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El Patron Review
Just so we don’t get the wrong kind of people chasing after us, we’ll state up front that all resemblances and mentions of Pablo ‘El Patron’ Escobar is purely coincidental, and this release is not a branded effort, nor is it associated with the infamous drug baron in any way. El Patron does give you a pretty decent impression of what the life of a South American drug lord is like though, with tables full of cash and AK47’s made of gold.
The ominous soundtrack reminds us very much of the theme song of a popular show, while the Action Feature top/bottom bonus reel system is obviously inspired by another game. The Action Feature system awards 3 wild modifiers that are unique for the base game and the bonus round, and if you’re willing to wade through enough dead spins you might land up to 25,000x on a very lucky day.
El Patron Slot Features
The 3 premium character symbols are all locked up behind bars, and El Patron himself is, of course, the top-tier symbol. They pay 2 to 10 x your stake for 5 of a kind wins, and there is no regular wild in the paytable. Instead, wild symbols come in different forms via the bonus reels, and they all, as a minimum, step in for regular pay symbols to help complete winning combinations.
The top bonus reel provides random action symbols, while the bottom bonus reel awards only wild symbols in the base game. When a top action and bottom wild symbol are revealed above and below the same regular reel, you trigger 1 of the 3 following Action Features (none of them can appear on reel 1):
- Expanding Wild - awards a wild that expands to cover the full reel.
- Dropping Wilds - gives you 5 wilds that drop down one position per respin that follows, until they all have dropped off the bottom of the reel.
- Multiplier Wilds - gives you 5 wilds with random, but matching, multipliers of x2, x3, x4 or x5, and multipliers values are multiplied if more than one wild is part of the same win.
The Bonus Round triggers when you land 3 scatters anywhere in view, and this gives you 12 free spins. The wild symbols on the bottom bonus reel are replaced by machine gun symbols throughout the feature. When a machine gun aligns with a top-reel action symbol, you get 1 of 3 modifiers (none of them can appear on reel 1):
- Wild Symbols - gives you 2 to 5 randomly placed regular wild symbols.
- Multiplier Wild Symbols - adds 2 to 5 wilds with random matching multipliers of x2, x3, x4 or x5 to the reels.
- Sticky Wild Symbols - awards 1 wild that remain sticky for the duration of the bonus round.
Finally, non-UK players, and anyone eligible, may purchase the bonus round directly via the Buy Bonus menu. You have 3 options to choose from as follows:
- Pay 100x your stake for the Normal bonus round with 12 free spins.
- Pay 300x your stake for the Deluxe version with 22 free spins.
- Pay 160x your stake for the random mystery option, which gives you between 12 and 22 free spins.
The 200 Spins El Patron Slot Experience
You get to see several Action Features in the base game, before we purchase the bonus round at 1:15 into the 3:15-minute highlights video. The machine gun triggered plenty of times during the feature, awarding the 3 different kinds of wilds described above, and you can check it all out for yourself by hitting the play button below.
Review Summary
We’re usually big fans of a high-speed turbo option, but the speed has been taken a step too far in this release. Having all the symbols just appear out of the blue like that, where you hardly notice whether you win or not, gives this game a staccato rhythm that may be an acquired taste. The pace is somewhat awkward with the turbo switched off as well, and temptation is always there to double click. Anyway, El Patron comes across as a mix between two other games, while not really living up to either of them.
The base game offers tons of dead spins between occasional Action Feature triggers, and it’s basically a sinking ship grind until the bonus round finally hits. You can easily wait 30-50 spins to get a single expanding wild reel, awarding a 5x win, to give you a ballpark idea of the volatility. The bonus round offers more of the same many times, and multiplier and sticky wilds are rare. We’re sure things can blow up on a very lucky day in this game, but overall you’re just waiting around for some action like the bored crew in one of Escobar’s many hideouts.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| 3 different Bonus Reels Wild modifiers | Awkward game pace and plenty of dead spins |
| FS w/ 3 enhanced bonus reel wild modifiers | Beware of adjustable RTP ranges |
| 3 different bonus buy options (not for UK players) | |
| Win up to 25,000x your stake |
If you appreciate El Patron Slot you should also try:
Another similar game has clearly served as inspiration for the game at hand, with the top and bottom Enhancer Cells awarding modifiers like xWays and Razor Split symbols. This game feels a lot more explosive in all stages though, and you get 3 jumping wilds in the Lockdown bonus round that can lead to 150,000x payouts.
Another game is one to try while waiting for a follow-up of a provider, and this effort comes with impressive audiovisuals and plenty of base game action. You get walking wilds in the bonus round, and you can win up to 1,506x your stake.
Another similar game comes with cartoonish caricature visuals, and anyone who’s seen a show, probably remember the scene where someone delivers an ultimatum; “silver or lead”. You get to offer cops that very same ultimatum as you move a character around in the bonus game, and although not branded, this is a must try for fans of the show.
