)
- Staked
- €600.00
- Won
- €340.80
- Paid back
- 56.8%
- Hit rate
- 33%
- Bonuses
- 3
- Biggest win
- 86.4x
- Longest losing streak
- 8 spins
Base game · 100 spins: paid back 146.8%
- Cost per spin
- 1x (€2.00)
- Staked
- €200.00
- Won
- €293.60
- Paid back
- 146.8%
- Hit rate
- 44%
- Bonuses
- 2
- Biggest win
- 40x
- Longest losing streak
- 8 spins
Into the Wild FeatureSpins™ · 10 spins: paid back 144.8%
- Cost per spin
- 75x (€150.00)
- Staked
- €1,500.00
- Won
- €2,172.80
- Paid back
- 144.8%
- Hit rate
- 100%
- Bonuses
- none
- Biggest win
- 686x
- Longest losing streak
- 0 spins
Cursed Temple · 3 buys at 65x: avg 33.7x
Average 33.7x back on a 65x buy: 51.9% of the price returned over 3 buys. Pick a buy under the video, or its bar, to watch it.
Tomb of Gold · 3 buys at 250x: avg 124x
Average 124x back on a 250x buy: 49.6% of the price returned over 3 buys. Pick a buy under the video, or its bar, to watch it.
All spin recordings on one scale
- BonusHunt FeatureSpins™ · 100 spins
- Base game · 100 spins
- Into the Wild FeatureSpins™ · 10 spins
Recorded in the free demo with play money. A few hundred spins and a few buys show how the game plays, not its long-term RTP or what you will win.
BonusHunt vs Into the Wild FeatureSpins and the two bonus buys
There are five ways to play, all from the BUY BONUS button except the base game at 1x per spin:
- BonusHunt FeatureSpins™ (3x per spin): each spin is 5 times more likely to trigger a bonus game. It can also be switched on from the BonusHunt sign beside the grid. Menu volatility: High.
- Into the Wild FeatureSpins™ (75x per spin): every spin lands at least 2 Wild symbols, but FS symbols can't land, so no bonus can trigger. Menu volatility: High.
- Cursed Temple buy (65x): menu volatility Medium.
- Tomb of Gold buy (250x): menu volatility High.
The listed RTP per mode is 96.06% for BonusHunt, 96.26% for Into the Wild, 96.1% for Cursed Temple and 96.2% for Tomb of Gold.
How they compared for us: the base game produced a bonus 1 in 50 spins (a 90% range of roughly 1 in 151 to 1 in 17), about 50x staked per bonus. BonusHunt managed 1 in 33 spins (roughly 1 in 83 to 1 in 14), but at 3x a spin that was about 100x staked per bonus, against 65x for the cheapest buy. Both rest on two and three bonuses, which is tiny. Into the Wild never triggered a bonus by design, yet paid on all 10 spins. The Cursed Temple buys averaged 33.7x and returned 51.9% of what they cost together; the Tomb of Gold buys averaged 124x and returned 49.6%. These are small-sample results, not the game's maths.
Spin modes
| Way to play | Cost per spin | Spins | Bonuses | Paid back | Staked per bonus | Hit rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base game | 1x | 100 | 2 | 146.8% | 50x | 44% |
| BonusHunt FeatureSpins™ | 3x | 100 | 3 | 56.8% | 100x | 33% |
| Into the Wild FeatureSpins™ | 75x | 10 | 0 | 144.9% | none seen | 100% |
Bonus buys
| Bonus | Price | Our 3 results | Average | Returned |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cursed Temple | 65x | 52.8x, 21.6x, 26.8x | 33.7x | 51.9% |
| Tomb of Gold | 250x | 123x, 77.6x, 171x | 124x | 49.6% |
Small samples: 10 to 100 spins per mode and 3 buys per tier show how a mode plays, not what it returns over time.
How the grid, cascades and Pistol Reveals fit together
The board is 6 reels by 5 rows paying on clusters: land 5 or more orthogonally connected symbols of the same kind anywhere and you have a win. Hacksaw rates it volatility 3 on its 1-5 scale and quotes a base-game hit frequency of 38.74%, so this is a mid-weight release rather than one of the studio's all-or-nothing scorchers. Max win is 25,000x the bet.
