Ashoka Eternal

Ashoka Eternal: Slot Overview

When it latches onto an idea it likes, the ELK Studios team is good at digging in and using the stimulation to pop out a few related slots, as in, drop a follow-up release or two, or more. The developer is behind a bunch of exceptional slot series, some of which we mention in the verdict section, and it looks as though a certain Tiger Prince and his striped pal are back on the review block. Their return comes via Ashoka Eternal, a follow-up to the 2023 release Ashoka, and where one was a scatter-paying slot, the other is cluster pays, though much of the side features display a measure of crossover.

Not calling Ashoka Eternal out as an ugly game by any means, but it was not as attractive as Ashoka was when it was reviewed. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and some eye-raking slots might look like beauty contest winners to other people. But, Ashoka Eternal didn't have the same enjoyably dank, heavy, as crisp, welcome to the tropical jungle, swatting mosquitoes atmosphere as the original title. This time around, ELK Studios has kept everything lighter, airier, and hopefully, this doesn't sound like whining, but Ashoka Eternal just wasn't the most stunning arrangement of pixels the studio has presented. Though, ELK being ELK, the audiovisuals, as a whole, certainly aren't bad.

Ashoka Eternal is played on an expandable gaming grid, which starts by dropping 5 columns holding varying numbers of active symbols and blocker symbols. It uses a cluster pays mechanic to create wins and sits at the higher end of the volatility spectrum, bearing an 8 out of 10 rating. The game comes with a low yet normal for ELK RTP of 94%, whether regularly betting 20 cents to $/€100 per spin or when utilising options from the X-iter bonus buy menu.

As a cluster pays slot, Ashoka Eternal creates wins out of regular symbols when at least 5 of them are connected in horizontal or vertical directions. Its four lower-paying symbols are stone blocks with patterns on them, while the 4 higher-value ones are blue, green, and red gems, plus a tiger. Hitting a 5 OAK cluster pays 0.1 to 1.5 times the bet up to 50 to 250 times the bet for hitting a 15+ cluster. Symbols come in sizes of 1x1, 2x2, or 3x3. If a big symbol drop ends and there are empty positions below it, the empty spaces are filled by 1x1 sized symbols of the same type. Wilds substitute for any regular pay symbols and can also land in big forms. Big Wild symbols pay as the amount of 1x1 wilds they cover. An all-wild win has the same value as the highest pay symbol.

Ashoka Eternal: Slot Features

A game round starts with a symbol drop where blockers are above and below symbols on each column. Winning symbols and all non-winning symbols of the same type are removed from the grid. Any blocker symbols adjacent to winning symbols are also removed, increasing the number of symbols in play. The grid is then filled by new symbols. Any new wins are paid, and the Avalanching repeats till there are no more wins. Removing all blocker symbols increases the grid to 7x7, with new blockers on the rightmost and leftmost columns. Removing these new blockers increases the grid to 7x9, and a new set of blockers is added to the top and bottom rows. The multiplier blocker symbols add their value to the global multiplier when next to an adjacent winning symbol.

Multiplier Wheel

The multiplier wheel has 12 positions. When the multiplier wheel stops and a multiplier activation symbol is in the top position, the multiplier is active. The wheel turns left one step after each win. If new wins appear, the wheel continues turning to the left. This repeats till there are no more wins. Clearing all blockers at level 3 makes the wheel stop and activates the global multiplier for the rest of the round.

Charged Wild & Redrop Symbol

The charged wild is a wild charged to last up to 3 wins. It is removed after the last win. The redrop symbol, meanwhile, picks one payout symbol type and keeps these symbols sticky for one redrop. The redrop feature activates when there are no more wins.

Bonus Game

Hitting 3 active bonus scatter symbols triggers 8 free spins. Inactive bonus symbols become activated when they are adjacent to winning symbols. Charged Wilds remain when going from the base to the bonus game. Scatter symbols are persistent between free spins, and the global multiplier is persistent, as well. The super bonus game is triggered when one of the triggering bonus scatter symbols is a super bonus scatter symbol. The super bonus round has double the chance of triggering the global multiplier. Lastly, one new bonus scatter in the bonus game awards +2 extra free spins.

X-iter

At the X-iter section, players may engage these bonus modes:

• Bonus Hunt - drops cost 3x the bet and offer triple the chance of triggering the bonus game.
• Charged Wilds - 10x the bet for a drop with all wild symbols charged.
• Super Multiplier Wheel - 25x the bet for a game round with double the chance of activating the global multiplier.
• Bonus - 100x the bet.
• Super Bonus - 500x the bet.

Ashoka Eternal: Slot Verdict

ELK Studios is no stranger to sequels, having ploughed through numerous follow-ups as part of the Nitropolis, or 'Gold' series, for example, amongst others, and for the most part, the studio does exceptionally handy work. Not always. Some sequels feel like a step sideways rather than a bold stride forward into the future; Cygnus 3 and its questionable prize wheel is a candidate here. So is Ashoka Eternal, which didn't come across as a big-time stunner. In no way is Ashoka Eternal a bad game, just that it wasn't a major step forward from Ashoka, more of a little shimmy to the side, as if to see what would happen if clusters rather than scatters were responsible for making winning combinations.

As well as the pay system switch up, the global multiplier has been reworked as well. For the most part, the old ways were preferable. How many times will a winning combo hit when the global multiplier is on one of its in-between steps, meaning no multiplier for you? In Ashoka, when the multiplier is active, every win is boosted by its value when active. There are certainly opportunities for linking wins with the multiplier in Ashoka Eternal, too, but it might tug on the emotions of frustrations a little hard for some. The overriding impression was that Ashoka's multiplier accrual and deployment method, working in tandem with scatter-paying wins, was simply more entertaining than Ashoka Eternal's overall system. Some may think the opposite, which is great because ELK has your back with an alternative.

Winning potential treads water in the same spot as well; its 25,000x the bet unchanged from what is theoretically possible in Ashoka. Tip all of the newerish bits, olderish bits, samey bits together and Ashoka Eternal, whilst a perfectly fine cluster pays slot, failed to outperform its older sibling.