Gladiator Ways: Slot Overview

Not long ago, we’d greased up and picked up a trident to take on Yggdrasil Gaming’s 3 Gladiators vs Caesar; now it’s time for another bout. This round features Gladiator Ways from software provider Red Tiger. It uses a progressively unlockable feature set via a collection system—something Red Tiger (for better or worse) often leans on—so new elements open up in the base game and also in the bonus, where two wilds are guaranteed on every free spin.

When a slot goes for a gladiator theme, there aren’t many places the action can realistically happen. A coliseum-style arena is basically the obvious choice, and Red Tiger has built a sharp-looking one for Gladiator Ways. The crowd is a little odd, though. The audio has them getting lively now and then, but visually they remain completely still. No one expects an EA Sports Triple-A level presentation, yet the combination of realistic artwork and zero movement gives the stands a slightly eerie feel.

The name isn’t misleading: alongside gladiators, Gladiator Ways is built as a ways to win slot. Wins pay left to right starting from the first reel, and there are 4,096 ways to win. There’s only one way to play—no bonus buy option appears—so it’s simply a case of choosing a stake from 10 c to $/€40 and hammering the spin button. At the top setting, the default RTP in Gladiator Ways is 95.72%, and the volatility is medium-high.

For low-value symbols, Gladiator Ways uses SPQR-style card ranks from ten through ace. The higher-paying set features spears, spiked balls, swords, and tigers. A 6-of-a-kind way with matching royals returns 0.4-0.5 times the bet, while a 6 OAK premium hit pays 1 to 5 times the bet.

Gladiator Ways: Slot Features

Gladiator Ways includes one of Red Tiger’s familiar progress-collection systems. When you begin a session, one gladiator is unlocked. The remaining 3 gladiators are unlocked by collecting golden shields whenever they appear. Collect 10 shields to unlock the second gladiator. Another 10 shields unlocks the third, and the fourth gladiator opens up after a further 10 collected shields. After the final gladiator is unlocked, shields are removed from the game. All gladiators are wild, meaning they substitute for any standard pay symbol.

• Gladiator 1 – a wild of 1×2 in size that is present on reels 2, 3, 4, and 5. May land fully or partially in view.
• Gladiator 2 – a wild of 1×4 in size that may land on reels 2, 3, 4, and 5. Always lands fully in view.
• Gladiator 3 – a wild of size 2×2 that is present on reels 2 and 3, 3 and 4, as well as 4 and 5. May land fully or partially in view.
• Gladiator 4 – a wild of size 2×4, present on reels 2 and 3, 3 and 4, as well as 4 and 5. Always lands fully in view.

Free Spins

Scatter symbols can land on every reel except the leftmost. Hitting 3 or 4 scatter symbols awards 7 or 14 free spins, respectively. During each free spin, 2 wild gladiators are guaranteed to land. One random gladiator is guaranteed on reels 2 and/or 3, and another random gladiator on reels 4 and/or 5. More gladiators can also appear, but only those already unlocked are available in free spins. Every scatter that lands grants +1 free spin.

Gladiator Ways: Slot Verdict

It looks like the Red Tiger crew could be heading into a run of collection-mechanic releases, because their previous title we covered, The Good, The Bad, and The Rich, also used a similar “unlock as you go” approach. That Western offered more variety in what it opened up, including a royal symbol removal effect and a switch in win construction from paylines to ways. Gladiator Ways, in contrast, unlocks only wild symbols in different sizes, so it can feel a bit limited in terms of feature diversity.

That said, Gladiator Ways sticks with a ways to win format throughout, and that pairs nicely with adding extra wilds onto the reels. It can still leave you wondering why all symbol types aren’t available from the outset, but that’s Red Tiger’s design choice, and it’s down to players whether they want to commit to unlocking everything. Based on informal observation rather than official data, similar Red Tiger games in the past haven’t usually taken forever to fully open up, though there are no guarantees on how long it might take.

Still, don’t necessarily expect the wealth of Rome’s 12 Caesars to pour in once you’ve unlocked the lot and get everything firing. Gladiator Ways’ max multiplier is 2,176.2x the bet, which—well—some might have expected to be higher given the number of ways and the amount of wild activity. That’s Gladiator Ways in a nutshell. It’s no Gladiator Legends, and with so much emphasis on wilds the gameplay can be a touch one-note, but it does capture a decent arena-battle vibe, so players keeping their expectations in check may still find plenty to like.