Katmandu Gold

Katmandu Gold Review

Katmandu Gold Reviewed December 2 2020 by Casinogamesonnet.com

Elk Studios continues their Gold series with a trip to Katmandu (older spelling for Kathmandu). Featuring six reels and 4,096 ways by default, Katmandu Gold revolves around the ancient days of Nepal’s famed capital.

This slot follows four other successful games in the Gold series. We’ll discuss whether Katmandu Gold lives up to its predecessors in the following review.

Gameplay and Atmosphere

This game features six reels and can offer anywhere between 4,096 and 531,441 ways. The latter is only possible through features that we’ll cover later.

Each round begins with symbols dropping from the top of the screen (a.k.a. drops). You form wins by landing matching symbols in adjacent reels. All winning combinations need to begin in the first reel.

Like other games in the Gold collection, Katmandu Gold really shines in terms of atmosphere. Two detailed columns frame the grid into a gate, with a massive temple sitting in the background.

Snowy slopes and fortress walls sit on both sides of the columns. You’ll also see sun shining through a distant cloud-covered sky. The background and sky become more visible when you trigger free spins and open up the entire view.

Overall, Elk Studios has done a fantastic job on Katmandu Gold’s graphics and setting. This game may represent the best atmosphere from all of the Gold slots.

Katmandu Gold Max Win, Payouts and Symbols

Low-paying symbols include royals (A-J) that are imprinted on ancient rock slabs. Mid-paying icons include air, earth, fire, and water. High pays consist of a dragon, tiger, turtle, and the explorer Kane.

If you’ve played other games in this series, then you’ll recognize Kane as the gold-hunting hero. He pays the most among regular symbols at 4x your stake for five icons. You can win up to 10,000x your stake when accounting for features. This is the highest payout in this series so far.

This game also features a wild symbol that substitutes for every regular pay to form winning combinations.

Katmandu Gold RTP, Volatility and Betting Options

The betting range runs from €0.20 to €100 per spin. The Katmandu Gold RTP is 96.2% by default. Payback rises to 96.3% and 96.4% when using the feature buy and Buy Super Bonus options (covered later), respectively.

Elk Studios rates the volatility at 7 out of 10. This volatility isn’t terribly bad when considering the large potential wins (10,000x) and multiple features.

Katmandu Gold Features

This game provides several bonuses that keep the action interesting. You can look forward to avalanche wins, big symbols, Ice Climber, expanding wilds, and free drops.

Avalanche Wins

A slots avalanche refers to when symbols from winning combinations disappear. In turn, icons from above fall into the vacant spaces and provide more chances to win.

Avalanches continue until no more winning combinations are possible. Each avalanche win also causes an extra row to be added to the grid.

You can add up to 4 additional rows (8 total) through avalanches. If the rows grow to eight (6x8 grid), then you’ll enjoy 262,144 ways to win.

Big Symbols

A regular symbol only takes up a 1x1 space. However, big symbols can randomly appear as 2x2 (super), 3x3 (mega), and 4x4 (epic) icons.

Ice Climber & 531,441 ways

The yin yang symbol unlocks the Ice Climber feature when landing two times anywhere on the reels. Each icon above these symbols will turn into a high pay or wild. Meanwhile, all symbols below the yin yang icons become wild.

Assuming the Ice Climber feature is triggered on the eighth row, then a ninth row will appear. This row boosts the grid to 6x9 and gives you the maximum 531,441 ways.

Expanding Wins

Any wild or regular symbol can randomly feature a gold arrow attached to it. The arrow can point, up, down, or in both directions.

Assuming these symbols help form a winning combination, they’ll expand in the direction that the arrow points and replace any icons that they touch.

Free Drops

You trigger free spins when landing 3+ scatters anywhere on the grid. You’ll receive 10, 15, 20, or 25 free games for three, four, five, or six scatter symbols.

Free drops feature a win multiplier that increases 1x every time that a bonus symbol with an “X” on it appears. This multiplier keeps increasing until the bonus ends.

Bonus Buy & Super Bonus Buy

Feature buys are nothing new in the gaming world. However, Katmandu Gold does things differently by offering two ways to purchase a feature.

First, you can spend 100x your stake to unlock the regular bonus buy. This option ensures that 3-6 scatters automatically land on the next drop.

Next, you can spend 500x your bet to use the Buy Super Bonus. The Super Bonus not only sends 3-6 scatters onto the reels but also starts your win multiplier at 10x.

Similar Slots to Katmandu Gold

Not surprisingly, Katmandu Gold immediately evokes comparisons to the first four games in this series: Tahiti Gold, Ecuador Gold, Voodoo Gold, and Black River Gold slots.

Each of these games offers expanding grids and avalanche wins just like Katmandu. The latter, however, differs slightly by providing the highest win potential and most possible ways.

Final Thoughts

Just when it seems that Elk Studios can’t take the Gold series any further, they produce yet another stellar game in Katmandu Gold. Like the four Gold games before it, Katmandu continues accelerating the series.

First off, the design looks incredible. Katmandu Gold makes you feel as if you’re really standing outside the gates to an ancient Himalayan temple.

You can also expect exciting features, including avalanche wins combined with an expanding grid that can reach 531,441 ways. A multiplier during free drops boosts the win potential even more and can result in payouts worth up to 10,000x your stake.

Even if you’ve never tried any of the Gold games, you’re bound to like this one. Katmandu Gold offers graphics, features, and wins that’ll keep you entertained for hours.

Release Date

Katmandu Gold was released on December 2 2020.