Esqueleto Explosivo 2

If you’ve played the very first Esqueleto Explosivo slot launched five years ago then you’ll already be familiar with the theme, because not much has changed visually with v2. For those who are new to the party, let me tell you what to expect. It’s Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead to non-Spanish speakers. This is a traditional celebration where people remember loved ones that have passed. There’s no background music as such, just the sounds of a massive street party.

When you make winning combinations the skull symbols sing a couple lines and explode into confetti. That’s right, I said skulls. But it’s not creepy because they’re brightly painted and some even wear jewelry and sport flowers in their hair. The highest paying skull is the one wearing a blonde wig and gold earrings. The remaining skulls are wearing face paint in various colors (pink, green, blue, orange, and cyan). There’s also a Wild symbol, which is a funky looking skull wearing Elvis shades. The Scatter symbol (which is responsible for triggering the bonus game) is a robotic looking skull with a wind up key where an ear should be. Again, I promise it’s not as creepy as it sounds.

It’s deep in the gameplay where Thunderkick have stepped up the makeover. Everything’s been given a lick of paint in the form of bigger and better reward potential. Let’s find out if bigger and better translates into actual cash payouts.

The game has a lot of payout potential when you consider the cascading/dropping reels, the high multipliers that are constantly in play, and a particularly generous bonus game. My optimism was slightly tarnished by Esqueleto Explosivo 2’s High volatility ranking, which means that the slot’s only real special feature was hard to trigger. The Mucho Multipliers and Explosivo Wilds do fill the gap to a certain extent, boosting payouts up to 32 x. Bets start from C$0.10 per spin and climb up to C$100 per spin, with a slightly above average RTP of 96.13%. The top prize sits at 5,000 x, but the only way to get there is by getting really lucky in the bonus game. You’ll have to be betting at the very top of the scale for a chance to take home a prize of C$500,000 though. Payouts in the base game are pretty low, and this comes down to the dismally low value symbols. Here’s what I mean:

• Pink skull pays 2.5 x for 5 on a payline
• Green skull pays 1.4 x for 5 on a payline
• Blue skull pays 1.2 x for 5 on a payline
• Orange skull pays 0.9 x for 5 on a payline
• Cyan skull pays 0.7 x for 5 on a payline