Gladiator Clash Slot Review

NetEnt used to be one of the major slot powerhouses in the online gambling realm. While this provider is still a massive name in the sector, it does not release highly-anticipated reel spinners as it once did. That said, it still unleashes around two to three games per month, and most of these are of acceptable quality, meaning average to above-average titles. However, NetEnt rarely releases something spectacular these days.

Gladiator Clash is a super recent NetEnt product that showed up on the Web in mid-June 2024, and we assume that this famed Swedish developer operating under the Evolution umbrella is trying to capitalize on the hype surrounding the upcoming epic historical drama – Gladiator II, the sequel to Ridley Scott’s 2000 mega-hit starring Russell Crowe, which should hit theaters in November this year. Gladiator Clash did super respectable figures in its debuting week, entering the top one hundred rankings in Norway, Ireland, Argentina, and Turkey. It also is pulling in good numbers in markets like Canada, South Africa, Finland, and the UK. So, let us dive deep and discover if this is primarily due to NetEnt’s brand or the quality this slot boasts.

Theme & Design

We are sure you and most of our readers know what gladiators are. Yet, we will still supply a short definition for those few who may not be aware of these ancient Roman fighters. Gladiators were combatants in Rome’s arenas who fought amongst each other, condemned criminals or wild beasts as a form of public spectacle. Most often, these individuals were either prisoners of war or slaves. Some were free men who volunteered to participate in fights for the fame this brought or monetary rewards. Everyone who bore this label of gladiator lived in a barrack under the supervision of a lanista (a trainer).

Gladiators have long been a source of inspiration for online slot developers, and dozens of titles implement them as a motif. The most famous are probably Gladiator Legends by Hacksaw Gaming, Yggdrasil’s Champions of Rome by Yggdrasil, Wild Gladiators from Pragmatic Play, and this one.

As far as its presentation goes, Gladiator Clash is nothing special or out of the box. It looks polished enough, which we expect from every NetEnt creation, but it does not bring anything novel. The action here unfolds inside an empty amphitheater, with the reels spinning inside a column structure akin to a mini-pantheon. The graphics are expertly made images that look clean and nicely shadowed. The music featured in this game is a bit generic, frequently cut up by win effects. In truth, we did not find the audio side of things here very impressive as well, as again, everything was competently done, but did little to engage us in the gaming entertainment provided.

You set your wager using a center bottom screen bet selection, which gets flanked by the auto-spin button and the settings one. You have the Feature Buy function and the spin button on the right screen side. So, everything is pretty standard there.  

Specs & Gameplay

Gladiator Clash is a high-variance title whose gameplay happens on a basic 3×3 layout with only three paylines. You can find this game in two RTP variations, one where the return-to-player spec sits at a decent 96.16% and the other where it is 94.10%. The max win of this slot is x1,0006, and the lowest wager you can make in a round here is $0.10. The highest is $80.

What is unique about this NetEnt gaming product is that the pay tokens in this game have no intrinsic value. Of course, to win a reward here, you need to line up three on one of the three rows, and you get a wild that is active on all reels to help you out on your prize-accumulation journey.

Bonus Features

At first glance, this slot may look like a 4×3 one. Yet, the leftmost reel is a prize column, and values appear on this vertical, ranging from x1 to x500. When three identical symbols hit on a row, the value from this reel gets awarded, forming your prize. When two reels get packed with the same pay symbol, these may lock in place, as the third reel Respins in hopes of giving you a prize. On top of this, you also get Prize Respins, which triggers randomly when the prize reel shows a value of x50 or higher. That reel locks, and a respin gets awarded. Prize-Up is another random feature of Gladiator Clash, increasing your reward for a winning line, causing the combination to pay out again.

As far as more traditional bonus features go, this spinner has a Lion Bonus, which you can also buy for x25 of your stake. To enter this round spontaneously, you must fill a collection bar with twenty points. You get one point for each lion scatter hit. In the Lion Bonus, you pick lion symbols to reveal prizes or Thumbs-Up. Revealing three same value Lions awards that value. But three Thumbs-Up upgrade the bonus to the next level. There are three levels in total. The last one, level three, is where you can win the max reward of x1,000.

GOSU Verdict

Gladiator Clash is something different. But different is not always necessarily good. In our opinion, this game does not do anything exciting, and it did not get our adrenaline pumping. That is for sure. Its specs are also nothing to write home about and not something that will get many online gamblers to try this slot out. Overall, we would call Gladiator Clash average, and we doubt this reel-spinning option will have any legs. It has a low max win, and the always-good presentation from NetEnt will likely not be enough to entice many Internet game-of-chance lovers to enjoy this game more than once. We suggest you check out the mentioned Gladiator Legends by Hacksaw Gaming if you are into gladiator gambling entertainment, as that is a much more immersive spinner than this one. In our opinion, that is.

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