Voodoo Gold slot review (Elk Studios)

Elk Studios’ action hero Kane is at it again: Voodoo Gold is the third episode where our active adventurer takes the spotlight.

We have seen this fantastic slot’s exciting features before in the Ecuador Gold slot and the Tahiti Gold slot.

We are talking about the avalanche feature, the increasing number of ways to win, sticky wilds and several other features.

You can win some serious money on Voodoo Gold.

The first prize is a sky-high $€ 500,000 if you place the maximum bet of $€100.

If you prefer to play with lower bets, it is still possible to land a significant win.

The maximum win is a spectacular 5,000 x the total bet.

Gameplay and features of the Voodoo Gold slot

Voodoo Gold is a win all ways Elk Studios video slot. For starters, you have 4,096 ways to win as there are 6 reels with 4 rows of symbols (4,096 is calculated as 4x4x4x4x4x4).

If you make winning combinations, these disappear and make way for new symbols. That way, you can get multiple payouts with one spin.

But there is more.

After each winning combination, the number of rows of symbols increases and therefore, the number of ways to win increases exponentially.

If you have made a few wins in a row, the entire playing field expands to 6 reels with 8 rows of symbols. If that happens, the number of ways to win increases to 262,144 (calculated as 8x8x8x8x8x8).

The minimum bet is $€0.20 per spin, and the maximum bet is $€100 per spin.

What are the theoretical RTP, the variance and the maximum win of the Voodoo Gold Slot?

The theoretical payout percentage is 96.1%, which is not bad but not excellent either. It is around the average of most online slots.

Voodoo Gold is a high variance slot. For the volatility, Elk Studios gives a 9 out of 10 rating.

It implies that the variance is high, but not extremely high.

Compare this slot (in terms of variance) to slots like Book of Dead or Reactoonz but not to slots like Dead or Alive 2 or Jammin’ Jars (which are both extremely high variance slots).

The maximum win is capped at 5,000x the bet.

Wins above 1,000x the bet are realistic with this slot.

Symbols and payouts

It should not be a surprise, but Kane himself is the most lucrative symbol.

If you get a 6-of-a-kind of Kane, you get a win of 2,5x the bet.

The ten other symbols result in lower payouts for a 6-of-a-kind: between 0,05x the bet and 1,3x the bet.

You may think that these payouts are low. Remember, though, that there are at least 4,096 ways to win.

Then there are the so-called “mega symbols,” which are either 2 x 2, 3 x 3 or even 4 x 4 in size.

But there’s more. If you get a winning combination, the empty positions under a Mega symbol are filled with sticky wilds.

These will remain sticky until the Mega symbol has disappeared again.

Then there are special symbols (recognized as bombs). These are the scatters symbols that can activate the free spins.

Besides, the bombs explode, and as a result, the surrounding symbols explode and make way for new symbols.

This way, a consecutive series of potential winning combinations are kept intact.

There are also “Dual Bombs.” These are unmissable if you want to progress in this game.

Free Spins Bonus – volatile and potentially more than rewarding

Spin at least 3 scatters to activate the free spins bonus.

You get a minimum of 6 free spins (“Free Drops”) and a maximum of 15 free spins, depending on the number of scatters that activate the bonus round.

During the free spins, two major boosters are active:

• All wilds are sticky during all free spins.
• You unlock so-called “safety levels,” which guarantees you many ways to win.

It is possible to retrigger the free spins, which is especially interesting if you have collected a set of sticky wilds and preferably in as many ways as possible to win in the safety level.

The further you progress in the free spins, the more you will increase your balance.

Due to the volatile nature of the bonus round, it boils down to an all-or-nothing bonus.

You can win prizes of 1,000x the bet (or even more).

On the other hand, you can also be left with a little win of 10 x to 20 x the stake.

According to Elk Studios, the bonus frequency is once every 614 spins.

It is just another indicator that the free spins session can be very volatile and potentially massive wins in the free spins.

Our verdict on the Voodoo Gold slot?

Elk Studios has managed to surprise us with this third “Gold” release – we are more than impressed.

The theme is ominous, the design is excellent, and there are plenty of exciting and lucrative new features.

You have to be patient to make it to the free spins bonus (bonus frequency is 1 out of 614 spins), but the reward can be surreal!

4 out of 5 stars.