Shark Park

Shark Park: Slot Overview

Folk who prefer swimming in a pool over the sea because they can see the bottom and there are no nasty creatures to look out for best be thinking again if they take on Thunderkick's new cluster pays release. Titled Shark Park, it takes place at a water park that might look innocent at first, but peer a bit closer or spin long enough, and hidden dangers start to emerge. These appear on the grid as wild multipliers in the form of sharks, with the hungry beasts contributing to a bloody day at the pool. Shark Park uses a recognisable set of mechanics that might not totally set it apart from its peers, but captures a playful side of these toothy creatures which fans of a certain jar-themed slot style may appreciate.

Slot sharks typically terrorise the open seas, but in Shark Park the terrifying beasts have broken loose in a water park. How or why is a question for another day… The terror has been lessened by a cute graphical style with old PC gaming tones that presents a bird's-eye view of the surrounding area. Hints of danger appear on the grid every so often; then, when the bonus round is active, the ground becomes drenched in blood and a chomped body part. Even so, the specific art style lightens the mood, giving Shark Park an unusual atmosphere, part bloody, part not, light-hearted, at the opposite end of the scale of more threateningly presented shark slots like Razor Returns and Jaws of Justice, or even Piranha Bite Club, though that's a different sort of fish, sure.

Shark Park uses a 7-reel grid arranged in a 6-7-6-7-6-7-6 pattern. A win occurs when 5 or more matching pay symbols are adjacently connected. When a cluster has paid, all symbols of that type are removed from the grid, even those not part of wins. The grid refills, and the game repeats like this as long as new clusters are made. Thunderkick has designed a medium-high volatile shark slot, where the RTP is 94.14%, and stakes vary from $/€0.10 to $/€100.

The pay symbols are blue, green, red, and purple beach balls, and four character symbols. Five-of-a-kind clusters are worth 0.1x to 1x the bet, and the largest clusters of 18+ OAK in size are worth 50x to 200x the bet.

Shark Park: Slot Features 

Shark Park's bloodied bag of tricks contains Multiplier Shark Wilds, a bonus game, BET+, and feature buys.

Shark Wilds

Multiplier Wilds substitute for all regular pay symbols and can have a multiplier of x2, x3, x5, or x100. Each winning cluster creates a Multiplier Wild, unless that cluster already included a Multiplier Wild. When a cluster has one or more Multiplier Wilds, the win is multiplied by the multiplier values. If more than one Multiplier Wild is part of the same win, they multiply their multipliers together, then apply it to the win. After a win has been awarded, any Multiplier Wilds that were part of the win move to empty positions. If more than one Multiplier Wild was part of the same winning cluster, they merge into one Multiplier Wild and add their multiplier values together.

Bonus Game 

Landing 3 scatters in the base game triggers 8 free spins. Any Multiplier Wilds present on the grid are carried over to the bonus round. During the feature, Multiplier Wilds are sticky, so they remain on the reels until the end of the round, multiplying, moving, and merging. Landing a scatter awards +1 free spin, up to +3 per free spin.

BET+ & Feature Buys 

The two BET+ choices are the Bonus Boost making each spin 2 times more likely to trigger the bonus game for 1.5x, and the Bonus Boost Plus at 2.5x making it 5 times more likely. Buying into the bonus round costs 80x for Into the Blue which is the regular bonus round, 200x buys Beneath the Surface which starts the round with an x2, x3, or x5 Multiplier Wild, or Blood in the Water can be bought for 500x, which starts the round with an x100 Multiplier Wild.

Shark Park: Slot Verdict 

Players familiar with Push Gaming's Jammin' Jars or similarly designed cluster pays slots will recognise much of what is happening here. Thunderkick has taken a recognisable setup and thrown it into, at times, bloodier waters. While the game's water-park setting initially looks more playful than threatening, there are elements lurking beneath the surface ready to churn the waters once the action gets moving. The basic mechanics provide a strong base of clustering and cascading, before the Multiplier Wild symbols paddle in to increase the entertainment, especially the x100, adding the kind of spectacle which may draw curious gamblers in for a look.

There are differences, and one of the most noticeable is that Multiplier Wild multipliers do not grow after they have been part of a winning cluster. The values they start with are the values they stick with. Unless they merge, then things can get interesting. Important to note that Multiplier Wilds multiply each other to create a larger total value when used in the same cluster, which can turn a collection of smaller sharks into something more dangerous. Free spins are where Shark Park makes the most of its concept, keeping Shark Wilds on the reels throughout the feature, providing a chance for lucky players to grow something lethal with them. It can bite quite hard when it's going well, or softly nibble in other situations, such as when Sharks are stuck in placid parts of the grid where nothing is going on, for instance. 

For the numbers people, Shark Park's 10,000x max win, while respectable, is half of Jammin' Jars' top prize and its RTP is on the lower side too. Discerning gamblers may therefore find it harder to justify choosing this one over other similarly designed cluster pays slots. That aside, the cartoonish water-park setting gives Shark Park an identity while its features, although nothing out of the ordinary, are capable of delivering good things. Fans of Jammin' Jars and related cluster pays releases get something fairly substantial to sink their teeth into, even if the bigger fish in this genre remain safe on their pedestals.