Do you remember sometime in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic Squid Game went viral? I
watched it, but I ⚾️ have to be honest, I wasn’t that impressed. I could see the interest,
though – 456 people pitted against each ⚾️ other for a grand prize, and an opportunity to
change their lives forever, overseen by wealthy, masked individuals? Yeah – ⚾️ it’s
captivating. Well, there’s nothing to say ELK Studio‘s upcoming release is inspired by
Squid Game, but I get Squid ⚾️ Game vibes from it, or maybe The Handmaid’s Tale. Or, a
combination of both? Masks, cameras, red robes, totalitarianism, and ⚾️ a strange voice
speaking over the top of what’s happening, it all just feels familiar in an eerie way.
We’re ⚾️ in the LA11-1 society, where citizens are masked to hide their happiness from the
overlords. This is a quiet place, ⚾️ but these people have had enough. They’re about to
fight for their freedom by using their greatest weapon – love. ⚾️ A revolution of love.
Say hello to Propaganda, ELK’s next release. Highly (8/10) volatile, this one comes
with a fixed ⚾️ RTP of 95.0%, and can produce wins up to 25,000x bet.
Visually, we’re in
LA11-1, where we can see numerous people ⚾️ to the side of the reels. Each person is
draped in red clothing, with white masks on their face, resulting ⚾️ in them all basically
looking the same, save for their height and weight. This is made more ominous by the
⚾️ security cameras and barbed wire you can see atop a very tall wall. Considering the
team’s most recent release was ⚾️ Dropz, Propaganda couldn’t be further from it. That
said, in the distance we can see fields and clear blue skies, ⚾️ so there’s something
pleasant waiting beyond the dystopia when this revolution is over, for sure. Audios are
superb, and that’s ⚾️ all there is to say on that – really, genuinely engaging, resulting
in the whole thing coming together into something ⚾️ that’s not only a lot of fun, but
really cool too.
Propaganda Base Features
Taking place on a 6×6 grid, wins are ⚾️ formed
on Propaganda by matching clusters of at least 5 symbols, touching horizontally or
vertically. Clusters will pay for 5, ⚾️ 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, or 15+. Symbols
begin with non premiums, with daisies, globes, roses, ⚾️ and doves. Landing clusters of 5
of any of these symbols will award wins between 0.05 and 0.20x bet, with ⚾️ this
increasing to values between 2.50 and 5x bet for clusters of 15+. At the premium end,
megaphones, pistols, grenades, ⚾️ and bombs are available, awarding wins between 0.40 and
1.50x bet for clusters of 5, increasing to values between 10 ⚾️ and 50x bet for clusters
of 15+. Alongside all of these regular symbols are a host of Wild opportunities, but
⚾️ we’ll get to that soon.
First up, it’s the Avalanche feature. On every spin, all
symbols involved in a winning cluster ⚾️ will be removed from the grid. Remaining symbols
will then drop to the lowest available position on their reels, and ⚾️ new symbols will
drop in from above to fill all remaining gaps, giving the opportunity for more wins to
occur. ⚾️ Avalanche continues until no more wins are formed.
Working hand in hand with
Avalanches is the multiplier, visible at the top ⚾️ of the reels. Each winning cluster
will increase the multiplier, with each winning symbol increasing the multiplier by +1.
This ⚾️ multiplier will be applied to all winning clusters, and will reset to x1 ahead of
the next paid spin.
Next up, ⚾️ there are a number of Wild features, beginning with
Propaganda Wilds. Each winning cluster, along with being removed through Avalanche,
⚾️ will generate a Wild symbol – appearing in one of the removed symbol positions. If this
Wild is then involved ⚾️ in another single cluster win it will remain, but will not
generate another Wild. Wilds substitute all symbols except Bonus ⚾️ symbols or Super Bonus
symbols.
If more than one Wild symbol is used in a cluster win through the Avalanche
feature, ⚾️ Wild Merge will occur, wherein the Wild symbols merge into a single multiplier
Wild symbol. This value will be both ⚾️ individual Wild values added together – so two
regular Wilds will form x2 (x1 + x1).
Once you have multiplier Wilds, ⚾️ you can trigger
Wild Split – if a multiplier Wild symbol is used in more than one winning cluster, it
⚾️ will split into both clusters. The multiplier will be retained in both new Wilds.
Multiplier Wilds will multiply their winning ⚾️ clusters before the win multiplier is
applied, and if more than one multiplier Wild is present the cluster value will ⚾️ be
multiplied by one, then by the other – multiplier Wild values are not simply added
together.
Finally, Wild Strike can ⚾️ be triggered randomly, and will replace symbols on
the reels with Wilds or multiplier Wilds.
Propaganda Bonus
Land 3 Bonus symbols to
⚾️ trigger 7 Free Drops, wherein the multiplier does not reset between spins. Other than
this, things are the same as ⚾️ the base game, with Wilds, multiplier Wilds, Wild Strike,
Wild Split, and Wild Merge.
It is possible to upgrade the Bonus ⚾️ to the Super Bonus by
landing a Super Bonus symbol in view during the feature. Additionally, it is possible
to ⚾️ trigger +1, +2, or +3 Free Drops by landing flag symbols.
Land 2 Bonus symbols and a
Super Bonus symbol to ⚾️ trigger the Super Bonus, with 7 Free Drops. Similarly to the
Bonus, the multiplier does not reset between spins in ⚾️ the Super Bonus. Everything else
stays the same, with one difference – a Super Wild Strike is guaranteed at the
⚾️ beginning of every Free Drop. A Super Wild Strike works the same as the Wild Strike,
but symbols are only ⚾️ replaced with multiplier Wilds.
It continues to be possible to
trigger +1, +2, or +3 Free Drops by landing flag symbols.
Players ⚾️ in appropriate
regions can make use of a number of X-iter options:
Bonus Hunt (double the chance of
triggering a Bonus) ⚾️ – 2x
2x Guaranteed Wild Strike – 10x
10x Guaranteed Super Wild
Strike – 25x
25x Bonus – 100x
100x Super Bonus – 500x
The ⚾️ maximum win available in
Propaganda is 25,000x bet. If the sum of a single game round exceeds this, the game
⚾️ round will end and 25,000x bet will be awarded.
First Impression
I really like this
one. That’s it, first impression over. Really ⚾️ though, I think ELK have gotten the
balance just right with Propaganda. They’ve broached a slightly darker theme, but
somehow ⚾️ managed to keep it fairly light, whilst offering super graphics and animations.
It all fits – from the background, to ⚾️ the symbols, to the fonts chosen. It just works.
This is elevated even further with audios, tying everything together nicely. ⚾️ I’d say in
terms of audiovisuals, this is one of the best releases ELK have done in a long
time.
Onto ⚾️ game play, and it’s exciting, but my God – they went wild for Wilds! There
are so many different Wild ⚾️ features available, but these all more or less stem from one
thing – winning clusters produce a Wild. Simple, but ⚾️ effective, and when working hand
in hand with the multiplier available, the right combinations can see wins up to
25,000x ⚾️ bet.
Rated 8/10 by the team, Propaganda is highly volatile, so things can be a
bit rough at times, but the ⚾️ rewards are certainly there – truer than ever in the Super
Bonus, where a Super Wild Strike is guaranteed on ⚾️ every spin. Add on top the fixed RTP
of 95.0%, and everything ties together into a good package. If RTP ⚾️ had been 96% or
more, this score would have been even higher.
ELK have done things a bit differently
this time ⚾️ around, but I hope this new style is here to stay.
*The screenshots taken of
games reviewed on this site are ⚾️ taken from Demo Play, as reviews are often written
before games are released for real play.