The theme is a tomb raid: a jungle-swallowed temple behind the reels, the explorer himself standing to the right with a revolver raised, and premiums of a skull-faced pharaoh, a mummy, a cobra, a golden scorpion and a purple jackal head over A, K, Q, J and 10 lows. The FS scatter is a green-and-gold scarab amulet. The studio's own blurb talks of kings buried beside cursed relics and treasures never meant for mortal hands.
The order of operations matters. Wins resolve and cascade first; only once everything has settled do any Pistol Cylinders fire, reveal Special symbols, reload, and finally pay out Coins and apply Amulets. That means the cluster engine is mainly the delivery system for Wilds, and the real money lives in the shoot-and-reveal phase.
The default RTP is 96.28%, but casinos can also run 94%, 92% or 86% versions, so check the info page wherever you play. The game went live on 25 August 2026.
Arizona James and the Lost Relics features
Super Cascades clear a whole symbol type
When a cluster wins, every regular paying symbol of that type is removed from the grid, not just the ones in the cluster, and new symbols drop in. This repeats until no new wins form. Wiping the full symbol type thins the board fast and opens room for Wilds to drop into fresh clusters.
Wilds that turn into Pistol Cylinders
The Wild substitutes for every paytable symbol. If it forms part of a winning cluster it transforms into a Pistol Cylinder with 2-6 shots and stops being Wild. After all cascades settle, it fires one shot per chamber at grid positions, and each hit reveals a Special symbol: Coins, Amulets, a Sacred Relic or a Reload. Multiple cylinders fire top to bottom, left to right, and they can shoot the same spot more than once.
Reload symbols keep the cylinders spinning
If a Reload is revealed, once all shots are spent it refills every Pistol Cylinder on the grid with 2-6 new shots, which reveal more Specials. Only one Reload can be on the grid at a time. Reloads are how a single Wild snowballs into a screen full of Coins.
Coins and their upgrade ladder
Coins are cash prizes paid as a multiple of the bet, revealed only once no new Reload appears:
- Bronze: 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x
- Silver: 5x, 10x, 15x, 20x
- Gold: 25x, 50x, 100x
- Diamond: 150x, 250x, 500x
Shoot a Coin again and it upgrades to the next tier. Diamond Coins can't be shot again, so they're the ceiling.
Amulets and the Sacred Relic
Amulets activate after the Coins show their values; Emerald Amulets multiply the Coins on the grid. Shoot an Emerald Amulet a second time and it upgrades to a Gold Amulet, which can't be shot again. The Sacred Relic is the fourth reveal type and also can't be shot twice. In our bonus buys the top multipliers recorded were x2 to x4.
FS scatters and the bonus ladder
Three, four or five FS symbols landing at the same time trigger Cursed Temple, Tomb of Gold or the Hidden Epic Bonus respectively. One catch: FS symbols can't land while Pistol Cylinders are on the grid, so a big reveal spin is never also a trigger spin.
Arizona James and the Lost Relics bonus games
Cursed Temple bonus explained
Trigger: Land 3 FS scatter symbols at the same time in the base game, or buy it for 65x the bet.
You're awarded 10 free spins and dropped into a Bonus Gamble: CONTINUE to play the spins, or GAMBLE. The bonus keeps the base game's mechanics with a higher chance of Pistol Cylinders. Two FS symbols landing together add +2 free spins, three add +4. The gamble shows 4 Holy Grails; your pick awards one of four outcomes: an immediate Bonus Upgrade into Tomb of Gold, a 1x, 2x, 3x or 4x cash prize, a 5x, 10x, 15x or 20x cash prize, or a 25x, 50x or 100x cash prize. You can gamble once per bonus and once more after a Bonus Upgrade. The buy menu labels it Medium volatility.
In our tests
It was the only bonus to trigger on its own: twice in the base game (40x at spin 53, 37.8x at spin 89) and three times in BonusHunt FeatureSpins™ within a few spins of each other, paying 86.4x at spin 47, 18.2x at spin 48 and 33.2x at spin 54. Our three buys at 65x paid 52.8x, 21.6x and 26.8x, the first hitting a top multiplier of x3. Every recorded round played its 10 free spins rather than taking the Holy Grail gamble.
