Ancient Rome is one of the most influential periods in history. It has helped craft modern political systems, philosophy, economics, culture, and so much more. One thing the Ancient Romans never anticipated influencing so much was the world of online slots. 

Gladiators have long been a source of inspiration for slot developers, and industry-giant Yggdrasil is back at it again with 3 Gladiators vs Caesar. I never know what to expect when I load a Roman-themed slot, with the genre providing so many hits and misses over the years. Join me as I hit the Spin button and find out what is in store this time in this 3 Gladiators vs. Caesar slot review. 

Yggdrasil has become a studio I associate with quirky themes and complex gameplay mechanics, so it's nice to see them return to their routes with a simpler approach. 3 Gladiators vs Caesar looks great, with the reels positioned inside the Colosseum, with two soldier statues standing on either side of the grid. 

The gladiators in question are not your standard Roman soldiers. Instead, a Viking, an African warrior, and a female Spartan are all thrown into the pit to take on Caesar, who is brought to life as the game’s Scatter symbol. 

All of this is backed by an intense soundtrack, with some simple but effective sound effects playing while you spin the reels and when you trigger the bonus rounds. 

The Gladiators in this game may not be conventional, but the base gameplay is. The slot uses a 5x3 game grid with 20 fixed paylines on every spin. Wins are formed when players land matching combinations of three or more, starting on the leftmost reel. 

The stake is adjusted by using the +/- buttons under the grid next to the ‘bet level’ marker. There are 23 bet levels that you can play with, with the minimum stake being $0.10 and the maximum being $100. You will also find the autoplay feature on the same control panel. 

A lot of the action in the 3 Gladiators vs Caesar slot is based around Wild symbols. Players can trigger the Gladiator feature when they land two Scatter symbols. They will then get one of three Gladiator modifiers: 

• Swords - 2x1 and 1x2 Wilds get added to the grid. 
• Mace - 2x2 Wild symbols are placed on the reels. 
• Trident - 4 Wild symbols are added to the grid. 

If you land three or more Scatters, you will trigger the ​​3 Gladiators vs Caesar Free Spins round. At the start of the round, players can choose between eight Training Mode Spins or the Deathmatch Free Spins bonus. 

The Training Mode Spins play out like a traditional Free Spins round, with players getting to keep their winnings. 

The Deathmatch Free Spins, however, ups the ante. If players choose this, they must then choose either seven spins with a 2x multiplier, six spins with a 3x multiplier, or five spins with a 4x multiplier. 

Here’s the twist, though - players will only get to keep the winnings from these spins if they pass 22.5x their stake. If they do this, and only if they do this, the multiplier is then applied to your total round winnings. Regardless of which spins round you choose, high-paying symbols are replaced by one of the three Gladiator symbols. During the round, the Gladiator will then add extra Wilds to the spin. 

If you want to skip your way into the free spins, you can do so by activating the buy bonus slots feature for 50x your stake. 

I opted to play for real money after taking some test spins on 3 Gladiators vs Caesar using the demo version. I set my stake at bet level 6, which was $1. 

I actually got extremely lucky, triggering the Free Spins round twice in my first 20 spins. However, in both instances, I took a risk and went for the Deathmatch Free Spins. In the first round, I went with six spins and ended up reaching 14x my stake, which was not enough. The game gave me a $4 consolation prize. 

On my second go around, I went with seven spins, and while I came closer, hitting 16.8x my stake, I still lost. This time, the game rewarded me with $7. 

I continued to play for around 30 more spins and found the game’s Wild features useful at serving up some good wins. I also triggered the Free Spins one last time and went with the Training Mode Spins, winning $9.50. 

Overall, after around 50 spins, I took home $63, which would have been more had I not chosen the Deathmatch Spins. 

Yggdrasil has gotten into a habit of delivering poor math models and has done it again with 3 Gladiators vs. Caesar. The maximum win here is 2,930x your stake, which is not going to appeal to players. The game has medium volatility and a poor RTP of 94%. 

Overall, 3 Gladiators vs Caesar has some interesting ideas and can definitely provide some fun with the Deathmatch Free Spins round. The company also deserves some credit for putting a different spin on the free spins bonus. 

If you are a fan of Gladiator-themed slots or want to try out a different way of playing a free spins bonus, then 3 Gladiators vs Caesar could be worth a spin. However, a severe lack of winning potential definitely lets the game down. No one will be too excited about a 2,930x maximum win, and the poor RTP of 94% is also a bit disappointing.

If you are looking for another fun take on the Gladiator genre, Gladiatoro from ELK Studios will appeal. Likewise, Legion Gold from Play'n GO is an enjoyable Roman-themed slice of action.