Return to player
96.32%
Min bet size
0.10
Game type
Video Slots
Variance
Medium
Reels
5
Progressive Jackpot
No
Popularity
Max bet size
100
Game provider
Hacksaw Gaming
Bonus Features
Yes
Paylines
14
Theme
Adventure
Steamrunners online slot game
Steamrunners transports players into a complex, high-flying world where Victorian-era aesthetics merge with mechanical fantasy. Hacksaw Gaming introduces us to "fierce, fearless" characters, the Steamrunners themselves, who navigate a journey "through skybound cities to glimmering sky courts and beyond," riding "gas-powered gadgets and rogue airships".
While the gameplay feels demanding and reliant on rare multiplier setups, the neat steampunk aesthetic provides ample room for the imagination to wander. This slot takes place on a metallic grid, built from pipes, lights, and cogs.
Steamrunners Theme, Design, and Core Mechanics Explained
Steamrunners is designed on a 5x4 grid. It has 14 paylines that evaluate wins starting from the leftmost reel and paying left to right. The pay symbols blend traditional low pays (10-A card royals) with evocative premium picture symbols, including a telescope, a scroll, a hat, a gramophone, and a pair of glasses. Five-of-a-kind royal wins award 1x the bet, while a full high-pay combination grants 2.5x to 5x the bet. Wild symbols are available to substitute for all regular symbols, offering a 10x payout if five of them form their own winning combination.
*The symbol payout chart shown below is calculated based on a $1.00 bet.
| Symbol | 5 Matches | 4 Matches | 3 Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 10x | - | - |
 | 5x | 2.5x | 1x |
 | 4x | 2x | 0.8x |
 | 4x | 2x | 0.8x |
 | 2.5x | 1.2x | 0.5x |
 | 2.5x | 1.2x | 0.5x |
 | 1x | 0.5x | 0.2x |
 | 1x | 0.5x | 0.2x |
 | 1x | 0.5x | 0.2x |
 | 1x | 0.5x | 0.2x |
 | 1x | 0.5x | 0.2x |
One of the things we enjoyed most about the slot was its steampunk spirit and detailed design. It almost reminded us of a cross between the animated movies Atlantis and Treasure Planet, displaying a city suspended in the clouds. This effect is enhanced by the adventure-themed soundtrack.
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Key Features of Steamrunners: The Wild Gas Canister Modifiers
The core excitement and pathway to the 10,000x potential are derived from the spreading Gas Canister symbols. Only one Gas Canister can land during a single base game spin. This mechanism showcases Hacksaw Gaming's affinity for spreading mechanics, but in this title, the spread is not restricted to a single direction:
- Green Gas Canister: When it lands, this canister spreads both horizontally and vertically. It transforms itself and any nearby low-paying symbols into wilds, provided they are part of a winning combination. The spread persists if new wilds or low-pay symbols connect to those already transformed.
- Purple Gas Canister: This powerful variant transforms itself and all low-paying symbols across the entire grid into wilds, again only applying the transformation if they contribute to a win.
- Multiplier Power: A multiplier ranging from x2 up to a colossal x200 can be randomly received by transformed wilds. Also, any existing wilds that are hit by a canister receive a x2 multiplier. If multiple multipliers contribute to a single win, their values are added together before being applied.
The Skybound Bonus Rounds
The key to achieving substantial rewards in Steamrunners lies within the three distinct Free Spins bonus rounds:
Sky City Bonus Game This feature is activated by collecting 3 FS scatters, which award you an initial 8 free spins. Sky City can introduce wild symbols that land with multipliers, become sticky, remaining in their position for the duration of the bonus. Crucially, sticky wild multipliers double each time they are affected by a spreading Gas Canister symbol, allowing them to climb to an enormous maximum of x5,000.
Gaslight District Bonus Game Triggered by landing 4 FS scatters, this feature grants 10 free spins. It mirrors the powerful sticky wild mechanics of the Sky City feature, but adds a guaranteed layer of action: at least one wild is guaranteed to be present on the grid throughout the entire bonus.
Court of High Steam Hidden Epic Bonus Game This is the rarest and potentially most lucrative bonus is unlocked by hitting 5 scatters in the main game, yielding 10 free spins. This "Hidden Epic" mode ensures high-suspense action by guaranteeing that one Gas Canister lands on every single free spin.
Note: In all three bonus rounds, landing 2 or 3 scatters grants an additional +2 or +4 free spins, respectively.
Maximize your Wins in the Steamrunners Slot
Aim to Trigger & Exploit Gas Canister Spreads
- Focus on getting Gas Canister symbols
The core mechanism of Steamrunners is the Gas Canister feature that spreads and converts low-paying symbols (or wilds) into wilds, potentially with multipliers. Maximizing your chances of landing these canisters is key to unlocking bigger wins. - Maximize multiplier stacking when possible
New wilds that are created by a gas canister may carry multipliers (like x2 up to x200).
In free spin modes, multipliers double when affected by another canister (up to a cap, e.g. x5,000). This means that one strategy could be to “build up” a grid ready for multiplier escalation, i.e. allow moderate wilds to exist so subsequent canisters can boost them further.
Choose the Right Free Spin / Bonus Mode
- Sky City vs Gaslight District vs Court of High Steam
In our experience with the free-play version of Steamrunner, between the two feature buy options we found Gaslight District to be a much better choice than Sky City. While the 200x cost of Gaslight District is quite high, we found that it consistently gave us proportionally high wins. On the other hand, Sky City’s win size was mostly minor in comparison with its cost.
There’s another helpful point to note here. Court of High Steam, which offers the biggest possible wins, is more likely to be triggered with the feature buy guaranteeing you more Free Spins, which is Gaslight District.
Best Alternatives to the Steamrunner Slot
- Pirots 4: For those who enjoy the cartoon-style appearance of Steamrunner but would like a little variety, give the recent slot in the Pirots series, Pirots 4 by ELK Studios, a try. Its 10,000x win potential may be smaller, but the cascade mechanic and Feature Buy are likely to keep you hooked.
- Deck of Scurra: If you’re looking for another Victorian-themed slot, Deck of Scurra by Print Studios could be a good fit. This high volatility slot has a max win potential of 20,000x and an RTP of 96.09%, making it a potentially fun choice.
Our Opinion and Final Verdict
In conclusion, Steamrunners successfully helps to rekindle the love affair of all things brass in the steampunk genre. Hacksaw Gaming has given the team an excuse to come up with a mechanical world featuring "fierce, fearless" characters navigating a high-flying, gadget-filled fantasy. The top-notch audiovisuals pull us into their pipe and cog world in the clouds.
With Steamrunners, Hacksaw Gaming has put together an intriguing slot that plays with spreading mechanics. This is an innovative mechanism because it isn’t restricted to a single direction. It also allows transformed wilds to reveal multipliers of up to x200. The implementation of sticky wild multipliers that can double up to a colossal x5,000 in the two lower-tier bonus rounds is huge for any slot.
A drawback, though, is that the largest wins depend heavily on what may be rare multiplier setups. This can make the gameplay feel demanding. Theoretically, getting the 10,000x potential max win is possible, but this slot is much better suited for thrill-seekers who enjoy the high rewards/require high-risk experience.
James is a casino games expert on the Playcasino.com editorial team. With many years of professional experience at a leading casino game development company and a passion for playing casino games, James has become a true expert in slots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and other games.
James uses this expertise to provide reliable, insider advice through his reviews and guides, breaking down the game rules and offering tips to help you win more often. Rely on James's extensive experience for expert advice on your casino play.
