Circle of Life

Mechanics and ways to win

This reel slot from Hacksaw Gaming is played on a 5-reel, 4-row grid, with 14 fixed paylines.
Each spin stops the reels, revealing various symbols. To win, at least three matching symbols must line up on one of the 14 predefined lines, on adjacent reels from left to right, always starting from the first reel on the left.

Return to Player and Volatility

This is a high-volatility slot: wins tend to be concentrated in “strong” moments, separated by several spins without significant wins. It is therefore best suited to those who play calmly, accept balance fluctuations, and budget wisely.

Available RTPs (theoretical long-term return):

Basic versions (depending on operator and jurisdiction): 96.33%, 94.19%, 92.33%, 86.17%.

In the 96.33% RTP version:

• 96.29% with the use of the “BonusHunt FeatureSpins™” special spins.
• 96.25% with the “Life or Death FeatureSpins™” special mode.
• 96.33% by purchasing the special “Origin” mode.
• 96.34% by purchasing the special “Eternal” mode.

The winning hit rate is 23.53%: in practice, approximately one spin in four results in a win of any size, often modest.

Maximum win and betting range

With a maximum win of 15,000 times your stake, every stake choice in this slot machine really matters: it starts at $0.10 per spin, ideal for those who want to get a feel for the game without putting too much strain on their bankroll, up to $50 per spin for those looking for more intense, high-stakes sessions.

Ambience and mobile playability

In Circle of Life, everything revolves around a black-and-white cycle, where you fall, fade, and flourish again under the silent gaze of two faceless female statues, suspended in the palms of their hands at the sides of the reels. The stark contrast between light and shadow emphasizes the thin line separating Life and Death, transforming each spin into a measured step on this border.

On smartphones and tablets, the interface remains clean and responsive: the on-screen controls are immediate, the reels spin fluidly, and the minimalist aesthetic adapts perfectly to the vertical format, maintaining the sensation of being in a suspended world, where the circle is never broken.

Winning Symbols

Symbols achieve the highest payout with combinations of 5 matching symbols on the same line. The lowest-paying symbols range from 10 to A and pay up to x1 the bet, while the highest-paying symbols are six black-and-white works of art, capable of paying up to x5.

There’s also a key rule: the Tree symbol and the FS symbol cannot appear on the same reel in the same spin. Furthermore, in the special ORIGIN and ETERNAL modes, a maximum of three expanding FS symbols can appear per spin, making each appearance even more significant.

Circle of Life compared to 4 other slots from provider Hacksaw Gaming

Special Features and Symbols

This slot features several special features that modify the reels, multipliers, and free spins.
They are listed and explained below, so you can understand what happens when the key symbols appear.

Tree of Life

The Tree symbol acts as a wild, substituting for all paying symbols and displaying a multiplier (2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x, 7x, 8x, 9x, 10x, 25x, 50x, 100x). When it appears in a winning combination, the win is multiplied; if the combination contains multiple Trees, the values ​​are added together before being applied. After the payout, a new spin begins: the winning Trees remain on the grid, extend upwards by one row, and become Trees of Life, while the remaining symbols spin again.

The series of respins continues as long as a Tree of Life or another Tree contributes to a win. Each respin expands the Tree of Life by one row until it reaches the top of the reel; on the next spin, when it is fully expanded, it is removed.

Circle of Life

When a Tree of Life manages to expand from the bottom to the top row of the same reel, the Circle of Life is activated on that reel during the respin, before the reels stop. The wheel spins and can stop on an additive multiplier (2x, 3x, 5x, 10x, 25x, 100x) or a 2x multiplicative multiplier: in the first case, the value is added to that of the Tree of Life, in the second, it doubles it.

The Circle of Life continues to spin and update the value of the Tree of Life until the arrow lands on the skull; then the wheel ends, the reels stop, all wins associated with that Tree of Life are paid with the new total multiplier, a new spin begins, and the Tree of Life is removed.

Expanding FS Symbols

When 3 or more FS Scatter symbols appear on the same spin, each expands across the entire reel after paying out the normal wins. Each covered slot displays a free spins value (+1, +2, or +3), and the sum of all visible numbers determines the total spins awarded. When activating or purchasing a feature that uses these symbols, some boxes may transform into upgrade symbols:

• 3 Expanding FS symbols + 1 Upgrade trigger Eternal mode.
• 3 Expanding FS symbols + 2 Upgrades trigger Hidden Epic Rebirth mode.
• 4 Expanding FS symbols + 1 Upgrade trigger Hidden Epic Rebirth mode.

Origin

Origin is activated with free spins when 3 Expanding FS Scatter symbols land on the same spin in the main game. The basic gameplay remains the same, but each time a Tree symbol appears in a win, the corresponding Tree of Life becomes sticky and remains on the grid as long as it continues to participate in new combinations; once it stops, it is removed on the next free spin.

If it is already fully expanded, it is still removed on the next spin. In Origin, re-spin-style spins are no longer triggered, but you can still get additional free spins: each expanding FS symbol that appears awards +4 to +12 extra spins.

Eternal

Eternal is activated with free spins when four expanding FS Scatter symbols land on a single spin in the main game. This feature follows all the rules of Origin, but whenever the Circle of Life lands on a reel, that reel becomes active for the duration of the feature and guarantees the appearance of a Tree symbol on every spin, unless there is already a Tree or Tree of Life in that reel.

Expanding FS symbols that land award +4 to +12 additional free spins.

Hidden Epic Rebirth

Hidden Epic Rebirth is activated with free spins when five expanding FS Scatter symbols appear simultaneously in the main game.

It maintains the same structure as Eternal, but with a starting advantage: reels 2 and 4 are already active from the first spin. In this mode, expanding FS symbols can no longer land, so the number of spins allowed remains fixed.

Purchasing Features and FeatureSpins™

From the main screen, you can pay to immediately access special features or to activate FeatureSpins™ targeted spins using the dedicated button. When FeatureSpins™ are active, each spin has a fixed cost based on the selected bet, guarantees specific conditions on the reels, and is active until manually deactivated.

The available options, with their respective RTP values, are:

• Purchasing BonusHunt FeatureSpins™ (RTP 96.29%): Each spin costs 5x the bet, but offers a 5x increased chance of triggering the features linked to the FS symbols.
• Purchasing Life or Death FeatureSpins™ (RTP 96.25%): At a cost of 70x the bet, each spin guarantees at least two Tree symbols on the reels.
• Direct purchase of Origin mode (RTP 96.33%): immediate access to the corresponding free spins series, paying 100x the stake.
• Direct purchase of Eternal mode (RTP 96.34%): access to the special mode with activated reels, paying 300x the stake.

Final Opinions on Circle of Life

Circle of Life impressed me more for its character than for its quantity of special effects. The stark black and white, the symbols that look like small works of art, and the Tree of Life mechanism that grows and accumulates multipliers create a game capable of changing its face in just a few spins, especially in the Origin, Eternal, and Hidden Epic Rebirth modes.

The downside is its extremely high volatility: in my tests, I had sessions where the special features took a while to appear, and my balance dropped quickly when the bet was too aggressive.