Evil Goblins xBomb

Evil Goblins xBomb: Slot Overview

In many, if not most fantasy games, Goblins are fairly low in the monster hierarchy, possessing little real threat but useful for levelling up. They are also rarely depicted as good creatures, an exception being Harry Potter, where they run the wizard bank Gringotts, though they were pretty mean to that dragon. Nolimit City doesn't beat around the bush; their little green guys are decidedly malicious and star in a slot titled Evil Goblins xBomb. However, these goblins do come in handy and are responsible for triggering many of the game's most effective features.

In a lot of ways, Evil Goblins xBomb is a follow on from Fire in the Hole xBomb, sharing more than just the last word in their titles. The soundtrack, for starters, bears heavy resemblance to said game and, once again, the action takes place underground, this time in a goblin cave, where burning torches cast their light over copious gold coins. After Mental, then Das xBoot, Evil Goblins comes across as almost conventional. The gaming occurs on a fairly standard 6-reel, 3-row game grid, yet the xBomb feature can expand it up to 7 rows high. To be frank, Evil Goblins isn't the most exciting work Nolimit City has produced from an aesthetic standpoint, though this assessment lessens in importance somewhat when the gameplay kicks in.

Evil Goblins is available on any device from mobile to desktop and has a stake range of 20 p/c top $/€100 per spin, and being highly volatile, apologies, 'extremely' highly volatile, the game comes with a couple of RTP configurations. If looking for the most generous version, the highest return value is 96.14%. This also changes when buying features, which are all clearly labelled in the help docs, hovering between 96.03% and 96.81%.

Landing three or more adjacent matching symbols from the left-hand side of the grid forms a winning combination. Winning symbols are then removed and replaced by new ones via the avalanche feature, potentially leading to consecutive payouts until no new wins hit. The game uses 10 regular paying symbols – five of those are low pay stone backed 10-A card royals, while the five premiums are five goblin characters worth 1 to 3 times the stake for six of a kind. The goblins appearing on the premium symbols also appear above the reels, triggering certain features.

Evil Goblins xBomb: Slot Features

While maybe not quite as complicated as NLC's most recent releases, there is nevertheless a lot to get to grips with in Evil Goblins, including numerous bonus rounds, modifiers, and feature buys.

Goblin Sacrifice

On each spin, 4 of the goblins used on the premium symbols appear above the middle 4 reels. If a matching symbol lands on the reel below, the goblin throws a grenade at it, turning it wild. Once a goblin has thrown a grenade, it disappears, and a new random goblin takes its place.

Wilds

In Evil Goblin, 3 wilds may appear on reels 2-6. These are regular, Dead, and Resurrection wilds:

• Regular wilds land naturally or are created by the Goblin Sacrifice feature (mentioned above) to substitute any pay symbol.
• Dead Wilds do nothing but get in the way of linking winning combinations and are not removed by the xBomb.
• Landing 3 or more Dead Wilds turns them into Resurrection Wilds, which do substitute regular pays. When they transform, the last Resurrection Wild turns into a multiplier. If 3, 4, or 5 Resurrection Wilds are created, then the multiplier value is x11, x33, or x55, respectively.

xBomb

xBombs remove adjacent symbols except scatters, Dead Wilds, or Resurrection Wilds, and increase the win multiplier by +1 when they explode. Each xBomb also adds an extra row to the grid up to 7 rows high at the most. xBombs explode before the next cascade, whether there was a win or not.

Evil 4

If all 4 goblins on top of the reels are the same type, the Evil 4 feature is triggered. The winning goblin then appears above the first reel, holding a multiplier of x4. If a matching goblin symbol lands on reel 1, it is counted as 4 instances of that symbol type. Every time a new matching goblin appears on the top reel, the multiplier increases by +1.

Fresh Meat Spins

Landing 3 or 4 scatters awards 8 or 9 Fresh Meat Spins, where Dead Wilds are guaranteed on each spin, plus there is a much higher chance of triggering Goblin Sacrifice and xBombs. Each scatter landing during this feature awards an additional free spin. If the Evil 4 triggers during this round, the bonus round is upgraded to Goblins Feast Spins, and any collected multiplier is carried over.

If the triggering 3-4 scatters land at the same time as 2 xBombs in the base game, Explosive Fresh Meat Spins are awarded instead. These are the same as Fresh Meat Spins, but xBombs are guaranteed on every new spin.

Goblins Feast Spins

If upgraded from Fresh Meat Spins or bought using the bonus buy option, the Goblins Feast Spins will give you 4 spins with the Evil 4 multiplier activated. Whenever a matching goblin appears on top of the reels, the multiplier increases by 1, that goblin stays in position for the rest of the feature and spins reset back to 4. This may happen up to 4 times in total. If Goblins Feast Spins are triggered from Fresh Meat Spins, and there are more than 5 free spins remaining, the number of spins is allocated as the Evil 4 multiplier.

If 2 xBombs were in view when Goblins Feast Spins were triggered, Explosive Goblins Feast Spins are awarded. During this bonus, xBombs are guaranteed on each spin.

Feature buy

Evil Goblins has a full list of feature buy options, where available. The cost for buying Fresh Meat Spins, Explosive Fresh Meat Spins, Goblins Feast Spins, or Explosive Goblins Feast Spins is 60, 150, 300, or 666 times the stake, respectively. Or you can pay 181x the bet for a Lucky Draw, which could award either of the four previous options. Finally, for 32x the bet, players can buy 3 spins with 2 xBombs on each.

Evil Goblins xBomb: Slot Verdict

After a playthrough, Evil Goblins felt like Fire in the Hole xBomb's quieter, less dynamic sibling. We're back underground, with a similar plodding soundtrack, blowing things up from the reels. This one has a stronger fantasy element, which may or may not be your cup of tea, but it brings a Dragon Tribe element into the picture. If the rules of Mental or Das xBoot taxed the neurons, you'll be glad to know Evil Goblins isn't quite as complicated or confusing when in action. This does not mean Evil Goblins is a simple game, though – far from it, let's not forget who we are dealing with here. As well as rules being slightly toned down, the rest of the game isn't as wildly brutal as a slot like Mental either. The hit rate is high though, meaning plenty of avalanches and Goblin Sacrifices triggering regularly as well. This combination of features keeps the pace up, the game flowing and should help players who need a few fireworks to stay engaged.

Don't let your guard down though, Evil Goblins' volatility still has the 'extreme' label. The result of its hit rate/volatility setup meant we often went straight to buying bonuses rather than hang around and wait for things to unfold naturally. It's not that there is an unusually long wait time; bonus games have a hit frequency of 1 in 191 spins. Yet, triggering the upper bonuses wasn't a cakewalk, and getting guaranteed xBombs in free spins does significantly open up the grid to more possibilities. As such, some players might appreciate the 3 spin xBomb bonus buy option as it provides a chance to land scatters alongside the two xBombs.

The other thing you really want to see when playing Evil Goblins is the All Hail the King sequence. This triggers when the game's win cap of 31,969x the bet has been reached. Obviously, this is not the biggest total from NLC, but impressive regardless, and after the spate of big win clips we've had this year from the studio's games, there's a chance we'll see Evil Goblins strut its stuff, too.

Let's end by saying when dealing with Nolimit City, there is an expectation each new release will blow the windowpanes off your dwelling. Since Evil Goblins doesn't have that feel to it, some may be quick to write it off. Evil Goblins might not be one of NLC's triple-A titles, yet there's still plenty to get stuck into. The interplay of features is clever, and the gaming can heat up; just don't expect another slot of the year contender.