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Gladiator Legends Slot Review

Hacksaw Gaming seems to have developed a taste for melee combat. After releasing Warrior Ways in March 2022, the game provider jumped to its second combat-oriented slot, Gladiator Legends, within a month. Even though the two slots share a warrior mantra, from aesthetics to features, they are poles apart. Gladiator Legends takes you into the ancient Greco-Roman world, where fierce warriors would engage in prolonged and intense battles to emerge as the ultimate victors.

While online slots might not be the best medium to depict a historical era accurately, our first look into the game reveals that Hacksaw Gaming has done a pretty decent job. The slot has infused several imageries of ancient times soaked in wars. But when it comes to paying out, let’s see which side of the battle players land.

Published on:

May 30, 2024

Last updated:

May 30, 2024

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Play Gladiator Legends Demo

Slot Technicalities

96.31%

extremeinfo

5

Pay Lines

10

Yes

No

No

No

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Slot Description

Gladiator Legends unfolds on a grid of 5 reels and 4 rows that run on 10 fixed paylines. Players can jump into the slot’s battleground by wagering between 0.10 to 100 coins per spin. Hacksaw offers a max win potential of 10,000x the stake to make this gruesome battle worth fighting for.

Gladiator Legends RTP is 96.31%, which comes off as an excellent score for a Hacksaw slot. But since it is a highly volatile slot, wins might take a while to land on screen. However, a good thing about high volatility slots is even though they pay less frequently, the chances of winning big amounts are higher in them. Also, the slot’s hit frequency is about 26%, which is good enough for a slot rated 5 out of 5 on volatility.

Our first impression of the game was great. Even though we have seen this concept of duels in other Hacksaw slots, most notably Wanted Dead or a Wild, the execution in Gladiator Legends looks fresh. Also, with several features and special symbols in the game, players might have numerous opportunities to bag something big. Let’s see how it all pans out.

Theme, Design, and Sound

Right from the start, Gladiator Legends is a warrior-themed slot. This becomes further evident from the metal grid frame and heavy use of weapon symbols. Don’t be surprised if the design looks inspired by the famous Hollywood movie 300. Also, the bloodied sky in the background is reminiscent of Wanted Dead or a Wild, but more importantly, it stands as imagery for a gruesome battle that’s about to unfold.

But even more highlighting is the game’s soundtrack, immersing you in the ancient Greco-Roman world. With blaring horns synced with drums creating a battlefield ambiance, the background score will likely give you some adrenaline rush.

Symbols and Payouts

A minimum of 3 matching icons are needed to extract wins from the standard payout symbols. The slot has 5 runic-shaped 10 to A royals offering 0.50x to 1x the bet amount for landing five matching ones. Weapons of different sorts constitute the higher-pay symbols, awarding 5 to 30x the stake for hitting five identical ones across a payline.

Wild, apart from substituting other payables, is also a paying symbol that only pays when 5 of them appear on the reels. The payout from wilds is equivalent to the highest-paying weapon symbol, which is 30x the stake.

Among the game’s non-paying but special symbols, there are two types of scatters: Arena and Beast scatter symbols, each triggering their respective features. Available during the base game and bonus rounds is a special VS symbol, which offers multipliers when applicable.

Features and Bonuses

Gladiator Legends is stacked with several exciting features, and the special VS symbol, which is available during the base game as well.

VS Symbols

VS symbols expand to become Dual Reels and showcase a battle between two multipliers represented as gladiators. The winning gladiator’s multiplier is applied throughout the reel. However, VS symbols only expand during the base game when there is a certainty the expansion would result in at least a win.

Furthermore, Dual Reels are wild with or without multipliers during the base game. Possible multiplier values range between x2 to x100, and if more than one multiplier is part of a winning formation, their values are added first and then multiplied by the win amount.

Champions of the Arena

3 Arena scatters in the base game trigger Champions of the Arena with 3 respins. Remaining free spins reset to 3 whenever you hit a VS symbol during the feature. Reel Multipliers sit above each reel in this bonus round. Whenever a VS symbol lands on a reel, its multiplier replaces the current Reel Multiplier of that reel. Also, Dual Reels during this bonus feature come with multipliers up to x1000.

Two coins are also a part of this bonus feature:

  • Normal Coins: multiplies the respective Reel Multiplier by x2 to x10 multiplier

  • Epic Coins: multiplies all the Reel Multipliers by x2 to x10 multipliers.

