Skibblings Slot Review
Within the depths of the dungeon, the King rises & rebellion stirs. For too long, heroes have taken everything from the Skibblings – their loot, livelihood, & eventually, their lives. Now, fire swells in the belly of the Skibbling King, uniting all creatures to fight back & stop the ‘heroes’ once and for all.
They may be pocket-sized, but they’re mighty in numbers…the Skibblings are ready to fight for what’s theirs. No longer will the ‘heroes’ claim all the glory! Skibblings from ELK Studios sets us on a path of vengeance, blowing things up, accumulating Multipliers, & accessing Free Spins as we march towards the 10,000x max win potential.
After defeating Sgt Nitro Wolf in the epic Battle of Nitropolis series, it seems that ELK Studios has taken a back seat from hardcore features & mechanics, settling for games like Giraffalot and Fish and Bird, which deliver the same amount of excitement, but with less fuss.
While fast-paced, action-packed games are great, it’s also nice to see a studio put its skills to good use in other ways, and ELK Studios does just that in Skibblings. The aesthetics are top-tier, in true ELK fashion, as are the soundscapes & high-quality graphics.
With a fixed RTP of 94% and a high (7/10) volatility score, Skibblings can produce wins worth up to 10,000x your bet. Before you can begin spinning, you’ll notice some new additions between the reels, but are they a direct copy, or something new entirely? Let’s find out…
Base Game & Features
Skibblings is a highly volatile 5-reel, 4-row video slot with 178 ways to win. Paytable symbols connect winning combinations when 3-6 identical symbols land on adjacent reels, starting from reel 1.
The highest-paying symbol falls to the Red Creature, followed by the Purple, Green, & Blue Creatures. Other low-paying symbols include Books, Potions, Knives, & Backpacks. When a winning combination is claimed, a fixed payout between 0.1x and 5x your bet is awarded.
Furthermore, Wild symbols appear on all reels and substitute for all symbols when part of a winning combination. Having a winning combination of only Wild symbols will pay as the highest-paying symbol in the paytable.
Once a winning combination appears on the reels, it is affected by the Avalanche Feature. This means that all winning symbols are destroyed from the reels, creating space for new symbols to drop in from above. This continues until no further wins are obtained in the same spin.
Skibbling Lanterns
In between each reel are individual Skibbling Lanterns, up to a maximum of 14. With each spin, Skibblings can be collected from these; however, they are not affected by the Avalanche Feature.
When a winning combination passes through a Skibbling Lantern, it is collected into the Cannon Barrel to the left of the main reel set. Depending on the colour of the Skibbling Lantern, a random number of Skibblings are awarded:
- High-value Lantern: Awards 10 Skibblings
- Mid-value Lantern: Awards 3 Skibblings
- Low-value Lantern: Awards 1 Skibbling
Cannon Blast
Triggering the Cannon Blast Feature requires the Cannon Barrel to be filled with 5 or more Skibblings in a single spin. Once active, a single Respin is awarded, which shoots all Skibblings from the Cannon Barrel onto the reels.
Skibblings may land on any reel position, so long as it does not contain a Sticky symbol. Sticky symbols include Wilds, Paladin, Wizard, & Scatter symbols. Once a Skibbling hits, it will transform into a Mystery symbol. If a Skibbling hits on an existing Mystery symbol, its Multiplier increases.
Once all Skibblings have been added to random reel positions, the reels will stop spinning, with each Mystery symbol revealing either a Paytable symbol or Wild. Any active Multipliers will persist on their respective symbols even after it is shown.
Skibbling King Features
At any time during gameplay, the Skibbling King may jump onto the screen, triggering the Skibbling Rain or Bonus Rain Features.
The Skibbling Rain feature will award Skibblings to random cell positions, transforming into Mystery symbols when they do. Alternatively, the Bonus Rain feature adds 2, 3, 4, or 5 Scatters, Super Scatters, or a combination of both onto random reel positions.
