Elk Studios Pirots Review
Is Pirots from Elk Sudios one of the best online slots in Ontario? Our Pirots review weighs in.
Pirots’ symbols and payouts
Our Pirots review begins with the basics. Here, we cover the slot’s main symbols, paylines, payouts, maximum win amount, RTP, and volatility.
Game symbols
Pirots is a slot with 4 main symbols: purple, green, blue, and red gemstones. Matching those colours are also 4 pirate-parrot or “pirot” symbols that collect payouts. There are additional special symbols we will also go over later in our Pirots review.
Number of paylines
Pirots features 5 reels and 5 rows, but the board can expand to 8 reels by 8 rows. Paylines work by Elk Studio’s CollectR mechanic, which the Pirots slot introduces to the world.
Payouts
Wins occur when a pirot matches orthogonally with adjacent symbols of the same colour. The CollectR mechanic is then put to work: the pirot moves to collect the matching symbols along adjoining rows and columns. Collected symbols are then refilled with new symbols by a cascade mechanism (i.e., new symbols fall into the empty reel positions). Pirots continue collecting adjacent matching symbols until no new wins are available.
The value of symbols increases every time a pirot completes a collection (in conjunction with every cascade). The value level resets for each new spin:
| Symbol | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | Level 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red gem | 25% | 50% | 100% | 300% | 1,500% |
| Purple gem | 10% | 20% | 40% | 120% | 750% |
| Green gem | 5% | 15% | 30% | 90% | 500% |
| Blue gem | 5% | 10% | 20% | 60% | 300% |
Min/max bet
The minimum bet in Pirots is $0.20, and the maximum bet is $100. The range is decent, although we would like to see Elk Studios include a slightly lower minimum bet of $0.10 and certainly a higher max bet ($500? 1,000$? 5,000?) to attract large bankrolls.
Maximum Win
Pirots has a maximum payout of 10,000x the bet. With the max bet of $100, players can win as much as $1,000,000 playing Elk Studios’ Pirots.
RTP and volatility
The Return to Player (RTP) of Pirots is 94%, which is a bit low. The game comes with a medium-high volatility, meaning Elk Studios has designed a game that rewards slightly less frequently than the average. Our Pirots review wishes the RTP was a tad higher.
Pirots’ slot special features
We’ve already seen how Pirots has introduced a new mechanism, the CollectR, which works really well and offers a completely new spin (pun intended) for players to latch onto. Pirots does not stop with its inventiveness there, though.
Elk Studios has packed this game with special features and exciting gameplay. Our Pirots review takes a closer look at the game’s wild symbol, transform symbol, upgrade symbol, coins, bombs, bonus free spins round, and bonus buy feature.
Wild symbols
The wild symbol in Pirots is a large W that works like any wild symbol: it can stand for any gemstone symbol.
Transform symbols
Pirots features a transform symbol, which appears as a barrel of rum. When pirots meet transform symbols along their path, they drink the contents, which then transforms nearby gems into matching gems the pirot can collect.
Upgrade symbols
Arrows pointing upwards (sometimes with numbers on them) in Pirots act as upgrade symbols. When pirots collect them along their path, it upgrades the value level of the pirot’s matching gems on the board for the rest of the turn.
If the upgrade symbol is multicoloured, though, the upgrade applies to all symbols, regardless of the pirot’s colour. Moreover, the upgrade jumps two levels if the symbol has a “2” on it or three levels if it has a “3” on it.
What’s really nice is that if the symbol has already been upgraded to the maximum fifth level, then one of the other symbols will be randomly selected to be upgraded instead.
Coins
Coin symbols act as multipliers that, when collected by a pirot along its path, are applied to the total value that pirot collects during the turn.
Bombs
When pirots meet a bomb along their path, they light it. The bomb then waits until the turn is over before exploding. The explosion removes all pirots from the board, as well as nearby symbols. The board expands by a reel and a row. The cascade effect is then activated to fill in the empty reel positions, and new pirots are dropped onto the board, potentially activating new payouts.
Bonus free spins round
Bonus symbols appear as anchors. Pirots need to collect 3 of the anchors during a turn to activate the game’s bonus free spins round. When activated, players are given 5 free spins.
