
Aloha
Aloha! Sit back, relax, and crack open a can or two of your favourite beverage - because we’re heading for paradise. The world is in a bit of a state right now, and we think it’s more than fair for people to escape from that reality in whatever way they can. Some go on holiday, some take up meditation, and others dive headfirst into gaming - whether it be through video games or slots.
Screenshots
Graphics
Sound
Entertainment
Bonus rounds
Today, we’re going to be taking a look at a slot that somewhat combines all three: Aloha! Cluster Pays.
It may not have the catchiest name in existence, but this NetEnt offering wants to try and entice players whilst simultaneously making them feel at ease. Does it pay off? Let’s find out.
Game Details
It’s time to pack your bags, boys and girls, because we’re heading on a vacation.
The island of Hawaii is considered to be a utopia beyond the wildest dreams of many, and yet, NetEnt has managed to make it feel like familiar surroundings. There’s a fun, laid back vibe to the game from the word go, and that’s important if you want to have long-term success beyond a few punters trying to match some symbols every now and then.
The slot decides to go down a unique route in terms of the layout with a 6×5 reel and row setup on the board, but trust us when we tell you that it doesn’t take anything away from the overall quality of the design work.
In another bizarre twist of fate, there are no actual paylines. Instead, you form clusters of symbols in order to register a win – with nine or more of the same symbol being required for victory. It’s odd, but it somehow works.
RTP & Payouts
The term RTP is thrown around slots sites like it’s going out of fashion these days, with more and more punters looking towards it as a sacred figure that will determine whether or no they’ll give a slot a go. Thankfully for ACP, they’ve got a decent enough RTP at 96.42% which should ensure some pretty decent returns as it is set above the average boundary for slots in the modern era. It’s considered to have low volatility, with the two factors together adding up to rare big wins and frequent small ones.
Players can get started with a minimum bet of 0.10, but if the high rollers out there are feeling lucky, they can stretch that all the way up to a huge maximum of 200.
The big jackpot, for those of you who want to know what could be available, is 10,000x your initial stake if you strike gold.
Symbols
The soundtrack alone is entertaining enough to make us feel like this is one of the warmest and most genuine slots we’ve played in a long time, mainly because it’s just so mellow. The colour scheme works with the beach theming as it turns from day to night, too, with the guitar-playing Tiki serving as one of the most amusing aspects of the entire slot. Oh, and it’s hard not to appreciate the detailed animation involved – and that also goes for the volcano in the background.
The playcards are nowhere to be found in this slot, and instead, the lower value symbols take the form of pineapples, coconuts, seashells and flowers. The concept may be simple, but we enjoy the execution.
The higher paying symbols are the actual Tiki masks themselves and they come in red, green and blue, maintaining NetEnt’s reputation as one of the most colourful game providers out there.
Bonus Game & Jackpot
Bonus features can make or break the foundation of a slot, because beyond the standard spins that bring players to the dance, they want to try out some fresh ideas that they may not have seen before.
The one and only substitution symbol aka wild appears on the reel as a crate with a painted question mark, inserting itself in place of any symbols on the reels – aside from the free spins symbol. The scatter in this slot is the Hawaiian postage stamp, and if you can secure three or more of them, then you’ll be able to trigger the free spins round of your experience.
The Sticky Win re-spin feature can be activated at random with a big cluster win, and when it is activated, all of the winning symbols stay where they are whereas the other symbols will re-spin – which could lead to quite the ripple effect.
The Free Spins feature could see you secure 12 free spins in the base game, and that process can constantly be retriggered up to four more times to make for a total of 60 free spins. There’s also the Symbol Drop mechanics where all lower-win symbols are removed, meaning that just the stacked Tiki symbols are present. From there, if you manage to have a really good day, you could have plenty of high paying symbols flooding onto your reels to make for some big winnings.
The jackpot may not be progressive but with a game like this, it really doesn’t need to be.
Mobile Compatibility
One of the first aspects of any blossoming slot that people look towards is the mobile compatibility, and thankfully for those of you who like the sound of Aloha! Cluster Pays, it is compatible with all iOS and Android devices.
The bigger the screen, the better is the saying for games as detailed as this one, but even on mobile, this slot runs really smoothly.
Verdict
Aloha! Cluster Pays does what it says on the tin and then some. It’s an incredibly well-designed slot game that you'll find at most casino sites, and while the big earners may not see it as one of the most enthralling products out there on the market, that doesn’t mean it isn’t still a whole lot of fun.
They hit all of the key points they needed to hit with the theming, they’ve got a well-structured set of bonus features, and they have a positive RTP.
As far as Hawaii goes, they can be proud of this one.