I’m not sure if ELK has deliberately misspelt Kathmandu in the title of their new Katmandu X online slot – that would be a strange thing to do, but then again, slot developers often work in mysterious ways! The game certainly looks like it could be inspired by the mountains of Nepal, but there’s nothing in the paytable or rules to explain the strange title. This is a cluster-paying grid slot, meaning there are no traditional pay lines or pay ways to worry about. The biggest wins require 16 or more adjacent matching symbols, and the top win is capped at 25,000x the total bet. The RTP is a touch below average at 95%, but that’s a little higher than many other recent ELK Studios releases.
There’s plenty of base game action to look forward to in Katmandu X. Every winning cluster that lands on the reels will generate a wild symbol, whilst multiple wild symbols forming part of a winning cluster will merge into multiplier wilds. If a multiplier wild connects more than one winning cluster, it will split into two individual symbols. A ‘wild strike’ modifier can activate on any base game spin, randomly replacing regular symbols with wilds, multiplier wilds, or exploding wilds. There are two free spin modes – regular and ‘super’ – and both are available from the X-iter bonus buy menu.
We’ve reviewed plenty of fantastic grid slots in recent months, but there’s always room for another one! So why not give our free demo slot of Katmandu X a try for yourself? It’s available to play below.
| Provider | Elk Studios |
| Reels | 6 |
| Rows | 6 |
| Paylines | Cluster Pays |
| Bonus Rounds | 1 |
| Bet Range | 0.20 - 100 |
| Volatility | High |
| Max Win | 25,000x |
| Bonus Buy | Yes |
| RTP | 95.00% |
| Our Rating | 7.5 |
Katmandu X Casino Bonus
Katmandu X Slot Free Play
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Katmandu X Slot Theme, Stakes, Pays & Symbols
I can’t really think of any obvious games to compare with Katmandu X – it’s a fairly unique theme, in my opinion! The symbols that feature on the paytable remind me of Alpha Eagle to some extent, but I’m grasping at straws here if I’m being honest. Unfortunately, the last few releases by ELK Studios, like Pirots and Pirots 2, have all had an unusual look to them, as if they are being stretched out of proportion when displayed on my laptop screen. Katmandu X looks a little better when viewed on a smartphone, so I can only guess that ELK are treating that as the primary target device nowadays.
The high-paying symbols are represented by animals encrusted in gold, the most valuable of which looks like a Bird – possibly an eagle – and has a payout of 100x the total bet for a maximum cluster of 16 or more adjacent matching symbols. The next one could be the head of a Wolf or Dog – maybe a dragon?! – and offers half as much at 50x for a maximum symbol cluster. The Bear is worth 25x, whilst the… ah, come on, ELK, you could have made this a little easier! The Blue Animal – I’m going with that – is the last high-paying symbol with a return of 10x. As for the low pays, those feature coloured insignia; the Reds are worth 7x for a 16+ symbol cluster, followed by the Purples at 6x, the Greens at 5x, and finally, the Blues at 4x.
The minimum/maximum permitted betting limits have been set at €0.20 and €100.00, respectively, but there’s a major shortage of intermediate bets between the two extremes. This has been a common problem with ELK’s recent output, but the issue is particularly acute this time around, with only 10 options to choose from.
Katmandu X Slot Base Game & Modifiers
The base game of Katmandu X utilises a huge playfield with six reels of six rows each. This gives a total of 36 positions, which almost makes a 16-symbol cluster sound easy, in a way! But, of course, that isn’t the case – a grid of this size can theoretically hold two maximum clusters of 16 symbols each, but I’d be shocked if anybody ever achieves such a thing. Fortunately, smaller wins are awarded for just five adjacent matching symbols as well.
Katmandu X Wilds
Whenever a winning cluster is removed from the reels, a wild symbol is generated and left in its place. Multiple wild symbols that appear in a single winning cluster will merge into a multiplier wild, and those will, in turn, divide again if they connect more than one new winning cluster. The game also features a unique exploding wild that will remove up to eight adjacent symbols and force a re-drop to occur.
Wild Strike
On any spin, the wild strike modifier can trigger and replace random symbols with wilds, exploding wilds, or multiplier wilds.
Global Multiplier
Every winning symbol removed during a single game round will contribute to a global multiplier displayed above the main reel set. In addition, any symbols removed by an exploding wild symbol will increase the size of this multiplier further.
Katmandu X Slot Bonus Features
Landing three scatter symbols during a single game round will trigger the main free spins bonus round. A special ‘super’ scatter is also included on the reels – if this lands at the same time as two regular scatters, the enhanced super bonus will be activated instead.
Free Spins
In this mode, the global multiplier is not reset between each spin. The regular scatter symbols are replaced with +1, +2, and +3 symbols during this part of the game, each of which will add the corresponding number of additional spins to your remaining counter.
If the super scatter lands whilst the feature is active, the remainder of the feature will be upgraded to the enhanced super free spin mode.
Super Free Spins
In this mode, the ‘Super Wild Strike’ feature mentioned in the previous section is guaranteed to trigger on every drop.
X-iter Bonus Buy
The X-iter bonus buy menu offered in Katmandu X offers four choices:
- Bonus Bet: Doubles the price of each spin in return for increased odds of triggering the bonus or super bonus modes.
- Wild Strike: Costs 10x the normal price per spin and guarantees a super wild strike modifier on the next game round.
- Buy Bonus: Purchase the regular free spins at the cost of 100x the normal price per spin.
- Super Bonus: Guarantees a set of super free spins, but costs 500x the current bet.
Pros
- High max win of 25,000x.
- Plenty of features to trigger and enjoy.
Cons
- The below average RTP.
Katmandu X Slot Review Final Thoughts
I spent quite a while spinning Katmandu X whilst writing this review and had plenty of fun, although my results weren’t all that encouraging. I rarely made a profit from the bonus or super bonus features, but I guess that’s just how it goes with these ultra-volatile online slots – if you want a shot at a 25,000x win, you’ll have to take the rough with the smooth!
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