Wild Toro 2

Wild Toro 2: Slot Overview

More evidence, if it was needed, about how time flies is the fact five years have passed between the release of Wild Toro in 2016 and its sequel Wild Toro 2. For many players, Wild Toro is synonymous with ELK Studios since it was one of the early breakouts and continues to be one of their most popular slots. To celebrate, ELK has plans to release several Wild Toro related games, the first of which is a straight follow up called Wild Toro 2. This revamped game offers a recognisably Wild Toro experience but with expanded features, a dynamic reel set, and a livelier atmosphere.

One of the first visual changes is a camera shift, altering the angle so players get a better feel for the Spanish city location. Instead of a top-down view, we get a bottom-up one of market stalls, buildings, shops and fortresses on the horizon. It must be siesta time since the streets are devoid of people, but don't worry, the Matador and his fiery friend Toro remain on the reels, their rivalry as heated as ever. Speaking of heat, what really helps fire the pulse rate is an outstanding flamenco infused soundtrack, all blasting trumpets, guitar, chanting, shout outs, sultry drumbeats - the works.

Played on a 5x5, 259 ways game panel, Wild Toro 2 is available on any device and provides stakes of 20 p/c to $/€100 per spin. After a five-year gap, you'd expect a few mathematical changes to have taken place, which is true in this case as the three main categories have received a shakeup. The RTP, for one, has dropped a few notches, now returning a value of 95%, while volatility has been increased to a high volatile math model. The most noticeable change, however, is potential, which, at 10,000 times your stake, is much more enticing than it was before.

Unusually, the pay symbols have had a makeover as well. Now there are 8 of them – four ribbon adorned J-A royals as low pays, then silver coins, gold coins, knifed oranges, and flowers as the four high pays. High-value symbols sling rewards worth 1.2 to 5 times the stake for a 5 of a kind winning line. Several wild symbols appear at various points in the game; all can replace pay symbols to complete wins. The most basic wild is a logo covered tile; the others are entwined with the features.

Wild Toro 2: Slot Features

Fans of the first will be happy to know the Matador and Toro still aren't best friends, so when they see each other on the reels, the Toro Goes Berserk feature triggers. Other extras include walking wilds, walking wild multipliers, Matador Respins, Expanding Reels, and a selection of X-iter betting modes.

First up, the Silver Matador symbol is a walking wild, while the Golden Matador is a walking wild with a progressive multiplier. If at least 1 Matador symbol hits, Expanding Matador Respins are triggered, and each Matador in view adds an additional row of symbols up to 8 positions high, expanding the game area to 502 ways to win at most. Matador symbols move one reel left until they drop off the panel, generating a respin for each step they take. New Matadors may land on a respin, thereby extending the feature. In addition, for each step the Golden Matador takes its multiplier increases by +1.

Toro the bull is also a walking wild that awards respins as he moves leftwards across the reels. If Toro and the Matador are in view simultaneously, the Toro Goes Berserk feature triggers. Toro charges towards the Matador, leaving a trail of regular wild symbols behind him. When Toro defeats a Golden Matador, the progressive multiplier is transferred to Toro. If additional Toro symbols appear during respins, they inherit the current multiplier from the Toro already on the board.

Beware the black Matador symbol. Just like the other Matador symbols, this one triggers reels expansions, respins, and Toro Goes Berserk when it appears. The difference, however, is that it also acts as a blocker rather than wild, so it cannot complete wins on its own.

The original Wild Toro had four ELK betting strategies; this one has ELK's X-iter feature buy menu. If you're interested in mixing up the betting, it offers:

• 100% Win: guarantees a winning game round at the cost of 5x the bet.
• Sticky Wilds: one spin with a guaranteed Expanding Matador Respin for the cost of 25x the bet. All wild symbols that appear during respins remain sticky.
• Bonus: guarantees the Toro Goes Berzerk feature for 100x the bet.
• Big Bonus: three spins with at least 1 Expanding Matador Respins feature for 250x the bet. All wild symbols are sticky, and expanded reels persist between spins.
• Super Bonus: the same as the Big Bonus with the added benefit that the highest multiplier achieved in a spin is added to any Gold Matador multiplier appearing on the following spin. This costs 500x the bet.

Wild Toro 2: Slot Verdict

Since Wild Toro was released, ELK has vastly developed its world-building skills via games like the Gold series of slots, and their experience has been put to great use in Wild Toro 2. The game feels far livelier than the first one did, the graphics more vibrant, and the soundtrack really takes you to the Iberian Peninsula for a bit of Spanish themed action. As always, Toro manages to come out on top in his encounters with the Matador, so the meeting of man and beast is as amusing as ever.

Even more so, thanks to the upgrades ELK has made for the sequel. It's not just the aesthetics of the Gold series you can sense here, but the expanding reel mechanic has a similar feel as well. Essentially, the same Wild Toro core features are here, it's just now they've got additional room to perform, and when they do, the results can be a lot larger. Just one Matador is required to trigger the respin feature, compared to three in the original, and the added rows can lead to a lot of additional wild symbols should Toro Goes Berserk activate. Progressive multipliers add the finishing touch to a game that can technically produce far bigger thrills and payouts than part one.

The only fly in the paella is a slightly disappointing RTP value. For most, it's probably not low enough to break the deal, yet it's noticeably less than the original's return was. On the other hand, some might see it as an acceptable trade-off for the vastly increased winning possibilities. For Wild Toro 2, ELK has pushed the maximum you can win to 10,000x the bet, making it a lot more potentially rewarding.

To sum up, Wild Toro 2 isn't a paradigm shift, but ELK has stretched the first slot in several key areas. Sensorially enhanced, the game draws you in deeper, plus there's additional firepower from those multipliers and extra rows. Crucially, the essence of the original remains, making this a must-try for Wild Toro fans and a more immersive experience all around.