Ainsworth is the company behind Desert Hawk and they are renowned for creating evocative and tantalizing online slots that transport players to different landscapes. It’s safe to say that they’ve stuck with their lofty standards with Desert Hawk. If you like to play online slots with great features and bonuses, as well as extraordinary graphics, then Desert Hawk is going to be right up your alley.

We’re going to take an in-depth look at what you can expect from one of Ainsworth’s best online slots in this game review. 

Game overview

Desert Hawk is set in an African desert landscape. Think of a Saharan sunset and you’re in the right setting! With five reels, three rows and 20 paylines, as well as a top payout of 250x your stake, this is a bright and exciting game, with an RTP of 95.88%. 

It’s the game’s bonus features, however, that really stand out and it has two of them to keep you entertained. Then there are the sticky wild substitutions, scatter symbols and a rolling free games feature. 

You’ll get a nice payout when you land five symbols in a sequence from left to right on one of the game’s 20 paylines. With regards to symbols, you can look forward to some unique and characteristic desert animals that add a wonderful quirkiness to the game.

How to play

You don’t have to pass through a start screen in Desert Hawk, as the game will load automatically. First things first, you should check out the guide and rules of the game by clicking the small hamburger icon located on the bottom left of the screen and then clicking “i.”

Then you need to set your bet amount with the arrows on either side of Total Bet. You can choose between $1.00 and $50.00. If you’d like to go with the maximum amount, then all you have to do is click on the Max button.

You’ll find the lines, cash and win counters displayed on the right of the Spin button. Click this central Spin button to play, or the auto-spin button if you’d like to go that route. Once play starts, the central Spin button will become the stop button and this is the button you’ll use to stop the reels from spinning.

The game does most of the hard work for you and any winning combinations will be highlighted on the reels for you to easily see.

Graphics

Ainsworth is known for developing incredible graphics and in Desert Hawk they’ve really upped their game. The graphics are simply stunning and the moody soundtrack just ups the ante.

In the backdrop to the reels, there’s a beautiful tangerine sun setting between two large sand dunes. A rich, red glow stretches across the screen, with a few small scrubs in the foreground blowing in the dusty wind. The reels in Desert Hawk are huge, taking up almost the entire screen. The symbols are large and draw the eye. You can expect to find amazing desert creatures like a desert hyena, a hawk, a scorpion, a fox, a cougar and a beautiful oasis symbol. The hawk, scorpion and oasis animate when they are part of a winning combination.

The dashboard in this game is simple, yet effective and doesn’t distract from the reels or the symbols. A guitar is the main instrument in the soundtrack, accompanied by light percussion and orchestra. A country-and-western banjo riff will start when you land a winning combination and the desert hawk will fly off diagonally across the screen.

Features

The hawk symbol acts as the game’s wild and it will substitute for any other symbol except the scatter symbol, which is the shimmering oasis symbol. These wilds are also sticky, which means that once you land them, they will stick on the reels while the rest of the symbols change and this can help improve your chances of landing a winning combination.

The oasis scatter symbol pays in any position. What this means is that you don’t have to land them in the same payline in order to win, which is a nice touch. Land three or more of these scatter symbols anywhere on the reels and you’ll trigger one of the two bonus features, which we will look at in more detail below.

Bonuses and jackpots

As mentioned, one of the two bonus features will trigger when you land three or more oasis symbols anywhere on the reels. Here’s what you have to look forward to:

Desert Hawk Feature

The Desert Hawk Feature bonus will award you with eight free spins and allows the wild symbol to fall on reels 2, 3 and 4. If you do land a wild symbol, it sticks on the reels until the end of your free spins round. Land three or more oasis scatters during this feature and you’ll be given five additional free spins.

Desert Hawk Extra Feature

The Desert Hawk Extra Feature is similar to the bonus feature above in that it gives you eight free spins, but it also opens reel 5 up for the wild symbol to land on. Land five or more scatter symbols on the reels and you’ll get a handsome payout to add to your total winnings.

Similar games

If you enjoy Desert Hawk, then check out these similar online casino games from Ainsworth:

• Congo King
• Kanga Cash
• Panda King
• Eagle Bucks
• Safari Spirit

Play online games with Borgata Online Casino

At Borgata Online Casino, we have some of the best online gambling and slots games for you to choose from. 

Register with Borgata and play online slot machines as well as other exciting online casino games.