World Eaters

World Eaters: Slot Overview

While some studios are happy following the herd, others, like ELK Studios, are more than happy to mix it up and make something unique that might work, might fall flat on its face. One of its experimental releases was Slurpy, an unusual game which saw unusual characters slurping symbols off the board. Maybe not a match to all tastes, it nevertheless provided an inventive way for gamblers to try their luck. Players who did click with the concept should be pretty chuffed, because the studio has revived the slurping mechanism to produce World Eaters, a slot with Collectors collecting symbols and a new set of accompanying features.

Where Slurpy took place in a kitchen, World Eaters moves outdoors through five different biospheres as play progresses. From seaside, to desert, to snow, to forest, and volcano, the background refreshes each time a new world is unlocked. Above the gaming area, four different Collectors rotate through (two at a time), and they aren't cosmetic either, because they are needed to collect symbols from the grid, and for players to collect moolah in the process. At a glance, it doesn't take long to assume there might be more to World Eaters than a quick repeat of its predecessor.

The base game is played on a 5x5 gaming area. However, as features are unlocked, players progress through different worlds, which open up the locked parts of the grid. Progress is saved to the bet, so when choosing a stake of $/€0.20 to $/€100, this is something to bear in mind. As is the medium volatility and 94% RTP, which applies whether betting on individual spins or buying features.

To get some cash, the two Collectors at the top of the reels collect their matching coloured pay symbols, and any feature symbols which have a clear path to the top row. Collected symbols leave gaps that are filled by remaining symbols drifting upwards to fill spaces. New symbols appear at the bottom. The Collector on the left is then removed, a new Collector is added to the right, and the game continues like this till there are no wins. Pay symbols can appear stacked, counting as a multiple of that symbol as indicated by the number on it. Individual blue, green, purple, and red symbols are worth 0.05x to 0.2x each.

World Eaters: Slot Features

There is plenty to munch through in this section, including a global multiplier, Coins, the Piggy Bank, Grey Houses, world features, free spins, and X-iter buys.

Features

• Global Multiplier - The game has a global multiplier that multiplies all wins. It starts at x1 and resets for each game round. Multiplier wild symbols substitute any pay symbol, and they add their value to the global multiplier when part of a winning combination.
• Coins and Piggy Bank - Coins pay out their displayed value multiplied by the global multiplier when they have a clear path to the top row. When there are uncollected Coins and no more wins, the Coins are collected by the Piggy Bank. Each time this occurs, there is a chance it will explode, triggering a Coin row drop, filling the bottom row with Coins and the rest of the grid is filled with rows of matching symbols. The current Piggy Bank state is saved for each bet level.
• Grey Houses - Grey House symbols are blocker symbols. However, when a Grey House is vertically or horizontally adjacent to a winning symbol, it turns into a single symbol of the same type.

World Features Symbols

World features in World Eaters are triggered by Whale, Pipe, Firework, Tree, and Volcano symbols.

• Whale symbols are blockers. When neither Collector can collect anything, the Whale removes itself, and all pay symbols on the same reel.
• Pipe symbols are triggered when they have a clear path to the top row. It lets a Collector collect all matching symbols below the wall just beneath the bottom row. The Pipe is used by the Collector, who can collect the highest value.
• Fireworks symbols trigger when they are on the grid at the same time as a Grey House symbol. The Fireworks symbol turns all Grey House symbols on the grid to multiplier wild symbols.
• Tree symbols trigger when next to empty spaces as a result of a win. They spawn Forest symbols into any clusters of empty spaces that they are connected to. After a new Collector enters the game, when the Tree symbol spawned a Forest symbol, then all Forest symbols reveal either a multiplier wild or a pay symbol of the same type.
• Volcano symbols are wild. When collected, the pending feature triggers when neither Collector can collect anything. It triggers with its Collector, and the other one is removed. Then the Collector destroys all pay symbols not of its type. The remaining symbols will be stacked with more of the same type, and a refill occurs. This repeats until no new symbols of the Collector's type drop in during the refill.

Pipes, Fireworks, Trees, and Volcanoes are locked at the start of the game. When 3 Whales have triggered, the Pipe is unlocked. When 3 Pipes have triggered, Fireworks are unlocked. This pattern repeats with Fireworks to Trees, and Trees to Volcanoes. Progression is saved at the bet level.

Free Spins

Landing 3 scatters triggers the bonus round with 3 super drops. During the bonus, the grid size expands to 7x7 and Whales, Pipes, Fireworks, Trees, and Volcanoes do not appear. Instead, a UFO feature symbol may hit, and all pay symbols are stacked, except for Coin row drops, as indicated by a number. Also, hitting a scatter awards +1 free spin. When a UFO symbol hits, the Ultra Beast is triggered, replacing the visible Collectors. It empties the grid, paying for all pay symbols. This can repeat until the Ultra Beast leaves, triggering a refill and the regular Collectors return. Ultra Bonus spins do not decrease the spin count.

X-iter Bonus Buys

The Bonus Hunt costs 3x, the Mega Bonus Hunt costs 10x, and the Epic Bonus Hunt is 25x to buy a game round with a higher chance of triggering a bonus game. It is also possible to buy the bonus round for 100x or the super bonus with a starting global multiplier of x10 for 500x the bet. In X-iter modes, the grid size is 7x7, and a UFO feature symbol appears, but the Whale, Pipe, Fireworks, Tree, and Volcano features do not appear.

World Eaters: Slot Verdict

World Eaters is ELK Studios once again refusing to take the conventional route, instead turning to an eccentric concept that blends collections, unlockable worlds, and a gradually widening range of accessible features. It's certainly not short of ideas, and in some ways it's a step up from Slurpy. Having said that, the second time around means the innovative surprise has lessened from before. Progression to the forest world didn't take a huge amount of time; the volcano world took longer, and travelling through the various worlds provided a satisfying momentum, though triggering free spins organically was a chore. Rotating through Collectors adds to the feeling of constant movement, meaning the game is rarely static.

Coins, multipliers, Piggy Banks, Grey Houses, world features; World Eaters throws a lot at the player, but despite a fair amount of complexity, the action is easy to follow. However, it might take a bit more effort to grasp the rules compared to a regular slot, and even more effort to appreciate what's going on for those unaccustomed to ELK Studios' experimental side. Bonus rounds, when they are active, are able to sling the kind of spectacle Slurpy fans were hoping for, though the 'wrong' Collectors repeatedly appearing can be frustrating. One key is the UFO symbol, and the resulting Ultra Beast feast. Get that, coupled with a whole bunch of luck, and maybe you'll be on the way to the game's 10,000x max win.

As before, World Eaters sets about in its gobbling ways, completely unlike most other slots on the market. Players willing to let a bit of weirdness wash over them might find themselves surprisingly entertained by the hungry, world-chomping eccentricity. Its appeal may be limited in some ways, but gamblers open to inventive, chaotic, unconventional slots and those returning for a second helping of the Collectors mechanic should be able to get about as much of a kick out of World Eaters as Slurpy.