El Mariachi is a 2020-released slot from Dragon Gaming that features medium volatility, a 95.50% RTP, and winning combinations reaching 1,000x your bet!
With a 5×3 grid and 10 fixed paylines, El Mariachi features reels placed in an empty Mexican saloon; the game’s theme is also elevated with a spin icon resembling a bullet chamber. Without further ado, let’s dive into the unique features of this Desperado-inspired slot.
Title:
El Mariachi
Game Developer:
Dragon Gaming
Release Date:
2020
Layout:
5 x 3
Paylines:
10
RTP:
95.50%
Volatility:
Medium
Minimum / Maximum Bet:
€0.10/€100
Maximum Win:
1,000x
Bonus Features:
Wild, Free Spins, Multipliers
The Wild substitutes all other symbols except the Bonus icon. During the base game, this can only appear on reels two, three, and four to hit a winning combination. Although we made several line wins featuring the Wild, they never exceeded the €20 mark.
The Free Spins Feature on El Mariachi is the game’s main highlight. Landing three, four, or five Bonus icons will trigger a Free Spins round with 10, 15, or 20 Free Spins.
But it doesn’t end here! Landing additional Bonus icons during the Free Spins round activates extra features. You’ll unlock a New Feature Level for every four Bonus symbols collected.
During the Gamble round, you need to accurately guess a card colour or suit to double or quadruple your winnings. We used this feature once, doubling a €50 base game win into €100.
| Level | Bonus |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | One sticky Wild and ne Free Spin |
| Level 2 | 2x Multiplier and one Free Spin |
| Level 3 | 2nd Sticky Wild Reel and two Free Spins |
| Level 4 | Win Both Ways and two Free Spins |
| Level 5 | 3rd Sticky Wild Reel and two Free Spins |
The action-packed El Mariachi slot awards wins worth hundreds of Euros during the base game. Although the multi-tier Free Spins Feature can award sky-high winning combinations, activating this round is challenging. While you might land the Bonus symbols on the two reels on multiple occasions, the third icon required to trigger the Free Spins mode seems elusive (a claim confirmed by our experience).
Another issue we had on El Mariachi was the absence of the Gamble round during Autoplay spins. Given that we’ve played many slots where we still had access to the Gamble mode when making automated spins, this shortcoming was rather strange.
However, if you can look past the difficulties in bonus activation, you’ll realise that the slot delivers simplicity, rewards, and excitement.
If you enjoy playing El Mariachi but want to try something new, let us show you some slots offering something similar but with a bit of a twist:
Spiñata Grande was released by NetEnt in 2015. This 5×4 grid slot has 40 paylines and a 96.84% RTP (higher than the payout percentage of El Mariachi). The game’s combination of a live theme and soundtrack made us dance in anticipation for more winnings. Our excitement wasn’t for nothing as we got a massive win valued at €104. Spiñata Grande has more features than El Mariachi, with the former sporting a Mini-Slot Feature and Free Spins. However, Spiñata Grande falls behind with a 600x maximum payout.
Thunderkick’s Esqueleto Explosivo went live in 2015. The slot has a 5×3 layout like El Mariachi. However, Esqueleto Explosivo has a slightly higher RTP of 96%.
Esqueleto Explosivo is quite level with El Mariachi in the bonus department, with Multipliers and Free Spins. However, this slot has a lower maximum win value of 700x your bet.