ALL ABOUT BLACK RIVER GOLD SLOT
Our hero Kane, a Rich Wilde-style adventurer, has travelled to various far-flung locations in pursuit of everything that glitters in the Gold series of slots from ELK Studios. When we last spoke with him, he was on the hunt for Eldorado, a legendary location deep in the jungles of Latin America.
This time he appears to have landed in an Apalachian-style mountain range, once again searching for treasures in high-variance circumstances and dealing with cascading winnings and an expanding reel set-up with up to 262,144 paylines! Yes, frequent readers will recall that, unlike many of its competitors, ELK Studios went their own way and built their own engine, rather than merely signing up for the Megawaysâ„¢ licence. And it’s on show in Black River Gold, a game that will appeal to aficionados of high-risk slots. The action begins with 4,096 win ways and extends with each cascade in a win sequence, while ingenious elements like as compasses and revolvers keep things exciting throughout.
GAME SET-UP, SYMBOLS AND GRAPHICS
So, Black River has to be about oil, right? Kane has definitely abandoned his quest for wealth in the jungle’s buried civilizations and is now drilling for oil in the mountains. The beautiful snow-capped peaks serve as a backdrop to what begins as a 6-reel, 4-row scene, framed by a rig (or is it a bridge?) made of wood and metal. Whatever the case may be, the artwork is excellent, as one would expect from ELK.
The game is played in a cascading wins style. Symbols fall from the top of the screen, and if three or more similar ones land on adjacent reels (in any order) from left to right, it’s a win. When this happens, all winning symbols are removed and new ones are added to the grid, as well as a new row. The expanding reels are activated in this manner. Starting at 6×4, the grid may grow to a huge 6×8 if four cascades occur in a row. That’s a total of 262,144 paylines in action!
The cards Jack through Ace represent the lesser value symbols on the reels. Kane’s premiums are made up of items he needs to keep him happy, such as a handgun, a whisky glass, a badge, and a choker, as well as some extras, such as gold nuggets, emeralds, and diamonds. At 3x for five on a payline, the hero pays out the most.
RTP, VARIANCE, AND PAYOUTS FOR BLACK RIVER GOLD SLOT
Black River Gold, like the others in the series, is a high volatility game with a lot of features where you can score some really big wins, albeit the maximum payout of 5,000 is a little low compared to some other recent releases. There are no concerns about the RTP, which is a very ordinary 96.1 percent. You may play this slot for as little as $0.20 each spin, and with the strong volatility, you may want to keep your wager modest.
FEATURES AND GAMEPLAY
The features, which include several creative base game ones and an interesting bonus round, are what make this game for us. This is how it works:
Significant Symbols – When they land in your favour, they may result in big wins. They come in two sizes: 2×2 and 3×3, as well as a massive 4×4!
Revolver Effect-This is a fantastic effect. When a large symbol lands with a space underneath it, it transforms into a revolver cylinder, with each chamber filled with symbols from the rows below. If it entirely fills, it transforms into a massive wild!
Compass Feature – When the compass lands, the needles will point in any direction, turning all symbols in that direction into wilds (left or right, or top to bottom). When the compass lands on the grid’s bottom row, it becomes a wild as well.
Free Spins – The free spins round is the star of the show, and it may be triggered by landing three or more scatter symbols anywhere on the reels. You’ll get anywhere from 10 to 25 free spins as a result (or drops). The improvement in play here implies that the rows expand in a series with cascading wins, but they don’t reset when the sequence ends. This implies you’ll have more opportunities to experiment with a completely or half enlarged reel set.
Wilds on the bottom row remain sticky until they generate a win during the bonus round, and extra free spins may be earned by hitting more scatters.
OUR OPINION
If you like the other games in the Kane’s Gold series, you’ll enjoy this one as well. With the inclusion of the really interesting Revolver and Compasses, it’s fairly similar in structure to classics like Eldorado Gold. It’s enough to keep things interesting if you have a chance to win in the game. Those that come close to achieving the 5,000x multiplier will be rewarded in the bonus round, which features completely extended reels and some lucky wild action. This is certainly engaging material, and it will put high-risk slot players to the test. If you’re new to the game, though, proceed with caution, since Black Gold appears to be a frustrating tease at times!