Tomb of Gold bonus review
Trigger: Land 4 FS scatter symbols at the same time in the base game, win a Bonus Upgrade from the Cursed Temple gamble, or buy it for 250x the bet.
Again 10 free spins and a CONTINUE-or-GAMBLE choice. Everything from Cursed Temple carries over, plus a Bullet Collector outside the grid that adds 1 bullet for every regular win. On the last free spin, after all Pistol Cylinders and Reloads are done, James fires every collected bullet; hit positions reveal Coins, Amulets and Sacred Relics, then the Pistol Reveal process runs as normal. FS symbols can't land while the collector fires. Retriggers match Cursed Temple (+2 for two FS, +4 for three). The gamble has 8 Holy Grails: one upgrades to the Crystal Caverns, two pay 5x, 10x, 15x or 20x, four pay 25x, 50x or 100x, and one pays 150x, 250x or 500x. The buy menu labels it High volatility.
In our tests
It never triggered from scatters in our spin sessions. Our three buys at 250x paid 123x (top multiplier x2), 77.6x (x2) and 171x (x4). With everything riding on a single collector volley at the end, the rounds felt back-loaded: all three lived or died on that last spin.
How to trigger the Crystal Cavern
Trigger: Land 5 FS scatter symbols at the same time in the base game, or hit the one Bonus Upgrade Holy Grail out of 8 in the Tomb of Gold gamble. It can't be bought.
Hacksaw's Hidden Epic Bonus (the rules and intro screen call it the Crystal Caverns) gives 10 free spins on Tomb of Gold's mechanics, but the Bullet Collector becomes progressive: it starts at 5 and fires on every free spin after the Pistol Cylinders and Reloads have activated. After firing it resets to the value it held before activating and keeps collecting from the next spin, so the volley only grows. Silver Coins are the lowest Coin type that can land, and FS symbols can't land, so there are no retriggers.
Who is Arizona James and the Lost Relics for?
If you like Hacksaw games where one feature does the talking, this fits: almost every meaningful win runs through a Wild turning into a Pistol Cylinder, and the Reload-and-upgrade loop gives each Wild cluster real tension. Volatility 3 and a 38.74% hit frequency make it gentler than the studio's harshest titles, and our base session had no dry spell longer than 8 spins.
Buy-hunters get a clear ladder: Cursed Temple at 65x is the Medium-volatility entry, Tomb of Gold at 250x is the high-variance one, and the Holy Grail gambles suit anyone who wants to chase the unbuyable Hidden Epic Bonus. Into the Wild at 75x a spin is for players who just want Wilds every spin and don't care about bonuses. If you prefer collecting free spins naturally, note that FS symbols are blocked whenever Pistol Cylinders are on the grid.
Arizona James and the Lost Relics screenshots
Taken from the official free demo.
FAQ
Should you take the Holy Grail gamble?
It's a trade-off between a shot at a better bonus and a slightly lower long-run return. For a Cursed Temple buy, the studio lists an RTP of 96.33% when never gambling, 96.20% when always gambling once and 96.10% when always gambling twice. For a Tomb of Gold buy it's 96.33% never gambling and 96.20% always gambling once. Gambling never pays more on average; it just reshuffles where the value sits.
What happens when the 25,000x max win is reached?
The game shows a max-win message, the round ends immediately and the win is paid. If it happens during free spins or another feature, the game returns to the main screen and any remaining free spins or features are discarded.
Do FeatureSpins switch off after each spin?
No. Once activated, BonusHunt FeatureSpins™ or Into the Wild FeatureSpins™ charge their set price on every spin, based on your current bet, until you press the DISABLE button.
How many Pistol Cylinders can fire on one spin?
There's no stated cap. Every Wild that's part of a winning cluster becomes a cylinder with 2-6 shots, and when several are on the grid they fire in order from top to bottom, left to right. A revealed Reload then refills all of them with 2-6 more shots.
Sources and method
- Studio game page,
- The game's info pages
- Our recorded test sessions,
Every figure on this page comes from Hacksaw's game page, the game's rules or our own recordings of the free demo, made by an automated browser with play money. How we test
