Gobbling up payout symbols
Online slot developers tend to go one of two ways with their new games: stick with tried-and-true design, perhaps with a small tweak, or show players something they haven’t seen before. Elk Studios refreshingly went with the latter with its new online slot offering, Spark of Creation, which launched on June 2.
turns a typical cluster pay game into something that looks more like a video game.
Spark of Creation is a 6×7 cascading/cluster pay slot hybrid, but that’s about where the similarities with other cascading games end. Elk Studios’ CollectR mechanic, previously seen in Huff N’ Puff CollectR, turns a typical cluster pay game into something that looks more like a video game. And, frankly, a slot game that can be fun to watch.
Like in a regular cluster pay game, the symbols – mostly orange, blue, green, and purple-colored gems – drop onto the playing field (there are no reels). But, in addition to those symbols, the four elements of Fire, Water, Nature, and Air, each represented by cute creatures, occupy squares on the grid.
If a creature is vertically or horizontally adjacent to a symbol that matches its color, it will travel to that space, absorb the symbol, and award you winnings. The creature will continue to move, soaking up symbols like Pac-Man, until there are no more symbols of its color on a vertical or horizontal path. It will also grab special symbols, things like Wilds, Sparks, Transforms, and Bonus, if they are also in the path.
When a creature has nowhere else to go, another creature will take its turn if it can. Once no creatures have any moves, more symbols drop in to fill in the empty squares and the elements hop to it again, if there are any valid moves to be made. Once no other moves are possible, the round ends.
Grow your power
The element creatures do more than just collect symbols. If they collect enough during a single spin, they can fill up the evolution meter, which, once all moves have been made, evolves one of the creatures into a more powerful form, a la Pokémon. That evolved creature then influences the board, usually opening up additional opportunities to collect symbols and increase winnings.
For example, at Level 1 evolution (there are three levels of evolution), the fire creature will remove one of the other creatures and all its corresponding symbols from the board. The water creature will add three feature symbols (wild, bonus, etc.) to the board, so on and so forth.
The creatures can also interact with each other. If two creatures are next to each other when no more moves are possible, they have a chance to swap places, potentially opening up more moves. Additionally, if two or more creatures end up on adjacent squares, they might “clash” and have all but one disappear. The payout symbols in a 4×4 area around the creatures are removed and the remaining creature evolves, triggering its ability.
Win or lose, it’s fun
As with many online slots, there is a bonus round, other symbols that trigger actions, and opportunities to pay extra to enhance the board. But that’s not the differentiator here.
Slot games can sometimes get stale, but Elk Studios does a great job with Spark of Creation to make the game interesting and entertaining to follow. Of course, you don’t need to have any idea of what’s going on – you can just click “Spin” and let the game tell you if you won or lost – but it’s actually fun to see if the element creatures are going to have moves, then watch them do their thing.
Seeing the creatures evolve can be exciting, as you watch the possibilities unfold when they unleash their abilities. Spark of Creation’s RTP is still a standard 96%, but CollectR mechanic offers something different and enjoyable.
