Cluster Slide

Cluster Slide Review

Cluster Slide Reviewed April 6 2021 by Casinogamesonnet.com

Developed by ELK Studios, Cluster Slide is a 7x8 grid slot that offers cluster payouts. Its name refers to how symbols slide to the left following winning combinations.

ELK Studios has a penchant for coming up with quirky themes, such as Taco Brothers: Saving Christmas. Cluster Slide easily falls into this category too.

As told by ELK, it involves square monsters that like huddling together for warmth (a.k.a. cluster pays). These monsters sometimes eat each other too.

It also presents a unique sliding mechanic. We’ll discuss if Cluster Slide’s revolutionary elements make it another hit from ELK Studios throughout the following review.

Gameplay and Atmosphere

This game features 7 columns and 8 rows, thus creating a 7x8 grid. Winning combinations occur when clusters of 5+ matching symbols form. Symbols from winning clusters burst and allow new icons to slide into their places (covered more later).

Cluster Slide takes place on planet Jellyton, which looks stunning in the background. The ELK design team worked hard on bringing Jellyton to life.

This planet features a rocky landscape with mist and jagged mountains in the distance. You’ll see other planets hovering above Jellyton, which really completes the high-quality atmosphere.

The symbols include a bunch of colorful monsters and wild icons. They contrast well with the detailed, but darker, background.

Cluster Slide Max Win, Payouts and Symbols

Low-paying symbols include blue, green, red, and yellow jelly cubes. High pays include green, orange, purple, and red furry monsters.

The red monster, which has a crown and moustache, pays the most among this group at 500x your stake for a winning cluster of 15+. You can win up to 10,000x your stake when accounting for bonuses.

A “W” serves as the wild symbol. It substitutes for all regular icons to form wins. A “B” acts as the scatter icon.

Cluster Slide RTP, Volatility and Betting Options

You can wager between €0.20 and €100 per spin. The €100 max wager allows you to win a jackpot worth up to €1 million.

The Cluster Slide RTP is 96.0%, which is average for an online slot. Volatility falls into the high range due to the large max payout and multiple features (covered next).

Cluster Slide Features

This game offers a mixture of classic and more-unique features. You can check out all of the extras below.

Avalanche/Slide

Symbols from winning clusters disappear, while non-winning icons in the same row slide over. New symbols drop from above to fill out the vacant positions.

Avalanche wins give you an opportunity to keep netting more payouts in the same round. They continue until no new payouts are possible.

Feature Wilds

You’ll see a meter located in the upper left-hand portion of the grid. Symbols from winning clusters go into this meter.

Upon filling the meter, you’ll receive one of the following Feature Wild symbols:

• Big – Causes a random symbol to grow to 2x2.
• Multiplier – Boosts the win multiplier by +1.
• Random – Changes 2-4 regular pays into wild symbols.
• Removing – Removes every instance of one symbol from the grid.
• Upgrading – Upgrades every instance of one symbol to a higher pay.

Feature Wilds can also land without you filling the meter. You’ll still benefit from their given modifier in this case. If all 5 Feature Wilds land on the grid at once, they’ll boost the win multiplier by +5.

Wild Drops

You trigger 3 Wild Drops when landing three B scatters anywhere on the grid. Here’s what happens during each drop:

• 1st Wild Drop – All triggering B scatters turn into wild symbols; another three 1x1 wilds are added.
• 2nd Wild Drop – Adds two 2x2 wilds to the grid.
• 3rd Wild Drop – Adds one 3x3 wild to the grid.

X-iter Modes

ELK Studios introduced X-iter Modes in Bompers not long ago. X-iter is all about giving players multiple options when it comes to feature buy.

As you may know, feature buy allows you to purchase a bonus for a certain amount of money. X-iter Modes take this to a new level by providing five different ways to unlock the feature.

Here are the five options for Cluster Slide:

• X-iter 1: Extra Multiplier – Costs 15x your stake; delivers 3 Wild Drops with a starting win multiplier of 5x.
• X-iter 2: Moustache Collect – Costs 25x your stake; delivers Wild Drops with the high-paying moustaches “going to sleep” after landing. They’ll all activate on the final drop.
• X-iter 3: Feature Wild Collect – Costs 50x your stake; delivers 3 Wild Drops with Feature Wilds going to sleep after landing. They’ll all activate on the last drop.
• X-iter 4: Bonus Game – Costs 100x your stake; guarantees that 3+ scatters will land and trigger Wild Drops.
• X-iter 5: Super Bonus Game – Costs 300x your stake; guarantees that 3+ scatters will land and trigger a Super Bonus.

Similar Slots to Cluster Slide

ELK has really been revolutionizing the cluster pays format recently. They shook things up with Cygnus, a 6x8 game where symbols roll down to the left following avalanche wins. IO is another ELK Studios game that follows in Cygnus’ footsteps with the format.

Cluster Slide differs slightly, with symbols sliding to the left after avalanches. It still keeps the same spirit of these revolutionary slots, though.

Regarding the theme, Cluster Slide feels similar to Play’n GO’s Reactoonz series. The latter also has a cutesy alien theme along with a meter collection system.

Final Thoughts

Cluster Slide presents a unique mechanic and theme without going too far overboard. You should definitely enjoy your visit to Jellyton when playing this game.

First off, the sliding mechanic brings something new to the table. It puts an interesting twist on avalanche (cascading) wins while, at the same time, not being too confusing.

This game is also loaded with features, including avalanche, Feature Wilds, Wild Drops, and X-iter Modes. You can use these bonuses to chase a large 10,000x max payout.

If you’re looking for something fresh in the slots world, then you’ll definitely find it with Cluster Slide. The latter feels like an improvement on Play’n GO’s Reactoonz series and shows that ELK Studios is truly at the top of its game.

Release Date

Cluster Slide was released on April 6 2021.