The Library

The Library: Slot Overview In its quest for world domination, or so it might seem, software provider Hacksaw Gaming has added another games studio to the fold. This one is Kitsune (Japanese for fox) Studios, and its first slot, The Library, has landed on the dissection bench. For its debut, Kitsune Studios has been handed Hacksaw Gaming's Stackways mechanic, as seen in Mayan Stackways (2023) and Ronin Stackways (2023), to name a couple of prior examples. It's a mechanic that can literally stack a lot of symbols on a reel, like wedging a bunch of books on a shelf, and Kitsune Studios has paired it with a slight 'Book of' touch during the free spins bonus rounds.

The humble library might not seem like an obvious place to host a gambling event due in part to the need to be quiet, but Push Gaming rocked Mystery Museum, so maybe Kitsune Studios will rock a book repository, too. When you think about it, libraries do rock in their own quiet way. They're literal stores of knowledge, gateways to adventure, and borrowing a book is usually free. Incredible. They're often found in amazing buildings as well, and the bookish room Kitsune Studios has set up for The Library looks like a cosy place to sit down, relax, and turn a page or two. Not content with just books, The Library also reinvents several famous names from literature. More on them in the symbol section. The Library's 5x4 gaming area provides an enormous number of ways to win, from up to 100,000 in the base game to a whopping 3.2 million during free spins. Course, you'll need the Stackways feature to go absolutely bananas to hit those sorts of numbers. Users are able to select a stake of 10 c to $/€100 to play the game, which is highly volatile and has a maximum RTP of 96.34%.

The Library's symbols are 10 to A card rank lows, then four what look like AI-generated versions of Lewis Carrol, Dante Alighieri, Edgar Allan Poe, and Beatrix Potter. A 5 OAK royal win pays 0.5-0.6 times the bet, while a 5 OAK premium win is worth 1.5-3 times the bet. Wild symbols are not part of the game.

The Library: Slot Features Stackways are The Library's main feature, available in the base game as well as in Stack the Shelves Spins and Super Stack the Shelves Spins.

Stackways A landed Stackways symbol stacks 2 to 10 symbols on its respective reel. There are two types of them. Normal Stackways have values of 2, 3, or 4, while Revealing Stackways reveal values of 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10. The stacked symbol is chosen by the symbol that would give the longest winning combination out of the symbols on the grid when the Stackways symbol activates. If there is more than one option, the choice amongst the possible options is made randomly. Stacking only occurs if the result creates a win.

Stack the Shelves Spins In the base game, landing 3 book scatters triggers this feature with 10 free spins. Players are randomly assigned 1 symbol to be the Special symbol. The Special symbol stacks and pays if it lands on 3 or more reels. Indicators below the respective reels reveal a number of 2 to 10, indicating the number of symbols that will be stacked.

In addition, the Stackways symbol may appear on the grid. When it lands, it acts as the Special symbol, further increasing the stacking on the reel by the value it displays. Stackways merge their displayed value with the value displayed beneath their reel to increase the total stacking amount for that reel. In this way, up to 20 symbols may be stacked on a reel. Stackways symbols only activate when a Special symbol is part of a winning stack on its reel.

It is possible to win +2 or +4 extra free spins by landing 2 or 3 scatters, respectively. If 4 scatters hit, the round upgrades to Super Stack the Shelves Spins and grants +4 free spins.

Super Stack the Shelves Spins 10 Super Stack the Shelves Spins are awarded from the base game when 4 scatters hit. This is the same as the regular Stack the Shelves Spins feature, except players are assigned 2 Special symbols at the start of the round.

Bonus Buy Clicking the bonus buy button reveals the following options: BonusHunt FeatureSpins mode costs 3x per spin to make each spin 5 times more likely to trigger a bonus game, while Stackways FeatureSpins cost 50x, and they guarantee at least 2 Stackways symbols land. Lastly, players can buy Stack the Shelves Spins for 150 times their bet. The Library: Slot Verdict Hacksaw Gaming is a studio that hammers the daylights out of a feature it likes, bending, moulding, and reshaping it into various forms for use in various slots. Is it telling, then, that the studio hasn't put a ton of effort into reshaping its Stackways mechanic? Mayan Stackways wasn't bad, nor was Ronin Stackways, but Hacksaw Gaming, for whatever reason, hasn't done a lot else with the idea since then. On its first outing, Kitsune Studios has picked up the feature and created a game with eye-catching figures, predominantly the huge number of possible ways to win, though winning potential of 10,000x is enticing, too.

Obviously, numbers aren't everything, and The Library is able to deliver positive moments which aren't solely figures-based. Stackways do their stacking thing as they have done in the past, though their application on the reels might have been better if the associated animation sequence had been more in keeping with the theme. The glass tube and electricity effect felt out of place in a library. Small detail, sure, and it's the reel modifying abilities which really count, fair enough. In that regard, Stacking Stackways symbols on top of Special symbols in free spins is a clever move, and The Library is able to put a lot of symbols on the board, if this sort of effect blows your hair back.

For a first-up slot, The Library is pretty solid. It lacks a certain polish that comes with experience, and the AI-esque artwork on the pay symbols is a little odd. Brave of Kitsune Studios to take on a mechanic Hacksaw Gaming hasn't shown a ton of love for, but it's put it to pretty good use, and if this thing ever hits 3.2 million ways, then hopefully it's caught on film as doing so would give The Library some serious clout.