Hacksaw's New Slot Flips the Script on a Fan-Favorite Mechanic

Dr. Annelies De Vos · 2026-10-01

Hacksaw Gaming has a knack for taking a familiar idea and giving it just enough of a twist to feel brand new. Their latest release, Buried by Night, does exactly that. It's a Western-themed slot, sure, but the real story is how it reworks the studio's beloved VS mechanic. Instead of expanding vertically like in Gladiator Legends or Undead Fortune, those wild multipliers now stretch horizontally. It's a small change with big implications for how wins stack up. ### What Exactly Is the DuelRows Mechanic? If you've played a Hacksaw slot before, you know the drill: a VS symbol lands, expands, and triggers a duel where the winner applies a multiplier. In Buried by Night, that expansion happens sideways. When a VS symbol hits on reels 2, 3, or 4, it grows into a DuelRows symbol. Then the duel kicks off, and the victor slaps a multiplier of x2 up to x100 on the entire symbol. It's a subtle shift, but it changes how you approach the grid. Suddenly, you're not just looking at vertical lines—you're scanning horizontally for potential chain reactions. ### Why This Horizontal Twist Matters For a studio that loves building mechanical families, this isn't just a gimmick. It's a deliberate evolution. The VS engine has been a staple in Hacksaw's lineup, and rather than retire it, they're giving it a fresh angle. That keeps things familiar for veteran players while offering something new to sink your teeth into. And let's be honest: in a market flooded with reskins, a genuine mechanical tweak stands out. ### The Numbers Behind the Thrill The commercial hook here is the max win: a whopping 15,000x your stake. That's achievable in any game mode, which puts Buried by Night squarely in the high-volatility category. If you're the type who enjoys a rollercoaster ride with the potential for a massive payout, this one's calling your name. > "Hacksaw continues to build out defined mechanical and thematic families instead of chasing one-off concepts." — That's the takeaway from this release. It's evolution, not revolution. ### Where It Fits in Hacksaw's Wild West Lineup Hacksaw first went Western with Wanted Dead or a Wild back in 2021, and they've returned to the theme several times since. Buried by Night joins stablemates like Bullets and Bounty and Duel at Dawn, reinforcing a growing Western strand in their catalog. It's a smart move—players who love the frontier setting now have another reason to stick around. ### Bonus Features and Feature Buys Like many Hacksaw titles, Buried by Night doesn't shy away from feature buys. You can trigger BonusHunt FeatureSpins for 2x your bet, which triples your chance of hitting a bonus. Or you can outright purchase the two main bonus rounds. It's all about giving you options, whether you want to grind it out or go straight for the action. ### The Bottom Line Buried by Night isn't trying to reinvent the wheel. It's taking a proven engine and giving it a new spin—literally. By rotating the VS mechanic 90 degrees, Hacksaw adds a layer of strategy and excitement that feels fresh without alienating fans of their previous work. If you're into high-volatility slots with a Western twist, this one deserves a spot on your radar. And if you're a fan of the VS mechanic, you'll appreciate how they've kept the core intact while pushing it in a new direction.