Blazing Clusters: Slot Overview
Developer Red Tiger and partners R7 team up for a cluster paying grid slot that manages to stoke flames while simultaneously turning down the heat. What this means is a game that looks older than it is, covered in fiery artwork, while packing a rather tame, low-performance math model behind its collection of mondo flames. An okay set of features has been built in, but for various reasons, Blazing Clusters failed to ignite, let's see why.
As mentioned, the design team has gone for an old-school angle favouring basic prime colours instead of high-definition intricacies modern players are more accustomed to. The background image, for example, is a fairly plain purple wall, given life with a few licking flames along the sides and bottom of the screen. It's not without its charm, possessing a look embedded deeply in the burning, hot, lucky 7s slot category that refuses to hang up its boots and retire. Hey, some go for this look, and if so, Blazing Clusters could make the ideal grid slot.
The rest of the game is pretty weak, it must be said, such as the math model and meh max win. On the other hand, the default RTP isn't terrible at 95.72%, so anyone down for a technically gentler cluster paying slot might welcome a lighter touch. The action occurs on a 7x7 sized game panel, where winning clusters form when at least 5 identical symbols are connected vertically or horizontally. Any device is suitable, where bets range from 10 p/c to $/€80 per paid drop.
Blazing Clusters paytable is another example of its one arm bandit roots where we find cherries, limes, oranges, plums, and watermelons as the low pays, then horseshoes, bells, diamonds, and 7s as the highs. Clusters max out at 30+ symbols, which are worth 2 to 4 times the stake when made up of low pays, or 15 to 50x for the premium symbols. Fortunately, a win multiplier is added to free spins to help boost those meagre values. There are also wild symbols, landing anywhere to substitute everything except the free spins symbol.
Blazing Clusters: Slot Features
A simple looking game gets a bunch of uncomplicated features such as chain reactions, Wild Rush, Super Wild Symbols, and free spins
Chain Reactions
After winning clusters have been paid out, the symbols involved in the win are removed from the game board. New or existing symbols fall into the gaps, potentially creating a new winning cluster. Chain reactions continue until no new clusters appear.
Wild Rush
This feature may trigger randomly at any time. When it does, either regular 1x1 wilds or Super Wilds rain down onto the game grid to land in any position. Super Wilds replace all regular paying symbols and appear in 2x2 or 3x3 sizes. Super Wilds only show up during the Wild Rush extra.
Free Spins
Landing 3 scatter symbols anywhere on the reels awards 8 free spins. Additional scatter symbols in view add an extra +2 free spins each. In free spins, there is a greater chance of activating Wild Rush, and a Blazing Multiplier becomes active, applying its value to any wins. Randomly, multipliers may rain down over the reels. The sum of these numbers is added to the Blazing Multiplier up to a maximum value of x20. Lastly, any scatter landing in the bonus round awards an additional free spin.
Blazing Clusters: Slot Verdict
Blazing Clusters felt like the sort of game someone would play as a protest against the relentless march of progress. It's the slot version of an Amish community, ploughing fields with a loyal workhorse, while all around them, rival farms' robots are taking care of the manual duties at 10x the speed. Once past Blazing Clusters' retro loads of flames look the gameplay is pretty basic. Hit spin, hope for a cluster or two, maybe get lucky, and a few wilds fall on the screen. That's about it. Oh wait, there is the increasing win multiplier in free spins which you kind of need because without it the non-modified cluster values are low. Some of the larger premium values aren't so bad (when multiplied), but the rest are pretty pitiful; 2x for 30 cherries? Better hope you can load up the multiplier as soon it becomes a possibility.
Even then, when Blazing Clusters is firing on all cylinders, the most you can hope to collect is 1,202x the bet, which feels both low and difficult to achieve at the same time. Our enjoyment of Blazing Clusters wasn't helped by the fact that when testing it on a mobile, things got real laggy. It was like playing some insanely CPU intensive video game while a seriously under-gunned PC struggled to keep up. It's weird because there is no way Blazing Clusters should be taxing modern hardware. Maybe the demo was glitchy; maybe it was designed that way for players to have a real retro experience. Who knows? Whatever it was did nothing to improve our overall opinion of the game, which, to be fair, wasn't high even when the game ran smoothly.
If playing an older looking slot with basic features and gameplay is the keyboard warrior equivalent of shaking a fist at modernity, then Blazing Clusters could well be the one. If you'd rather just play something more up to date that provides a pulse-quickening level of risk and reward, Blazing Clusters is unlikely to be it.
If playing an older looking slot with basic features and gameplay is the keyboard warrior equivalent of shaking a fist at modernity, then Blazing Clusters could well be the one.