Paladin & Wizard Symbols
Paladin & Wizard symbols may land at any point during gameplay, acting as Wilds, and will only activate when part of a winning combination. Once active, the Paladin & Wizard symbols will award the following outcomes:
- Paladin: Collects all Skibblings from highlighted Lanterns, adding them to the Cannon Barrel. After the win is paid, the Paladin symbol is removed from play, along with all adjacent symbols.
- Wizard: Highlights all unlit Skibbling Lanterns, regardless of their high, mid, or low-value status. Additionally, the Wizard symbol explodes, removing itself and all paytable symbols currently on the reels. After the explosion, all Skibbling Lanterns will remain lit.
Skibblings: Free Spins
Landing 3, 4, or 5 Scatters anywhere in the base game triggers the Free Spins mode, awarding 7, 9, and 11 Free Spins, respectively. Alternatively, having a combination of Scatters & Super Scatters will award the Super Free Spins mode, where each spin is guaranteed to trigger the Skibbling Rain Feature.
In this mode, all Skibblings that are collected into the Cannon Barrel will persist throughout spins. The Cannon Blast feature will not trigger again until there are no more winning combinations in the last spin.
Furthermore, after the Cannon Blast feature has triggered, no further Scatter symbols can appear on the reels. When a Scatter symbol does appear in view, it will award an additional +1 Free Spin.
X-iter
Players may purchase any of the following X-iter Features:
- Bonus Hunt: Each spin is over 4 times more likely to trigger a Free Spins mode for 2.5x your bet per spin
- Mega Bonus Hunt: Each spin is over 8 times more likely to trigger a Free Spins mode for 5x your bet per spin
- King Spin: Guarantees to trigger the Skibbling Rain or Bonus Rain feature for 25x your bet
- Free Spins: Direct entry into the Free Spins mode with 7, 9, or 11 Free Spins for 100x your bet
- Super Free Spins: Instant access to the Super Free Spins mode with 7, 9, or 11 Free Spins for 250x your bet
Skibblings has a maximum win potential of 10,000x your bet. If a single session exceeds this, the current mode ends, and the player returns to the base game with the qualifying amount.
Our Honest Verdict
Less than a week later, after putting Giraffalot under the spotlight, we find ourselves in the company of yet another ELK Studios release. This time, we’re teaming up with a group of Goblin-type creatures & their Skibbling King, in a battle of vengeance against the so-called ‘heroes’.
While it’s our first time meeting the Skibblings, we’ve found ourselves as part of the buffet in Nolimit City’s Evil Goblins xBomb before this. The good news is that we’re not next on the menu in this game…for now, anyway. Skibblings doesn’t have the same essence or status as the Gold or Toro series, though it does speak volumes through its impressive visuals, top-tier soundscapes, & thematics.
In the base game, you’ll quickly familiarise yourself with Skibbling Lanterns, which persist between the reels. As far as similarities go, they’re not that far removed from Print Studios’ SuperSpinners mechanic, only, instead of Multipliers, they award Skibblings that are collected as part of the Cannon Blast Feature.
Furthermore, the game’s main Wild symbols appear in the form of Paladin & Wizard symbols. The pair can exist individually or together on the reels, without disrupting each other’s ability. Both symbols activate when part of a winning combination, possessing the ability to destroy paytable symbols, manipulate Skibbling Lanterns, & collect Skibblings for the Cannon Blast Feature.
The main outcome of gameplay is to generate a good amount of Mystery symbols (Skibblings) on the reels, to reveal Paytable symbols or Wilds, and this can be achieved through multiple outcomes, with the chance to receive Multipliers for Skibblings that are added to existing Mystery symbols.
It’s all well & good having a wealth of Mystery symbols on the reels, but it’s all about the Multipliers, honestly. Without them, the payouts of winning combinations can feel quite small in comparison to other slots on the market.
The Free Spins mode offers hope thanks to the persistent state of the Cannon Barrel during spins, but they’re only exercised on the final spin. To finish the review on a positive note, the 10,000x max win potential is more than sufficient for a game of this nature.
*The images found in this slot review are currently from Demo Play. On average, our reviews are written prior to the initial release date and before real play is available.
