Zulu Gold

Zulu Gold Review

Zulu Gold Reviewed September 7 2021 by Casinogamesonnet.com

ELK Studios continues its Gold series and the adventures of Kane with Zulu Gold slot. In this journey, Kane searches Zulu temples for treasures and riches.

From Taco Brothers to Nitropolis, ELK Studios is known for original themes. A treasure hunter trekking through the old Zulu empire in southern Africa presents yet another fresh theme.

With a maximum win worth 10,000x the stake and many features, you may feel like you’re looking for treasure alongside Kane.

Gameplay and Atmosphere

This slot features 6 reels and 4,096 ways by default. However, you can enjoy as many as 262,144 ways thanks to avalanche wins.

Winning combinations form when 3+ matching symbols land in adjacent reels. All payouts need to start in the first reel and move to the right.

If you’ve played African-themed slots before, you know that they normally involve lions running across the savanna. Zulu Gold is a breath of fresh area in this regard.

Its background features decorated columns, spears, and large shields, which were commonly used by Zulu warriors.

Once you increase the grid/ways, the reels expand upward and show glimpses of a dimly-lit temple. This is presumably where Kane finds the treasure.

ELK Studios has gone above and beyond with the theme and atmosphere. They’ve provided a new perspective on African slots.

Zulu Gold Max Win, Payouts and Symbols

Rudimentary drawings of a crocodile, deer, snake, and zebra make up the low pays. Painted drawings, including blue, green, purple, and red, comprise the mid pays.

Kane, a buffalo, elephant, and rhino offer the highest payouts. The famed slots adventurer pays the most among this bunch at 5x your stake for six symbols. The Max Win is 10,000x your bet.

This game features multiple wild symbols, all of which fill in for regular pays to form winning combinations. One of these symbols is a basic wild, while the other two (Walker & Charged wilds) come into play during features.

RTP, Volatility and Betting Options

You can wager between €0.20 and €100 per spin. This betting range makes for jackpots ranging from €2,000 (0.2 x 10,000) to €1 million (100 x 10,000).

The Zulu Gold RTP is 95.0%, which is below average. We’re a little surprised that ELK Studios went with such a low payout percentage here.

The volatility sits in the high range. A large maximum win and many features ensure that this treasure hunt isn’t for the faint-hearted.

Zulu Gold Features

You can look forward to lots of features in this game. Avalanche payouts, big symbols, special wild symbols, Zulu Stacks, and free drops all help boost payouts.

Avalanches & Extra Ways

Winning combinations disappear from the grid, leaving open vacant spaces. An avalanche then occurs with symbols from above falling into the vacant positions. This effect continues until no more winning combinations are possible.

Each avalanche causes an extra row to be added to the top of the grid. The grid can grow as high as 8 rows. Here’s how many ways are possible with each added row:

• 4 rows – 4,096 ways
• 5 rows – 15,625
• 6 rows – 46,656
• 7 rows – 117,649
• 8 rows – 262,144

Wild Walker

Wild Walker symbols are available in between avalanche pays. They “walk” on the grid and leave behind a trail of wilds.

Big Symbols

Regular symbols come in four different sizes, including 1x1, 2x2 (Super), 3x3 (Mega), and 4x4 (Epic). Big symbols crush everything in their path except for other big icons, wild symbols, and scatters. Any open positions below a big symbol will be filled in with the same icon.

Zulu Stack

A Zulu Stack puts 2-4 identical regular pays in the same column. It also adds rows and expands the grid when landing on top of other symbols.

Multiplier Free Drops & Safety Level

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

This bonus opens with 4 rows, but each avalanche win increases the safety level by +1. The higher safety level is then available for the next free drop.

The bonus continues in this fashion until the grid reaches 8 rows. You’ll then enjoy the full 6x8 grid for the remainder the free drops.

As the name Multiplier Free Drops imply, you’ll also benefit from a progressive win multiplier. Visible on the left-hand side, the multiplier starts at 1x.

Multiplier symbols with random values attached fall onto the grid. Three multipliers symbols in the same drop will deliver their combined value to the progressive multiplier.

For example, 2x, 3x, and 3x symbols would boost the multiplier by 8x. They become inactive at this point, but they’ll be reactivated if another multiplier symbol lands.

Following a free drop, all used/inactive multiplier icons disappear from the reels. However, unused/unactivated symbols remain sticky until they’re used.

The progressive win multiplier never resets or decreases in any way. Therefore, it can grow quite large if multiplier symbols continue landing.

Charged Wild

Available during free drops, a Charged Wild has multiple “lives.” It remains sticky until all of its lives are used up. It only loses a life when helping form a winning combination.

X-iter

As seen in other ELK Studios games, X-iter lets you buy certain features. Here are the available options in this particular slot:

• 5x the stake – 1 guaranteed winning spin
• 25x – 3 free drops with guaranteed Zulu Stacks
• 100x – Automatically triggers Multiplier Free Drops
• 250x – 3 free drops with guaranteed Wild Walkers
• 500x – Super Bonus round where multiplier symbols never exit the grid, even after being used.

Where Does This Slot Rank in the Gold Series?

The Gold series is certainly not low on quality games. It features Ecuador Gold, Tahiti Gold, Voodoo Gold, Black River Gold, and Katmandu Gold.

Zulu Gold continues the tradition of avalanche wins that can unlock up to 262,144 ways. It also brings back the safety level.

This slot ties Katmandu Gold for the biggest payer of the series. Both feature a maximum win worth 10,000x your stake. The other games range from 2,500x to 5,000x on their top wins.

The Gold slots have progressively gotten better in terms of features. Zulu picks up where Katmandu left off by also offering an abundance of bonuses.

Final Thoughts

Kane isn’t one to plunder Egyptian pyramids like every other slots explorer out there. Instead, he’s once again found an original spot to hit in Zulu Gold.

This game brings back the core elements that have made the Gold series so popular. It provides an expanding grid, numerous potential ways, and lucrative free drops. The Multiplier Free Drops are especially enticing due to their progressive multiplier and Charged Wilds.

Unfortunately, the RTP (95.0%) isn’t on par with most modern online slots. Other than this downside, though, Zulu Gold has everything required for an exciting gaming adventure.

No matter if you’ve played other slots in this series, you’ll likely appreciate Zulu Gold. You’ll especially enjoy it, though, if ELK has you hooked on the other Gold games.

Release Date

Zulu Gold was released on September 7 2021.