Gates of Hades: Slot Overview
When a studio achieves a certain level of success with an online slot, there is a good chance either they or a competitor who wants to elbow in on the action will attempt to repeat the winning formula. Few attain more success than Pragmatic Play’s 2021 mega hit Gate of Olympus, a scatter pays slot that has indeed provided big chunks of inspiration, and reskins. While Gates of Hades isn’t a reskin, it’s certainly inspired by its predecessor. This slot delivers a few familiar features, such as the cluster pays mechanic and wild multipliers, all wrapped in a dark and fiery theme.
The Underworld Setting
As the god of the dead and ruler of the underworld, Hades is often depicted in slots in a fiery, rocky domain, the polar opposite of the airy, cloudy realm of Olympus. In Gates of Hades, Hades stands to cc6 one side with his flaming shock of hair, staff in hand, chuckling menacingly, while lightning flashes above an eerie landscape. The game creates a nice view, very atmospheric, although it might remind players of other slots Pragmatic Play has used Hades in.
Cluster Pays Mechanic: The Key to Wins
Wins are created in Gates of Hades when blocks of 5 or more matching symbols land connected in vertical or horizontal directions. This mechanic can create several exciting opportunities, as the tumble feature removes the winning symbols, and new symbols cascade down from above to replace them, producing another chance to win on the same spin. The RTP of the game when betting 20 c to $/€240 per spin is 96.52% at the highest configuration, while volatility is high. This makes for a thrilling and high-stakes experience.
Symbols and Payouts: Regular and Premium
Five gemstones—colored blue, green, orange, purple, and red—are completed by a cup, a ring, and a crown as the regular paying symbols. These symbols award between 0.05x and 1.5x the bet for a cluster of five matching symbols. The excitement builds as the cluster size increases, especially when 15+ sized clusters hit, boosting the payout to between 5x and 150x the bet. The varying symbol payout structure ensures there’s a range of possible wins.
Wild Multipliers: Boosting Your Chances
In addition to the standard symbol payouts, Gates of Hades features wild multipliers that can significantly increase your winnings. Wild symbols can carry multipliers ranging from x1 to x100. During spins and tumbles in the base game, any multiplier that hits is collected by a meter on top of the reel on which the wild landed. Every cluster is cc6 then multiplied by the sum of all multipliers on top of the reels that had winning symbols in the cluster. The multipliers are cleared at the end of the tumble sequence in the base game, so it’s a race to land as many wild multipliers as possible during each spin.
Free Spins Feature: The Ultimate Reward
Hitting 3, 4, 5, or 6+ scatters triggers the free spins feature, awarding 10, 12, 15, or 20 free spins, respectively. This feature is where the game’s excitement truly ramps up. During the free spins, all collected multipliers remain in place and are not cleared until the feature completely ends. This allows for huge potential payouts as multipliers can go as high as x500 during the free spins.
Super Free Spins: Bigger Multipliers, Bigger Wins
If 6 or more scatters trigger the free spins feature, players activate the super free spins rule, where the minimum multiplier on wild symbols is x10. This gives you even more chances to rack up huge wins. The possibility of reaching the highest multipliers during this round adds to the thrill of the game.
Feature Buy: Skip the Wait
For those who don’t want to wait for the free spins feature to trigger naturally, Gates of Hades offers a feature buy option. Paying 100x the bet will trigger regular free spins, while paying 500x will buy you super free spins. In both cases, the feature will be triggered by 3, 4, 5, or 6 scatters, giving players a direct route to the high-potential bonus round.
cc6 Integration: What Does It Add?
In some cases, Gates of Hades may feature integrated mechanics like cc6 that enhance the player experience. These integrations can provide new ways to interact with the game and increase the rewards. While cc6 isn’t featured prominently in this game, players can look for additional references or mechanics that may add excitement to the gameplay as the cluster pays mechanic and wild multipliers dominate the focus.
Conclusion: A Thrilling, High-Volatility Experience
Well, color this guy surprised; Gates of Hades was not a Gates of Olympus clone featuring the god of the underworld instead of the ruler of Olympus. It didn’t take long to figure that out either, from an initial glance at the larger gaming grid, the line of wolves running along the top of the reels, and, of course, a read-over of the rules. Surprising, because Gates of Olympus has been a massive hit for Pragmatic Play and has inspired a number of reskins and wannabes. As well cc6 as an interest in Zeus and Olympus, Pragmatic Play has also leaned towards Hades and the underworld before, very successfully too, as attested to by the mashing together of the two gods in Zeus vs Hades: Gods of War, which scooped Game of the Year at the 2023 Bigwinboard Awards.
