Hacksaw's New Slot Fires a DuelRows Twist at the Wild West

Dr. Annelies De Vos · 2026-10-01

Hacksaw Gaming just dropped a new slot called Buried by Night, and it's not your typical Western shoot-'em-up. This one takes the studio's signature VS mechanic and literally flips it sideways. Instead of wild multipliers expanding up and down, they now stretch left and right. That might sound like a small tweak, but it changes how wins stack up across the reels. If you've played Hacksaw slots before, you know the VS engine from titles like Gladiator Legends and Undead Fortune. It's been a staple for years. Buried by Night doesn't toss it out—it reinvents it. The vertical DuelReels become horizontal DuelRows. Same duel, new direction. ### Why the Horizontal Shift Matters When a VS symbol lands on reels 2, 3, or 4, it expands horizontally into a DuelRows symbol. Then a duel kicks off, and the winner slaps a multiplier of x2 to x100 on the entire symbol. That multiplier applies to the whole row, not just a single spot. So instead of building wins vertically, you're building them across. For a studio that loves recognizable mechanics, this move makes sense. It keeps the format familiar for loyal players while giving the new game its own flavor. You're not learning a whole new engine—just a fresh angle on an old favorite. > "Reworking a flagship mechanic instead of retiring it shows Hacksaw is playing the long game. They're building families of games, not one-offs." ### The Numbers Behind the Hype The commercial hook here is scale. Buried by Night carries a max win of 15,000x your bet, and you can hit it in any game mode. That puts it squarely in the high-volatility zone Hacksaw's VS titles are known for. If you're chasing big multipliers, this one's built for you. And if you like to buy your way into bonuses, you're covered. The BonusHunt FeatureSpins costs 2x your bet and triples your chance of triggering a bonus. The two main bonus rounds can also be bought outright. No need to grind if you'd rather jump straight to the action. ### Where It Fits in Hacksaw's Lineup Buried by Night isn't Hacksaw's first rodeo—literally. The studio first went Western with Wanted Dead or a Wild back in 2021, and they've returned to the theme several times since. You might recognize stablemates like Bullets and Bounty or Duel at Dawn. This new release sits right alongside them, reinforcing a Western strand that runs through the catalog. But the real story isn't the theme. It's the mechanic. By reshaping the VS engine, Hacksaw is showing they're committed to evolving their signature features rather than just reskinning them. That's a pattern worth watching. ### What This Means for Future Releases If you're a fan of Hacksaw's mechanical style, this is good news. It signals they're not afraid to iterate on what works. The VS engine has plenty of life left, and Buried by Night proves it can be twisted in new directions. So whether you're drawn in by the Western vibe or the 15,000x max win, there's more here than meets the eye. It's evolution, not reinvention—and that's exactly what keeps players coming back. Give it a spin if you're into high-volatility slots with a twist. Just don't expect the same old vertical duels. This time, the action runs sideways.