Spark of Creation

Spark of Creation: Slot Overview

Whatever you think of the maths, it's hard to deny ELK Studios' ability to come up with a lot of good slot ideas. One of its more successful has been its CollectR mechanic, synonymous with its Pirots range, but which has also powered slots such as Dam Beavers and Huff N' Puff CollectR. These games see groups of characters nipping about a game board, eating symbols and triggering various effects. It's a feature ELK shows no signs of letting slip anytime soon, as the studio has added another CollectR notch to its belt in the form of Spark of Creation, a charming elemental instalment that adds an integrated grid multiplier feature.

Spark of Creation is about four elements, Air, Nature, Fire, and Water, shaping the world and awakening to new potential when a mysterious Spark element appears. On screen, this translates to a forest location for the base game, one unsullied by the hand of humankind, where elements and sprites are free to roam and do whatever it is they do. Make magic, perhaps, for when the bonus round is active, the world takes on an enchanting glow, a bit like walking around Avatar's Pandora but without the massive flesh-rending beasts stalking players.

Spark of Creation is played on a 6x7 grid with four collector creatures that collect adjacent pay symbols of matching colour and all feature symbols. Creatures can move once before a refill, and when they can move no more, an avalanche occurs. Avalanches continue as long as at least one creature can move. Players may stake $/€0.20 to $/€100, and ELK Studios has rated the volatility 7 out of 10, while the top RTP clocks in at 96%.

Only four types of collectable pay symbols appear on the reels, each one linked to the same coloured collecting creature. Each collected symbol is worth 0.05x the bet. When wilds appear on the grid, they can be collected by any of the creatures.

Spark of Creation: Slot Features

CollectR slots are famous for having masses of features, and Spark of Creation has Switcheroo, clash, an evolution meter, feature symbols, multiplier strikes, multiplier bubbles, a bonus round, a super bonus round, and X-iter feature buys.

Switcheroo and Creature Clash

Two adjacent creatures who can't collect any more can perform a Switcheroo, in which case they swap positions. Alternatively, when two or more creatures are adjacent and cannot collect anymore, they may clash, causing all creatures but one and all symbols (not feature symbols) in a 4x4 area to be removed. The remaining creature then has its ability put in pending or is evolved.

Evolution Meter

The Evolution Meter tracks the progress of collected symbols. When the meter is full, one pending creature evolve feature is added. A creature evolve feature upgrades a creature to a higher level, capped at level 3. The creature has its ability put in a pending state.

• Nature Creature - Removes symbols and increases multipliers on the grid in a 3x3 area around it. It also removes all other creatures. At higher levels, the multipliers are increased by more steps.
• Water Creature - Adds feature symbols to the grid. At higher levels, more feature symbols are added.
• Air Creature - Chooses a creature, then creates a path of payout symbols of its colour from its position. Longer paths are made at higher levels.
• Fire Creature - Removes another creature and payout symbols of its colour. More creatures and symbols are removed at higher levels.

Feature Symbols

Various feature symbols appear, such as wilds, scatters, super scatters, Fireflies, Transform, Spark, and Black Holes.

• Firefly - Creatures that collect a Firefly have their ability put into a pending state.
• Transform - Collecting a Transform changes a cluster of pay symbols into its colour. It may also change random pay symbols into feature symbols.
• Spark - A collected Spark increases the evolution meter's progress.
• Black Hole - Absorbs all symbols and creatures, then returns them to the grid in random positions.

Multiplier Strike & Multiplier Bubbles

The multiplier strike feature increases multipliers on the grid in a 3x3 to 7x7 size before symbols drop. It can trigger before any base or bonus game drop. The first time a symbol is collected, a multiplier bubble is formed. Each time a symbol is collected from a position with a multiplier bubble, the multiplier increases from a starting value of x2 up to a maximum value of x1,024. When a creature collects on a multiplier bubble with a multiplier, it is activated, and the total of activated multipliers forms a final multiplier for that creature.

Bonus Game

Collecting 3 bonus scatters triggers 5 free spins in the bonus game, but if one of the collected symbols is a super scatter, the super bonus is triggered instead. During the bonus round, the progress of the evolution meter, creature level, multiplier bubbles, and multiplier values are persistent. Collecting a scatter in the bonus awards +1 spin. In the super bonus round, a multiplier strike is guaranteed on every spin.

X-iter

The X-iter comes with five options. They are the Bonus Hunt at 2.5x for a drop with 4 times the chance of triggering a bonus, or the Mega Hunt at 5x for 8 times the chance. An Enchanted Forest spin costs 25x to guarantee a multiplier strike and the chance of creatures dropping in evolved, plus, the super bonus is guaranteed if the bonus triggers. Otherwise, gamblers can buy the bonus round for 100x or the super bonus for 250x the bet.

Spark of Creation: Slot Verdict

ELK Studios has built a strong reputation for taking successful slot concepts and pushing them into uncharted creative territory, and Spark of Creation continues that trend. The Pirots range was doing just fine, evolving on its own, yet Spark of Creation has taken the CollectR mechanic somewhere else. Having said that, the slot doesn't sail into entirely uncharted territory, since some key parts of the gameplay are very recognisable. Specifically, multiplier bubble positions of the type which made slots like Sugar Rush great have been used, though to be fair, they fit the CollectR mayhem like a charm, adding a whole new way of fanning the symbol gobbling flames.

Aside from those multipliers, which might have made Spark of Creation unmissable for Collector enthusiasts on their own, the game includes a neat evolution idea, and creature abilities are one of the standout features. Not only does each creature have an ability, but they also get better as they evolve, potentially applying powerful effects to the reels, such as sprinkling feature symbols or increasing multipliers. The outcome is a fun CollectR slot with a list of interesting features that increase in potency on their own, yet work even better together in order to get the full snowballing effect.

One possible critique is that if you aren't already a fan of this symbol-gobbling style, this probably won't convert you either. But those who enjoy watching sequences of eating, avalanching, and evolving should get a kick out of what ELK Studios has made here. Spark of Creation combines inventive mechanics (some already well-proven) and a 10,000x win cap, which should appeal to gamblers who enjoy components that are able to interlink to form extended sessions of escalating entertainment.