Gladiator Clash Overview
It’s time for a new NetEnt slot release and this time it’s rather a unique game. The game is called Gladiator Clash.
And, as the name might suggests, is a game with a Roman gladiator theme. Where the reels are set within a colosseum and the symbols represent all sorts of weapons. Bu where somehow there isn’t a gladiator in sight. It all uses a bit of rusty, dark tones, which makes for a good feel.
The game uses 4 reels that are each 3 symbols high and only uses 3 paylines.
Here’s where it gets different. Symbols don’t have their own payout. In fact, the first reel is a multiplier reel that holds multiplier of between x1 and x500. As long as three of the same symbols appear on a row, you are awarded with the multiplier in front, on reel 1. That’s it. The game does also come with wild symbols. And all normal symbols and wild symbols appear stacked on all reels. Lastly we have a lion symbol, which is used trigger a separate bonus.
Gladiator Clash comes with a very low maximum payout of online 1.006 times your bet, but is still a high volatile slot game.
Features
Let’s start by explaining three features that can randomly occur during the base spins.
- Reel Respin – when 2 reels are completely filled with one and the same symbol, they will lock and the third reel will respin
- Prize Respin – when the first reel has a value of at least 50x on there, it will lock and the other three reels will respin
- Prize-Up! – when you get a winning payline, you are awarded the prize and then the value increases, awarding the new prize also
Lion Bonus
Each time you spin, a lion symbol might appear. When this does, it will be collected into a meter on top. And when you have collected 20 of them, you will trigger the lion bonus.
You will go to a screen with a bunch of lion heads. Pick to reveal either a multiplier or a thumbs up symbol. Match three of the same multiplier to win that prize. Match three thumbs up’s and you will move to the next level with bigger rewards. The prizes during the levels are:
- Bronze Level: 3x, 5x, 10x, 20x and thumbs up symbols
- Silver Level: 5x, 10x, 20x, 50x and thumbs up symbols
- Gold Level: 10x, 20x, 100x, 500x and 1.000x
Verdict
Gladiator Clash really is a different game than a normal slot game. The way the game pays, where only the multiplier count and the symbols don’t have their own value, is something I don’t think I have seen before.
And because the base game uses those respins for both the multiplier reel and the symbol reels and can also upgrade a win at random, it keeps going along nicely.
Of course the Lion bonus is nothing new, but is also a nice addition and triggers in a fun way.
So is Gladiator Clash the next big NetEnt hit? I’m afraid it’s probably not. Maybe because the game is just too different. But probably more because of the poor maximum payout of only just above 1.000 times bet. Sure, I know most players will never reach a maximum win amount on any game. But a higher number does mean that you can also get some high wins and unfortunately this one can’t. I wish they had increased that number, if only by 2 or 3 thousand even.
But, if you want to try something new and different. And are fine with lower rewards. And lower, I mean I still got wins of 100x and 200x times bet on a regular basis, which is of course just fine, then try out Gladiator Clash now. Available at all NetEnt casinos.
