Circle of Life: Slot Overview
No one really knows what lies beyond the moment we exit this world, but one thing is certain: the vessels we inhabit won’t last forever. If there’s comfort to be found, perhaps it’s in the idea of the circle of life—the endless cycle in which all things are born, grow, fade, and ultimately nourish what comes next. Heavy thoughts for a slot review, perhaps, but Hacksaw Gaming’s Circle of Life practically invites this kind of contemplation. It’s a spiritual successor to Life and Death, exploring similarly weighty themes through stark visuals and symbolic mechanics.
Like its predecessor, Circle of Life leans heavily on a muted, monochrome palette, reserving bursts of colour for the evolving Tree of Life feature that sits at the core of its design. The stripped-back aesthetic adds gravity to the experience—this is not a game for players seeking something light-hearted or bubbly. Faceless figures flanking the reels dissolve to bone and reform again, while the quiet, haunting backdrop reinforces the game’s meditation on mortality and rebirth. Hacksaw presents the theme with restraint and precision, creating a slot that stimulates both adrenaline and introspection.
Circle of Life is played on a 5×4 grid with 14 paylines, running on a high-volatility math model with four RTP variants, maxing out at 96.33%. Stakes range from $0.10 to $50, and four feature buys are available for players who prefer to skip straight to the action.
The paytable begins with 10–A card ranks, each worth 1x the bet for a 5-of-a-kind win. Above them sit five beautifully designed thematic premium symbols, paying 2x to 5x for 5 OAK. Wilds can appear on all reels, substitute for any regular symbol, and award 5x the bet for a full wild line.
Circle of Life – Features & Bonuses
Circle of Life enriches its sombre reels with Tree of Life wilds, the cascading Circle of Life mechanic, three ascending free-spin modes—Origin, Eternal, and the hidden Rebirth bonus—as well as a suite of feature buys.
Tree of Life
Tree symbols act as wilds and reveal an additive multiplier between x2 and x100. If a Tree participates in a win, it triggers a respin and grows upward into a Tree of Life.
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The Tree of Life sticks to the grid during the respin and expands by one row each time wins continue.
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Multiple Trees add their multipliers together.
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Respins keep chaining for as long as new wins include a Tree or Tree of Life.
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Once a Tree of Life reaches full height, it remains until the next respin or spin, then disappears.
This mechanic gradually transforms the monochrome grid, symbolising life pushing upward toward renewal.
Circle of Life
When a Tree of Life fully expands from bottom to top, it triggers the Circle of Life on the respin before the grid settles. A wheel spins above the Tree, awarding either:
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An additive multiplier (x2–x100)
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A multiplicative boost (x2)
Each result is applied directly to that Tree of Life.
The wheel keeps spinning, compounding the value, until it inevitably lands on a Skull, ending the sequence—symbolising the cycle’s inevitable conclusion.
Spreading FS Symbols
Landing 3 or more FS scatters causes each scatter to expand across its entire reel after wins have paid. Every reel position the FS covers shows a number of free spins (+1, +2, or +3), which are summed to award the total.
FS symbols may also transform into Upgrade symbols, elevating the bonus level:
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3 FS + 1 Upgrade → Eternal
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3 FS + 2 Upgrades → Rebirth
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4 FS + 1 Upgrade → Rebirth
Free Spins Modes
Origin Bonus Game
Triggered by 3 expanding FS symbols.
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The base mechanics remain, but Trees behave differently.
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A Tree involved in a win becomes sticky for the next spin, staying until it no longer connects to a win.
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A fully expanded Tree of Life is removed on the following spin.
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Respins are disabled in this bonus.
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Additional FS symbols award +4 to +12 spins.
Eternal Bonus Game
Triggered by 4 FS scatters, or via an Upgrade.
Includes all Origin features plus:
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When a Circle of Life triggers on a reel, that reel becomes activated.
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An activated reel guarantees a Tree symbol on every spin unless a Tree/Tree of Life already occupies it.
Active reels remain empowered for the entire bonus.
Rebirth – Hidden Epic Bonus
Triggered by 5 FS scatters or specific Upgrade combinations.
This top-tier mode expands on Eternal by:
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Automatically activating reels 2 and 4 from the start, creating more frequent Tree spawns and Circle of Life triggers.
Rebirth represents the full blossoming of the life cycle—explosive potential and constant growth.
Feature Buy Options
Circle of Life offers four ways to jump directly into action:
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BonusHunt FeatureSpins – 5x bet
Increases the chance of triggering a bonus by 5× (the game sheet claims 10×). -
Life or Death FeatureSpins – 70x bet
Guarantees at least 2 Tree symbols on the spin. -
Origin Bonus Buy – 100x bet
Direct entry into the Origin Bonus Game. -
Eternal Bonus Buy – 300x bet
Direct entry into the Eternal Bonus Game.
Circle of Life: Slot Verdict
Circle of Life is one of those rare Hacksaw Gaming titles where mechanics and theme fuse into a single organism. It isn’t a slot meant for idle, carefree spinning. Instead, it cultivates tension, quiet anticipation, and a strangely captivating fascination with watching something grow, wither, and return anew. Much like Life and Death, this is one of the few releases willing to step away from the neon-soaked slotscape and explore something heavier—something that lingers.
Its monochrome palette, skeletal figures, and sudden eruptions of colour from the expanding Trees of Life give the game a mood that’s equal parts eerie, reflective, and unexpectedly beautiful. It’s a slot that wants you to think, not just spin.
At the core lies the Tree of Life, a mechanic that transforms the grid from a subdued grayscale tableau into a living system of expanding wilds and escalating multipliers. When multiple Trees start working together, the game’s potential begins to crackle—Hacksaw’s signature expanding-multiplier formula can feel familiar, but in Circle of Life, it remains undeniably potent. A single spark can erupt into a screen-consuming blaze.
The Circle of Life wheel adds another layer of suspense. Each spin past the Skull is a breath held, a chance for the multiplier to grow into something monstrous before the inevitable end. Meanwhile, Spreading FS symbols provide one of Hacksaw’s more inventive bonus triggers, capable of dropping surprisingly large free spin totals.
With a win cap of 15,000x, comparable to its spiritual sibling, Circle of Life stands firmly on its own. It’s more aligned with Hacksaw’s traditional multiplier-wild DNA, yet distinct through its respins, wheel mechanic, and thematic weight. It may not eclipse Life and Death in every way, but it brings its own strengths—and, at its peak, can revive even the most depleted bankroll.
Thoughtful, tense, atmospheric—Circle of Life is not just a slot, but a mood. And when it blooms, it blooms brilliantly.