We’ve never seen such cute, happy skulls, which not only sing but play music as well. Though the skin has decomposed, some of them still have their moustaches. Some have flowers on their, er, skulls, while some hold red roses in their mouths. Some skulls still bear marks of head injuries they probably died of, and all of them still have eyes in their sockets. This old game from Thunderkick can still provide thundering kicks, and significant winnings to boot.
Esqueleto Explosivo is Spanish for exploding skeletons, which is a very apt name for this Mexican-themed game that celebrates the Day of the Dead. This 5-reel, 3-row slot with 17 unconventional paylines plays out in a Mexican home on the skeletons of the mariachi band, Enrico Mortis and the Boners. The skulls cascade down on the skeletal necks of the band members and on top of one another. And they drop with delightful ‘thumps’ and ‘thuds’.
Yes, Esqueleto Explosivo has a cascade mechanism, where matching symbols vanish and other symbols drop from above, potentially creating more win combos. Our skulls burst out in song when they form winning recipes and then burst themselves, making way for more symbols. The bigger the win combos, the longer the ditties! The skulls at the bottom on the skeletons also pick up a musical instrument and play it to celebrate your win.
When there are no more win combos, the skulls topple off the grid, instead of dropping down the reels. The most precocious skull is the wild and sports sunglasses. Not only does this skull replace other skulls to form matching rows, it has 8 of the nearest skulls to blow up with him. You see, the game pays out with increasing multipliers at each consecutive win. The wild will increase a multiplier just for landing on the reels, irrespective of whether there is a match on the reels.
You would have noticed that we have not mentioned any bonus features so far. That is because this game has none. There is no scatter to trigger any high-falutin’ free spins round. Esqueleto Explosivo is a low volatility game that provides significant wins. It does not need bonus features to pay out some substantial wins after a multitude of no-win spins or spins with negligible wins. The skulls make sure they frequently land in combinations and keep exploding with multiplier wins.
Esqueleto Explosive is one of very few slot games played by only one symbol. However, some skulls are thick while others are softer. Here we have five skulls with different colors. The light blue skull with the broken teeth is worth 0.20 to 0.70 for 3-5 reels. Then comes the beige skull with the injury mark; it pays between 0.30 and 0.90 for appearing on 3 to 5 reels. The darker blue with the long moustache pays 0.30, 0.60 and 1.20 for landing on reels 3, 4 and 5 respectively.
The skull with the sickly green hue has a flower on its head. That’s probably why it pays a premium of 0.40, 0.70, and 1.40 for making an appearance on reels 3, 4, and 5 respectively. But the honor of being the highest-paying skull belongs to the gentleman with the red rose in his mouth – 0.50 to 2.50 for spooking 3 to 5 reels. All values are in Euros at the base bet. Esqueleto Explosivo does not have a grand jackpot or a stated maximum win potential. But you could still win a cool packet.
Each successive cascading win combination increases the bet multiplier from 1x, 2x, 4, 8, 16, up to 32x. Every time you land 3 to 5 matching symbols, the skulls sing before exploding to the replaces by new ones. Each time this happens in the same cascade, the win multiplier is doubled. This can go on till your last win is multiplied by 32.
The wild of the game is a super skull with a yellow pallor that sports a cool pair of sunglasses and helps form win combos, singing enthusiastically and giggling just before exploding with the matching skulls. But when he does not provide wins, he still blows himself up along with 8 of his nearest colleagues. The wild skull increases the bet multiplier by one notch just by making a guest appearance.
The game can be a delight during a long ride or while you’re waiting in a lobby. The game’s HTML5 platform is compatible with all mobile operating systems like Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and Blackberry, etc. The game can be played on all smartphones and Apple devices that run on modern versions of these platforms, irrespective of model and make.
HTML5 creates a mobile interface that restructures the gaming platform to the small screen. The graphics flow out in full HD with original sound quality. Both are important, since the game is an audio-visual delight. The game can be better enjoyed in landscape mode given the horizontal layout of the grid. Just don’t laugh out too loud in public places.
Esqueleto Explosivo is a very imaginative slot game with asimple theme, which is not only highly entertaining but can be quite rewarding as well.. And it pulls it off without any bonus features. The singing of the skulls as they explode in glee, particularly the shaded wild gives you a childish delight, which will keep you coming back for more.