Buy feature
For bonus buy slots, Elk Studios has done a great job with Pirots. The game features the X-iter, which provides players in Ontario with several bonus options to purchase.
- Bonus Hunt: For 3x the bet, the odds of triggering the bonus are increased by more than 4x.
- Feature Bonanza: For 10x the bet, players are guaranteed a symbol collection.
- Maximum Grid: For 25x the bet, players can play a round on the maximum 8×8 board.
- Bonus Game: For 100x the bet, players can purchase the bonus game.
- Super Bonus: For 500x the bet, players can purchase the bonus game on the maximum, 8×8 board with all upgrade symbols being multicoloured.
Players should be aware that when they select an X-iter option, the option remains activated until the player deselects it.
Pirots’ graphics and sound
The Pirots game board is set upon a wooden ship mast with ropes serving as lines demarking reel positions. The jungle encroaches on the game board from either side of the grid with the sea and a sandy beach acting as the backdrop. Cinematic, uptempo music provides a perfectly quirky vibe to Pirots, which is a game that thrives on its main characters, the pirots.
The pirots are cartoon animated parrots dressed up as pirates. The look is humorous and fun – a bit silly, but fun. The scene remains still, other than movement from the pirots, who are constantly blinking, looking around, and opening their mouths. When pirots match gems, they move across the board, guzzling rum barrels, stashing coins in their pockets, and lighting bombs. The action is real. The look is fun. Elk Studios has revealed a real treasure with Pirots.
| Graphics | 2D |
| Optimized for Mobile | 👍 |
| Music | Dramatic, cinematic |
| Special features | Wild SymbolsMultipliersCollectR MechanismTransform SymbolsBomb SymbolsFree Spins RoundsBonus Buy Feature |
Pirots’ mobile experience
Elk Studios has produced some of the best mobile slots in Ontario, and our Pirots review has found another offering from the provider that supplies an enjoyable mobile experience.
The game’s colours pop on a phone or tablet. The controls are all positioned at the bottom of the screen, within thumb’s reach. It’s simple and clean, just like the computer version. We can say that Pirots works wonderfully on mobile devices.
Pirots pros and cons
Our Pirots review found a lot to like about the Elk Studio’s inventive game. These are the game’s pros and cons:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Excellent graphics, fun theme | Low RTP |
| Introduces the CollectR mechanic | Low max bet |
| Upgrade and transform symbols | |
| Free spins round | |
| X-iter bonus buy feature |
Best online casinos to play Pirots in Ontario
If you want to play Pirots at an online casino in Ontario, we suggest checking out these casinos:
Solutions if you have issues with Pirots
Our Pirots review found these to be the solutions to the most common problems players in Ontario faced while playing Pirots:
- Game stopped: Restart Pirots to resume the game at its previous point of play.
- Misuse or malfunction voids all pays and plays.
- Players with other issues should contact Elk Studio’s customer support team.
Arrrrgh, birdy! A game with a booty
Pirots is an online slot that will have players in Ontario yelling, “Shiver me timbers!” surprised by the unique and exciting gameplay Elk Studios has developed here.
The CollectR mechanic is a bona fide hit. The execution of it – with the pirots marching across the board collecting gems and gobbling rum, etc. – is highly entertaining and enjoyable. The mechanic is a unique treasure, or “booty,” as some might say, that Elk Studios shares with Pirots.
The animated pirot characters add a lot to the game’s enjoyment. Other mechanics, like the expanding grid and transform symbol, add more elements that particularise Pirots: it really is the only game like itself.
We can mostly only nitpick. The game could use a lower minimum bet, as well as a much higher maximum bet. That said, the RTP could be higher, and that’s not a little thing.
As the sea reaches the land of our Pirots review, we enjoyed way too much of the game not to award it with a 93 out of 100 final score.
Other online slots to play if you like the Pirots slot
Pirots is a unique game, especially since it introduces Elk Studio’s new CollectR mechanic. If you want something similar to it, though, you can try these games available at casinos in Ontario:
- Tinkerbot
- Pirate Chest Hold and Win
- Arrr 10K Ways
- Pirate Pays Megaways
- Pirate Gold