Slot Review: Diablo Reels by ELK Studios
Published September 2, 2020 by Elana K
Diablo Reels from ELK Studios is similar to a classic fruit machine but it has upgraded features, including respins, free spins, and stacked, sticky, and multiplying wilds.
Diablo Reels from ELK Studios is the 7th slot in the developer’s Classic Series. The setup looks like a classic fruit machine but the theme is much more interesting, revolving around Dia de Muertos, Day of the Dead. As such, players can expect to see fitting accouterments like skulls, sombreros, cigars, flowers, and potions. The game itself is played on a small grid but is packed with features, including respins, free spins, plus stacked, sticky, and multiplying wilds.
Slot Specs
Diablo Reels is a 3x3 slot with 5 paylines - deceptively simple. Bets range from $.20 to 100 and the game is highly volatile, ranking 8/10 on the volatility scale. The RTP is fairly high at 96.3%, but the hit rate is a modest 18.1%.
Symbols include jalapenos, limes, watermelons, bars, horseshoes, bells, 7s, and diamonds. It’s a classic fruit machine with a Mexican twist. There are also scatters, wilds, and Nudging Wilds, the latter of which have an imprinted arrow on them. When a Nudging Wild lands, reels get nudged upward and respins are granted until the wild exits from the top of the screen. Nudging wilds on the top reel can come with a 2x or 5x multiplier.
Features
Wilds can also appear stacked, and when a full stack lands on 1 reel, the Wild Stack Respin is triggered. This feature rewards a respin on the standard set of reels, and also on an upper set of reels that comes into play for special features. For the respin, 1 reel is completely stacked with wilds. When both reel sets are in use, paylines are doubled to 10, and if 2 wilds land simultaneously, the stacked wilds become sticky and remain in place.
When 3 diablo scatters land in view, the bonus game is triggered. Players get 10 free spins and both reel sets become active with 10 paylines in play. During this round, no low-paying symbols appear on the upper real set. If 3 additional scatters land on a free spin, the feature can be retriggered.
Bottom Line
Diablo Reels is one of the more compelling slots in ELK’s Classic Series, and the upper real set is a nice touch. However, players who aren’t fans of this type of slot will quickly see through the skulls and jalapenos and realize that this is simply an upgraded fruit machine. For a high volatility slot, the maximum win of 2,500x the stake is quite low. On the other hand, players who are fans of classic fruit machines are sure to enjoy this devilish new twist, complete with different kinds of wilds, respins, and free spins.
