Overview
Step into legend with ELK Studios' Avalon Gold, the latest highly volatile addition to their celebrated Gold series, transporting intrepid explorer Kane to the mythical realm of Avalon. This visually stunning adventure unfurls on a 6-reel grid, dynamically expanding from an initial 4 rows up to 8, unlocking an incredible 4,096 to 262,144 ways to win. Prepare for an etheric journey, bathed in hints of sunlight with sacred structures in the backdrop, accompanied by a phenomenal Celtic-inspired soundtrack that masterfully captures Avalon's mystical essence. Beyond its captivating design, Avalon Gold delivers ELK's signature expanding reels and dependable mechanics like Avalanches and Big Symbols. Plus, look out for innovative Expanding Wilds and the game-changing Mystery Boxes with their diverse Avalon features. All these elements culminate in the potential for a colossal 25,000x max win, promising an exhilarating, high-octane quest for riches in this legendary land.
Gameplay & Features
Avalon Gold contains a mix of gameplay that is common to the series while wedging in one or two innovations. Here you will find Avalanches, Big Symbols, Expanding Wilds, Mystery Boxes, Avalon feature, free drops, and the X-iterfeature buymenu.
• Avalanches
•
Winning ways are removedfrom the game board by the Avalanche feature. When symbols fall down to fill the gaps, anextra rowof them is also added to the reels. Consecutive Avalanches keep adding rows until reaching amax height of 8 rows high. In the main game, when no more wins occur, the gridresets to its normal sizefor the next spin.
• Big Symbols
•
Another regular is Big Symbols, which land in2x2,3x3, or4x4 sizes. Big Symbols can be any normal pay symbol or Mystery Boxes, and each one counts as the number of 1x1-sized instances. If empty spaces appear below Big Symbols, they are filled with the same symbol type as the Big Symbol.
• Expanding Wilds
•
Symbols can land with agold frameon top of them. If spaces open up above these symbols, the empty gaps will befilled with a number of expanding wild symbols.
• Mystery Boxes
•
Mystery Boxes appear anywhere on the reels, and whenat least 5 are in view, theyactivate. Until then, they act as value-less blocker tiles. When activated, Mystery Boxes open toreveal a pay symbol, awild, or trigger theAvalon features. Avalon features include:
Coin– coin win displayed as a multiplier of the bet. Multipliers- multiply any already revealed coins. Swiper- adds 1 to the front of the previously revealed coin value. So, a 7 would become a 17. Collect– collects all coin values in view and reactivates the already opened Mystery Boxes. Redrop– awards another symbol drop and guarantees reactivation of Mystery Boxes in view.
• Free Drop
•
Entering the bonus round occurs when3, 4, 5, or 6 scatter symbolsland to award10, 15, 20, or 25 free drops, respectively. In free spins, Mystery Boxes arepersistentbetween free spins until they are activated. As before, at least 5 are needed to be activated, and Mystery Boxes are removed when the Avalon feature is finished. The round starts with the grid at 4 rows high. After winning spins, thesafety levelincreases by +1 row, the next free drop then fills the grid to the current safety level – up to 8 rows high. Free spins can beretriggeredby landing 3, 4, 5, or 6 bonus symbols to win 10, 15, 20, or 25 additional free drops, respectively.
• X-iter
•
When and where available, players can switch to bonus mode and pick one of these five options. For all of them, the RTP remains the same as when playing in the normal mode. Big Symbol– 5x the bet to buy one drop with a guaranteed Big Symbol. Expanding Wild– 10x the bet for one drop with a guaranteed Expanding Wild. Mystery Boxes– 50x the bet for one drop with 5 guaranteed Mystery Boxes. Bonus– 100x the bet to enter the bonus game. Super Bonus– 500x the bet to enter the bonus game where Mystery Boxes are persistent throughout
Final Thoughts
We might be eight deep in ELK Studio's Gold range of slots, but the momentum doesn't feel like it's been let up one bit. The studio has its foot firmly planted on the creative gas, and Avalon Gold is another sturdy entry. What's been great so far is the exotic locations and the consistent tweaking of the gameplay to make something that both fits into the series while taking it in new and exciting directions. The word exotic is a common one when describing an online slot but often refers to, say, a beach, seaside location, or something with a cultural touch. The word exotic is rarely so apt as it is in the case of the Gold series, where ELK Studios has lobbed Kane to several off-the-beaten-path locations.
Avalon is perhaps one of the most unexpected of them all so far. Arthurian legends are fairly common in slots, but it was still a surprise to see Kane turn up there. No complaints, though; while he's resting, healing, or whatever his motivations are, Avalon Gold serves up the sort of solid gameplay we've come to expect from a Kane slot. Avalanches, growing reels, growing ways, and things like Big Symbols are dependable on their own before even getting to the newer bits. Expanding Wilds are handy, and the Mystery Boxes leading to Avalon features can be hugely entertaining as seen already in games likeBig Bamboofrom which the developers likely got their inspiration from. Mystery Boxes climax during Super Free Spins since they stay on the board and activate repeatedly following each Avalanche or drop, potentially leading to some intense moments. Avalon Gold follows through with enticing winning possibilities, too, maxing out at25,000x the bet.
All up, Avalon Gold's presentation is top-notch; the features are a nice weave of old and new(ish), and Kane looks pretty dashing in his golden armour. The game is let down by the lower RTP value that ELK Studios is pushing hard for at the moment, but if that's not a concern, Avalon Gold is another Gold slot players can rely on to fire up and extract entertainment value from.
