Edward
How To Play It
For a game area with Cluster Pays, ELK Studios keeps the same betting system that they’ve been using in every slot so far. 100 coins are part of each wager, but the total value can be very low at $0.20, or as high as $100. It’s entirely up to the player.
7×8 reels, with 56 symbols available each round, will be used to form Cluster Pays. These are groups of 5 or more matching symbols, connected horizontally and/or vertically. The rewards top at 15 symbols, so if you get more symbols than that, there are no additional rewards given.
Special Features
Forming a Cluster is only the beginning, which is something to appreciate about this slot machine. You get a dropping mechanic then, which removes winning symbols. Next, you see symbols slide to the left, if there are empty positions there. Once that happens, room is made on the right side, for new symbols to land. This can bring additional clusters, and new drops of symbols.
Wild symbols are used, and they are available as substitutes of course, so they contribute to any cluster of symbols being formed next to their positions.
As you form clusters, the symbols are collected in a special meter, called a Generator. When filled, it adds feature wilds to the game area. Do that five times in a single spin, even across multiple drops, and you get a 5x multiplier for all wins that follow.
The types of feature wilds that you can get, will vary between the Big (expands random symbol into 2×2 version), Multiplier (+1 multiplier), Random (turns up to 4 symbols into new wilds), Removing (takes away a single type of symbol, from all positions) and Upgrading (upgrades a single type of symbol).
You even get Wild Drops here, 3 of them if you get 3 B logo scatters in view. The triggering symbols are used as extra wilds, and you get three additional regular wilds for the first spin. For the second spin, you get 2 wilds of 2×2 symbols, while in the third round you get a 3×3 wild as well.
Maximum Payouts
It’s a game with awesome potential, of up to 10,000x the stake, more than appropriate for a slot machine where volatility is not as high as you’d imagine. Medium-high volatility and a 96% RTP, these are good enough to make the slot a worthy choice.
Summary
Cluster Slide offers a unique gameplay, has a good top jackpot, and I like the theme as well. They could’ve implemented the story better though, I’m not a fan of its symbols.
