Esqueleto Explosivo 2 is set against the backdrop of the Mexican Day of the Dead festival, known as Dia de Muertos. The slot's vibrant visuals showcase a colorful Mexican town at sunset, creating a festive atmosphere. The main characters are a group of skeleton musicians, forming a Mariachi band. Each skeleton's head serves as a symbol on the reels, with different colored skulls representing various values.
This slot is a sequel to the original Esqueleto Explosivo, released by Thunderkick five years prior. The predecessor shared the same theme and basic concept but had fewer paylines and lacked some features present in the sequel. Both games are part of Thunderkick's Mexican-themed slot series, capitalizing on the popularity of the Day of the Dead motif in gaming.
Core Game and Mechanics
Esqueleto Explosivo 2 features a 5×3 grid with 99 paylines, a significant increase from the original's 17 paylines. The game uses a cascading reels mechanic, where winning symbols explode and are replaced by new symbols falling from above, potentially creating consecutive wins on a single spin.
The paytable consists of differently colored skull symbols, with the purple lady skull being the highest-paying regular symbol, offering 5 times the stake for five of a kind. The game's wild symbol is represented by a golden skull wearing sunglasses.
A key mechanic is the Mucho Multiplier, which increases with each consecutive win in a cascade sequence. The multiplier starts at 1x and can increase to 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x, and 32x in the base game.
Bonus Features
- Explosivo Wild: This golden skull wild symbol not only substitutes for other symbols but also acts as a bomb, destroying 3 to 8 symbols in its vicinity. This feature can lead to more potential winning combinations and advance the Mucho Multiplier.
- Free Spins Bonus: Triggered by landing 3, 4, or 5 scatter symbols (represented by a silver robot skull), awarding 10, 12, or 14 free spins respectively. During the bonus round:
- Additional scatters can retrigger more free spins: 2 scatters award 3 spins, 3 scatters give 7 spins, 4 scatters provide 10 spins, and 5 scatters grant 12 spins.
- Every third Explosivo Wild collected removes the lowest multiplier from the Mucho Multiplier sequence and awards an extra free spin.
- An x64 multiplier is added to the Mucho Multiplier meter but only becomes active when x32 becomes the base multiplier.
- Wild Collection: During free spins, players collect Explosivo Wilds. For every three collected, the lowest multiplier is removed from the sequence, effectively increasing the minimum multiplier for subsequent wins.
- Bonus Buy: In some jurisdictions, players can purchase direct entry into the free spins bonus round for a cost that's a multiple of the current bet size. The RTP for the Bonus Buy feature is 90.35%.
Interesting Feature
A standout aspect of Esqueleto Explosivo 2 is the dynamic interaction between the Explosivo Wilds and the Mucho Multiplier during free spins. As players collect wilds, they not only gain extra spins but also permanently improve their multiplier potential. This creates a sense of progression and anticipation throughout the bonus round, culminating in the possibility of reaching the coveted x64 multiplier. This feature adds a layer of strategy and excitement, as each wild becomes valuable not just for immediate wins, but for long-term bonus round potential.