Red Tiger and R7 collaborate on a cluster-paying grid slot that stokes flames while simultaneously dialing down the heat. This results in a game that appears to be older than it is, with blazing artwork but a relatively bland, low-performance math model hiding behind its collection of gigantic flames. Although a good set of features has been included, Blazing Clusters failed to ignite for various reasons; let us examine why.

Red Tiger introduces Blazing Clusters

As previously said, the design team chose an old-school approach, favoring basic primary colors over the high-definition subtleties that modern players are accustomed to. For instance, the backdrop image is a relatively bare purple wall brought to life by a few licking flames around the screen’s sides and bottom. It’s not without charm, with a look that’s ingrained in the blazing, fiery, lucky 7s slot category that refuses to retire. Hey, some people prefer this look, and if that is the case, Blazing Clusters may be the right grid slot.

The rest of the game, including the math model and meh maximum win, is relatively weak, it must be noted. On the other hand, the default RTP isn’t bad at 95.72 percent, so players looking for a technically milder cluster-paying slot may appreciate the gentler touch. The action takes place on a 7×7-inch gaming panel, where winning clusters emerge when at least five identical symbols appear vertically or horizontally connected. Any gadget is acceptable, with wagers ranging from ten cents to £/€80 for each paid drop.

This Red Tiger video slot‘s paytable is another illustration of the game’s one-arm bandit origins, with cherries, limes, oranges, plums, and watermelons serving as low-paying symbols and horseshoes, bells, diamonds, and 7s serving as high-paying symbols. Clusters can contain up to 30 characters, each valued between 2 and 4 times the stake when composed entirely of low pays or between 15 and 50 times written entirely of premium symbols. Fortunately, free spins have a win multiplier, which helps improve those meager payouts. Moreover, wild symbols can appear anywhere and substitute for any symbols save the free spins sign.

A straightforward-looking game gains many specific features, including chain reactions, Wild Rush, Super Wild Symbols, and free spins.

Reactions in Chains

Following the payout of winning clusters, the symbols associated with the victory are removed from the game board. Existing or new characters fall into the gaps, possibly forming a new winning collection. Chain reactions continue indefinitely or until no new clusters form.

A rush of the Wild

This function may activate at any time. When this occurs, standard 1×1 wilds or Super Wilds rain down onto the game grid, where they might land in any location. Super Wilds substitute for all other symbols and appear in 2×2 or 3×3 sizes. Super Wilds appear exclusively during the Wild Rush bonus.

Bonus Spins

Three scatter symbols appearing anywhere on the reels triggers eight free spins. Each additional scatters symbol in view awards an extra +2 free spins. There is an increased possibility of activating Wild Rush during free spins, and a Blazing Multiplier becomes active, multiplying any wins by their value. Multipliers may fall randomly across the reels. The Blazing Multiplier is multiplied by the total of these integers up to a maximum weight of x20. Finally, any scatter symbol that lands during the bonus round trigger an additional free spin.

Clusters of Light: Slot Verdict

Red Tiger new slot Blazing Clusters had the feel of a game that would be played in protest of progress’s unrelenting March. It’s the slot version of an Amish hamlet, plowing fields with a devoted workhorse while competitor farms’ robots perform manual tasks at a 10x faster rate. The gameplay is relatively straightforward once you get over Blazing Clusters’ retro-styled explosions of flames. Spin the reels hope for a cluster or two, and if you’re lucky, a few wilds will fall onto the screen. That is all. Oh, and there’s the growing win multiplier during free spins, which you’re going to need because the non-modified cluster values are pretty low without it. While some higher premium values are acceptable (when doubled), the remainder are pitiful; 2x for 30 cherries? You’d better hope you’re able to load the multiplier as soon as it becomes possible.

Even so, when Blazing Clusters is performing optimally, the maximum payout is 1,202x the bet, which feels both low and impossible to obtain at the same time. Our enjoyment of Blazing Clusters was harmed because it became highly sluggish when tested on a mobile device. It was as if I were playing an excessively CPU-intensive video game on a severely underpowered PC. It’s strange because Blazing Clusters should not be taxing modern technology in any manner. Perhaps the demo was glitchy; it was meant to give gamers a truly retro experience. Who is to say? Whatever it was, it did little to improve our overall impression of the game, which, to be fair, was not particularly favorable even when everything went swimmingly.

If playing an older-looking slot with simple features and gameplay is the keyboard warrior’s equivalent of pointing a fist at modernity, Blazing Clusters may be the slot for you. If you’d rather play something more modern with a heart-pounding level of danger and reward, Blazing Clusters is unlikely to be the game for you.