Unleash the Beast

Hitting 3 Beast scatter symbols in the base game triggers the Unleash the Beast feature with 3 respins. Here, too, respins reset whenever a VS symbol lands. Reel Multipliers are available during the bonus round on the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th reel. And when a Duel Reel triggers on any reel, the multiplier gets added to the respective Reel Multiplier instead of substituting it.

Reel 3 is known as the Beast Reel and remains locked until each of the remaining 4 reels gets a VS symbol. When unlocked, Reel 3 might show a Beast Duel multiplier: it multiplies Duel Reel multipliers of the other 4 reels before they are added to their respective Reel Multipliers.

Possible Beast Duel multipliers are between x2 and x20, whereas reels 1, 2, 4, and 5 have multipliers up to x250. Once the feature concludes, values of all Reel Multipliers are added together, multiplied by the bet amount, and paid.

Bonus Buy

Whether it’s the VS symbol or the two bonus features, you can trigger any of them straight away using the Bonus Buy option. Note that the feature might not be available in some jurisdictions.

Feature Cost Volatility RTP FeatureSpins - 1 VS symbol guaranteed 10x Very High 96.43% FeatureSpins - 2 VS symbols guaranteed 40x Extreme 96.46% Champions of the Arena 100x Very High 96.45% Unleash the Beast 400x High 96.40%

About the Game Provider

Hacksaw Gaming is going through a terrific run in the igaming industry. The company was launched in 2017 and, within a few years, has already released over 120 games in different categories. Although the game provider has a great collection of Scractchcards and a building inventory of Instant Win games, the brand is most famous for its online slots. The charm of Hacksaw Gaming slots rests in their unique yet simple game design, high-definition visuals, stand-out features, and eye-catching math.

The company has recently established its footing in the US market and is already operating in over 20 regulated markets with +300 global partners. Hacksaw has acquired licensing from reputed regulatory bodies like the Malta Gaming Authority and the UK Gambling Commission to make their brand even more trustworthy.

What we like

What we don't like

Final Verdict

Hacksaw Gaming has started experimenting with serious themes, such as The Bowery Boys, and now it has upped its production quality even further. Not that the cute ones like Stack ‘Em or King Carrot are any less. It’s just these new brooding themes have enjoyed massive popularity in films, and seeing them come to life in online slots is equally thrilling. Moreover, the way Hacksaw has executed these games is equally commendable: whether the sound of sliding tiles upon spinning or the breaking chain animation during the Unleash the Beast feature, the aesthetics behind Gladiator Legends are superbly envisioned.

Even when it comes to winning payouts, the game provider has ensured that there are several ways to go at it. However, high volatility remains a hurdle that needs to be safely crossed. But the game mechanics look gorgeous and play out great, too. But Champions of the Arena was a bit disappointing, where the concept of replacing multipliers might take away a high-value multiplier and instead could leave you with a measly number. The risk factor associated with this bonus feature is much higher than its counterpart. But then there are Normal and Epic Coins, that somewhat uplift the feature provided they land at the right moment.

On the other hand, Unleash the Beast is just the feature you’d want to trigger. With multipliers added to the Reel Multipliers, you can only progressively increase your win payouts instead of losing out on them. This gives you a much better opportunity to come close to the maximum win potential than any other in-game feature. However, in our multiple gaming sessions, Unleash the Beast didn’t show up as much as Champions of the Arena, which makes sense.

As for the Bonus Buy option, we recommend picking Champions of the Arena. This is because it costs a feasible 100x the stake, whereas Unleash the Beast charges a whopping 400x the stake. So, you have a much higher chance of losing out on a big chunk of money during Unleash the Beast. And even though Champions of the Arena plays on very high volatility via buy bonus, it’s more value for money. In the first buy bonus we enabled, Champions of the Arena gave back 690x the stake, whereas Unleash the Beast fetched only 106x.

Gladiator Legends is a highly-engaging slot from Hacksaw Gaming that works like any other high-volatility slot. But the game aesthetics and incredible mechanics offer an ambiance that we rarely find in online slots, making the game even more enjoyable.

Royal

Review By Royal

Cosmin: crypto gambling guru with a twist. Half a decade in the biz, he's worn both the casino suit and player's lucky socks. This high-roller has dropped $30K on live streams and test-driven 70+ crypto casinos. Now, he's spilling the beans in plain English, serving up the juiciest industry intel on this site. When he's not crunching numbers, you'll find him jet-setting to gambling conferences, dropping knowledge bombs from Dubai to Barcelona. Think of him as your personal crypto casino compass, but with better jokes.

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