As well as potential thrills and chills, online slots are quite good at teaching players things they might not have known before. Okay, teach might not be the right word, but they can be good at opening doors to new worlds, themes, or topics, and even perhaps to new ways of thinking or belief systems. So it was with Pragmatic Play's online slot, Gates of Gatot Kaca. The term 'Gatot Kaca' was unfamiliar, so we conducted some online research in an attempt to cast light on the subject. Apparently, there is a character from the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata called Ghatotkacha, elsewhere spelt Gatotkaca, who was an important warrior, and since Pragmatic Play's 'Gates of' range features gods and mythical characters, there's obviously a connection.
We might as well get this out of the way at the start, as well. Gates of Gatot Kaca doesn't just share the first two words of its title with Gates of Olympus; it's basically a clone, very likely designed specifically for the Asian market (Indonesia?). The visual arrangement is certainly the same, where a mythological character or deity hangs out on the right-hand side of the screen next to the active panel, amidst a columned background, in an exotic-looking spot. Instead of Ancient Greece, though, players find themselves in an Asian-inspired location. Kudos to Pragmatic Play for using subject matter that's quite unique for an online slot, even if practically everything else is recycled.
>Gates of Gatot Kaca is a scatter-paying online slot, something Pragmatic Play has expertise in, creating wins when 8 or more matching symbols land anywhere on the grid. Wins trigger a tumble feature, which removes the winning symbols, allowing those left on the reel strips to drop down into the gaps. Tumble sequences tumble on and on until no new scatter win appears. This it does in a highly volatile manner, produced with a variety of RTP models, topping out at 96.5%. There are three ways to approach Gates of Gatot Kaca; one is regularly betting 20 p/c to $/€100 per spin, the second is with the Ante Bet switched on, and the third is a bonus buy. The Ante Bet increases the stake by 25%, doubling the chance of triggering the bonus round while buying free spins costs 100x the bet. In all three scenarios, the RTP remains the same.
Shifting focus to Gates of Gatot Kaca's pay symbols now and nine regulars appear throughout. They are made up of five gemmed pieces as the low pays, then what appears to be an amulet, lantern, gold statue, and gold ring as the four premiums. Scatter wins made up of 8-9 matching symbols are worth 0.25-1x the bet for the lows, increasing to 1.5-10x the bet for high pays, while a 12+ scatter win awards 2-10x the bet for the low pays, or 12 to 50 times the stake for the premiums. In either the base or bonus round, wild symbols do not appear.
>So, no wilds, but there are two other symbols to go over. These are the multiplier symbols and scatters. Multiplier symbols land at any time, carrying a value of x2 to x500. If more than one is in view in the base game, their values are added together and applied to the total win generated during a tumble sequence.
That leaves the scatter, and landing 4, 5, or 6 of them, anywhere on the reels, awards 15 free spins plus a payout of 3x, 5x, or 100x the bet, respectively. In free spins, when a multiplier symbol lands and there is a win, its value is added to a total multiplier. The total multiplier does not reset until free spins have ended. The bonus round can be extended as well by landing 3 or more scatter symbols, which award an additional +5 free spins.
>Hey ho, another day, another Pragmatic Play clone, reskin, remake, or however you'd like to class Gates of Gatot Kaca, this time produced specifically for the Asian market. Naturally, if you liked the way Gate of Olympus performed, there is a pretty good chance Gates of Gatot Kaca will titillate as well - the features and mechanics are identical in practically all regards. Naturally, those who like new features each time won't find any here, though the theme makes a change from Ancient Greece, if that counts. When factoring everything about Gates of Gatot Kaca together, it is, in some ways, tricky to know how to respond.
On one hand, Gates of Gatot Kaca is a well-made game with a fun scatter-paying dynamic that is capable of some pretty nice consecutive win rolls in conjunction with multipliers, ramped up in free spins where the total multiplier is persistent. Gates of Olympus clearly resonated with enough players to prompt a reskin, and the action is just as good in Gates of Gatot Kaca. Max win comes out at 5,000x the bet due to a win cap, and the math model stats are well respectable, too. In other words, Gates of Gatot Kaca came across as a sturdy scatter-paying slot.
Then again, it's all well and good being a highly productive studio, but when the number of reskins nears critical mass, it gets kind of odd. Ah well, the choice is a good thing, and Pragmatic Play no doubt knows the business side of slots just as well as, if not more so, than making them, so fair play to them.
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