Sword of Ares is a mythology-themed slot machine developed by Pragmatic Play, so lace up your sandals and sharpen your swords. Sword of Ares is the sequel to another game developed by the same team called Gates of Olympus, so they are no strangers to the mythological side of things. Sword of Ares, like its predecessor, has a scatter pays system that awards wins with escalating multipliers and is laden with Ancient Greek mythology. However, the process of unlocking multipliers has changed. Is it improved? Let’s try to find out whether there’s a solution.
In Sword of Ares, the main character also stands by the reels when specific events occur on the grid (albeit he does so with more animation than in Gates of Olympus). Ares, the son of Zeus and Hera and the Greek god of battle, is the game’s protagonist. Although not quite as heavenly as the Gates of Olympus, Ares’ foggy domain is nonetheless a lovely place full of mossy columns and old buildings. In contrast, the six-reel game grid is somewhat bland; perhaps a pattern will be introduced later to liven things up, like in Gate of Olympus.
In terms of numbers, the value returned to players has decreased somewhat since the last game. With a maximum return to player (RTP) of 96.4% across all three available RTP levels, this game employs a highly volatile mathematical model that earned it a perfect 5/5 from Pragmatic Play. The game may be played in its basic form or by purchasing free spins. In the first place, you may utilize any device and stake 20% up to £/€100 on individual paid spins. The return to player (RTP) lowers to 96.39% when purchasing spins at a premium.
Scatter wins are produced in Sword of Ares when at least 8 matching symbols appear on the game grid’s 6×5 playing area. Lower paying symbols are a group of five diamonds, while higher paying symbols are various weapons, including swords, shields, chariots, and helmets. Payouts range from 0.5x the wager for clusters of 8-9 of a kind to 2x the bet for clusters of 12-30 of a kind. At no point do wild symbols appear on the board.
Sword of Athena Slot Machine Features
The Tumble function is activated with each successful cluster. This mechanism eliminates winning symbols from the reels, making room for symbols from higher up to cascade down and fill them. After symbols have filled in the spaces, they are deleted and replaced if a new cluster victory occurs. When a cluster win sequence finishes and no more wins occur, the winner gets paid out in full.
Collecting Multipliers Capability
The multipliers included with Sword of Ares operate somewhat differently than they did in the past. A multiplier meter with three values in the main game and six values in the free spins round sits above the reels. These multiplier numbers are fixed at the beginning of each spin. The number of successful and exploded symbols is tallied after each roll. Multipliers are unlocked at predetermined collecting thresholds. At the conclusion of a successful fall, the winning sum is multiplied by the largest available multiplier. In the original game, this may be:
When 20 symbols are gathered, the first multiplier is activated, which may be x2, x3, or x4.
When 50 symbols are collected, a second multiplier is unlocked, which might be x5, x6, x7, or x8.
When 100 symbols are gathered, a third multiplier is unlocked, which might be x9, x10, x11, x12, x13, x14, or x15.
Bombs
In the main game and during free spins, all reels will have one of four distinct Bomb symbols. When a Bomb detonates, it remains in place until no more scatter wins may occur. When all symbols in a row, column, cross, or X are destroyed, the game ends. The multipliers will gather the removed symbols, while fresh symbols will fall from above. It takes at least one tumble for a bomb to go off in the original game.
Bonus Turns
Free games are triggered by landing 4 or more scatters during the main game. During bonus spins, the multiplier bar expands as follows:
Once you’ve gathered 15 symbols, you’ll have access to the first multiplier, which might be x2, x3, or x4.
The second multiplier is activated once 27 symbols have been gathered, and it can be x5, x6, x7, or x8.
The third multiplier is unlocked at 39 symbols, and it might be x9, x10, x11, x12, x13, x14, or x15.
When 55 symbols are gathered, a fourth multiplier is activated, which might increase the player’s multiplier by a factor of x16, x17, x18, x19, x20, x22, or x25.
If you collect 85 symbols, you’ll have access to a fifth multiplier that might increase your payout by x26, x28, x30, x32, x35, x40, or x50.
When you gather 235 symbols, you’ll have access to the sixth multiplier, which is a fixed x500.
If they are offered, free spins can be purchased for 100 times the total wager. The extra round cannot be retriggered in any way, whether it was purchased or activated naturally.
Verdict of the Slotting Sword of Ares
If you’re familiar with Gates of Olympus, you’ll see that some elements have been altered while others have been preserved. The adjustments are not uniformly positive or negative; certain objects may fit better, while others may cause irritation. Rather than just having multiplier symbols appear on the board at random, the requirement to gather symbols in order to unlock them adds a goal-based difficulty. It was difficult to say if the game’s emphasis on accumulating winning symbols rather than, say, randomly amassing multiplier symbols, like in Gates of Olympus, was an improvement, a downgrade, or just something new. Those who are inquisitive about this technique may need to try it for themselves before forming a firm opinion.
The bonus game’s Hellenic motifs and multiplier-building mechanics brought to mind 300 Shields Mighty Ways to a lesser extent. In contrast to Light & Wonder’s game, where multipliers endure between spins, they here reset between each new round. However, Sword of Ares’s middle ground values may be extremely high, so it all comes down to swings, roundabouts, and individual taste. Despite the obvious success of this strategy, Pragmatic Play has increased the win maximum to 10,000x the initial wager. You’ll need to do a lot of crazy tumbling and symbol collecting to reach that level.
Final thoughts: Sword of Ares was a fun and rewarding scatter game to play through. Pragmatic Play did a great job weaving together a slew of concepts, including a scatter win bonus, a tumble feature, a collection of symbols, and the opportunity to acquire a multiplier. The sequel, Sword of Ares, naturally lacks the breath of fresh air that the original did, but fans of this type of action will likely enjoy the increased potential for victory and other changes.