Lava Gold Slot Review
We jumped straight into the action when we found out that this game was due to be released and had an absolute blast putting our Lava Gold slot machine review together. Give it a quick read and you’ll have some handy tips that’ll help you avoid the red-hot molten stuff and the hungry, toothy monsters – and send you back from your session with a very valuable souvenir in the form of a vastly inflated bankroll.
Lava Gold Theme
As you expect from Betsoft, this game uses state-of-the-art visuals. We fell in love with its looks before taking a single spin when preparing our Lava Gold review, and we think it’s the best-looking game in its category by a considerable margin. We were also impressed that its designers have avoided the cartoonish, compere-assisted approach that Betsoft is so famous for – proving that they’re more than a one-trick pony.
The dynamic background features a beautifully reproduced rainforest on one side and a smouldering volcano on the other, and the reels are all semi-transparent so the whole vista can be seen at all times. On the reels you’ll see volcanoes, dinosaur eggs, t-rexes, pterodactyls and various other creatures and items that would normally give cause for alarm – but in this game they’re your best friends, and they’re as impressively rendered as the background.
Betting Options
If you’ve just washed up ashore and want to survey the lie of the land on this game, then a minimum bet of $0.25 per spin is on offer. Once you’re feeling a little bolder, however, you can choose from a number of higher options, topping out at a peak value of $3.75.
Moving between the various bet levels is easy. Just use the ‘+’ and ‘-‘ controls at the bottom of the screen. There’s no need to select paylines, as they’re fixed, or bring up a special settings window.
Bonus Features
Firstly, it’s worth noting that this game uses a 5×5 grid format rather than traditional reels. It may be set in the Land that Time Forgot, but once you start playing, you’ll instantly be aware that it’s very much a 21st century experience. Using a grid system rather than reels means you make winning cluster as opposed to just paylines. Five or more symbols adjacent to one another qualify for payouts, and clusters up to 25-strong are all valid.
On top of this the much-loved cascading reels idea is also used, so any clusters will explode into dust and the symbols above will fall into their place, potentially forming new clusters that will also pay out.
The symbol bearing a volcano image functions as a wild in this game, substituting for all other symbols when used in a cluster – though if you make a cluster comprising every symbol from the entire set, you’ll then gain access to the interesting-looking progress meter on the right of the playing area. As you land the various symbols indicated you’ll ascend it, and once you’ve reached the top, you’ll earn 10 free spins.
At this point you’ll be in prime position to score some large wins, and to help you achieve more the central column will feature 5 identical symbols. In a regular reel configuration this is helpful but not earth-shattering but this game, of course, works differently – so you’re guaranteed a win on every free spin as you’ve already achieved the minimum cluster size before you start. On top of all this there’s also a dynamic multiplier, rising one at a time as you move up the meter.
Lava Gold Maximum Win
With 161x your stake on offer if you manage to avoid being eaten or burned you could come out from this challenge with a cool $6,037 – enough to send yourself off to Bora Bora for a few months, where the volcanoes are as extinct as the dinosaurs. Also, remember that it’s more than possible to get multiple winning clusters on one spin, which can bump up the top prize considerably.
Is Lava Gold Worth Playing and Who Should Play It?
We’d advise checking this game out due it its sheer visual appeal, though with its cluster win format and unusually challenging free spins round you’re likely to want to spend quite a few hours on it on more than one occasion.
If you love cascading reel games, it’s one of the most interesting of its type; similarly, if you like grid-style games then again, it’s got more to offer than most. Ability-wise it’s like most Betsoft games: There’s plenty going on but it’s all simple enough to pick up.
