Gladiatoro Slot Review

In 2017, ELK Studio got the Game of the Year trophy at the 2017 EGR Operator Awards for their Wild Toro slot. ELK is a Stockholm company founded in 2012, which tried to benefit from the traction attained from Wild Toro by releasing a sequel in October 2021, which got some decent reviews. Now this Swedish provider has decided to add a new addition to this franchise, one boasting a Gladiator theme, cleverly named Gladiatoro.

We should note that Scientific Game acquired ELK Studios in 2023 via an undisclosed deal whose details have not yet become public. This provider is now etching close to the one-hundred-slot milestone, and they are coming close to this feat by releasing around two games per month. In November 2023, ELK unleashed Dam Beavers and Gladiatoro, which debuted on November 15th on exclusive platforms and got worldwide distribution on the 23rd of this month. According to the available data, this reel spinner is doing extremely well virtually everywhere. It has managed to rank in the top ten in markets like Norway, New Zealand, Ireland, Sweden, Malta, and South Africa. And it has positioned well in a wide array of regions in their top fifty standings.

Theme & Design

Gladiatoro has a dual theme. That much should be evident by this spinner’s name. The first motif is gladiator battling, and the second is bulls, specifically – bullfighting. Concerning the gladiator theme, we shall note that around ninety such slots exist, with our favorite ones from this category being Gladiator Legends from Hacksaw Gaming and Pragmatic Play’s Wild Gladiators. Regarding bullfighting, we know of fifty such games, with ones we recommend from this batch being Bull in a Rodeo by Play’n GO, Relax’s La Fiesta, and Corrida Romance Deluxe from Wazdan.

Visually, Gladiatoro has some similarities to the original Wild Toro slot. It has some of the same symbols, meaning the coins, roses, and character tokens. Nevertheless, these have been updated and fitted to the current theme. The base game here plays out in an Arena’s waiting area, where gladiators await their turn to enter the Colosseum and do battle. That occurs in the bonus round here. The presentation of Galdiatoro features painterly images that have been most professionally done by ELK’s design team, primarily featuring red and gold. The reels spin in a semi-transparent grid, with the base game boasting a drum-heavy soundtrack. Once you enter the arena, the noted music shuts off, with a more movie-like theme taking its place.

We should note that we like the symbol animation here, as we feel they make the overall presentation more energetic and zestful.

Overall, we would give the look of Gladiatoro a high rating because it is pleasant to the eye and seeks to dazzle with charismatic characters.

You will find the spins button in the lower right corner of your screen, with the auto-spin functions above in the top right. On the left side, the bet adjuster sits at the bottom, with the X-iter button above it and the setting icon at the top. You have a bottom screen bar that lists your current bet size and demo-play balance.

Specs & Gameplay

The lowest bet accepted in Gladiatoro is $0.2, and the highest is $100. That is more than acceptable for a high variance title with a max win of x10,000. The gaming entertainment here plays out on a 5×4 grid with one hundred and seventy-eight to three hundred and forty paylines. The hit frequency here has gotten set at 24.1%, and the default RTP stands at a disappointing 94%.

What bummed us out about this ELK product is that you cannot make $1 wagers. The low-pay tokens appearing in Gladiatoro are Roman-style royals, paying x0.4 to x0.8 for five matching tokens from their batch stopping in view. Their high-pay counterparts, or premiums, are a vase with grapes, a watermelon with a knife through it, a rose that also appeared in Wild Toro, and a helmet. These produce prizes of x0.9 to x5 for five-of-a-kind combinations.

A sword over a shield is the Wild here, substituting for all the regular pay tokens, but not the Diaz, the Toro, and the Matador symbols that come spring into action for this title’s bonus features.

Bonus Features

The Toro symbol, or the bull, transforms into a walking wild, generating respins as he moves to the left, doubling the values of the coins it passes. You also have Diaz collectors (head statues) here, which gather the coin values. When two Matadors hit, they activate a respin, becoming sticky. Introducing a new Matador initiates another one. If Toro lands with a Matador in view. The Toro Goes Wild feature activates. That means that bulls will start to pursue Matadors, and in the midst of this charge, wilds get left behind. There is also a Level Up Coin mode. So, when a level-up coin makes contact, it shoots an arrow upward, expanding the number of rows to a maximum of 6. That boosts the number of paylines to three hundred and forty. If no respins are in progress, the game will grant you one.

If you hit three or more coins, the Gladiator bonus triggers. It gets played with coins only, no regular pay tokens. However, Diaz, Toro, and Matador symbols are in play, with the activating coins remaining sticky. The sums of all gathered coins get displayed on a counter, and this value multiplies your bet. Coins give a random multiplier, and Matadors boost coins before vanishing, while a persistent Matador does this on every spin. Diaz absorbs values and triggers the Toro Goes Wild mode, leaving coins behind that double in value. The persistent Diaz does this on every spin. Level Up symbols turn into coins after expanding the grid, with Toros awarding respins.

Gladiatoro comes with the X-iter feature with five Bonus Buy options. The Bonus Hunt costs x3, the Matador Respin lists a price of x10, the Diaz symbols will run you x25, the Gladiator Bonus x10, and the Super Bonus is x500, guaranteeing one persistent token from the start.

GOSU Verdict

Here, we have the seventh addition to ELK’s Toro series, and in our opinion, this is one of the better ones. It has loads of features and a generous max win, and the only thing underwhelming about this slot is the low RTP, which is understandable given the high variance model implemented. As other reviews of this spinner have noted, Gladiatoro does draw some inspiration from Money Train 2. While it is not as exciting as that game, we would call it pretty decent and interesting to play. Its presentation is cool, and the gameplay here is exciting. Hence, we say – give it a chance.

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