Katmandu Gold (ELK Studios) – Review & Demo Play

Katmandu Gold: Slot Overview

I've tracked Kane across the Gold series and this Nepal stop hits the right notes. Katmandu Gold starts on 6 reels with 4,096 win ways, flanked by temple pillars and a low Himalayan sun. Rows expand and the camera pulls in as avalanches land, pushing the grid towards 8 high and beyond. It looks the part and sounds it, yet the real pull is the upgraded feature set that mixes familiar Gold mechanics with fresh twists designed to keep the drop sequences rolling.

Stakes run from 20p to £100 per spin. The default RTP is 96.2%, nudging to 96.3% with the base feature buy and 96.4% on the super option. Volatility sits at 7 out of 10, paired with a 22.4% hit frequency to keep things lively between bursts. The ceiling is 10,000x the stake, the highest in the series at launch. It's a high game, not savage, and the expanding ways approach adds bite without turning every session into a grind.

Katmandu Gold: Slot Features

Avalanches are the core. Every win removes symbols, adds an extra row, and drops new icons, up to 8 rows. Big Symbols arrive as 2x2, 3x3, or 4x4 blocks that can land on any drop, helping to bulldoze through the stack. The familiar six-reel, ways-to-win format benefits from those growth spurts, and you feel the step up in pressure as the grid swells. It's that classic Gold rhythm, only sharper, and it lays the groundwork for the game's headline bonuses.

The Yin and Yang-style Ice Climber is the wildcard twist. Land two and the Ice Climber feature fires. Everything above turns into wilds or high pays, while empty positions below switch to wilds. Hit it when the grid already sits at row eight and the game opens a hidden ninth row, pushing win ways to 531,441. I've had sequences where that single swing turned a modest build into a board stuffed with premiums and a path to a serious chain.

Expanding Win Symbols carry gold arrows and grow along their direction when used in a win, replacing every symbol in the path. Free drops trigger on 3 to 6 bonus symbols for 10, 15, 20, or 25 rounds, and each X-marked bonus bumps a persistent win multiplier by one. You can buy in for 100x, or go Super for 500x where the multiplier starts at 10x. RTP ticks up a touch on buys. The Super price is meaty, so I handle it with care.

Katmandu Gold Symbols and Paytable

The paytable runs from J-A at the low end through the elements of earth, air, fire, and water as mids, with turtles, tigers, dragons, and Kane as premiums. Six of a kind on the top symbols pay between 2x and 4x the stake. Wilds substitute for everything except the bonus and the Ice Climber, while Big Symbols can land in 2x2, 3x3, and 4x4 sizes to pull combinations together. Bonus scatters trigger free drops and fuel the multiplier game.

Katmandu Gold Symbols and Paytable

Symbol	Quantity	Payout
	6	x5
	5	x4
	4	x3
	3	x1.5
	6	x3
	5	x2.5
	4	x2
	3	x1
	6	x2.5
	5	x2
	4	x1.5
	3	x0.75
	6	x2
	5	x1.5
	4	x1
	3	x0.5
	6	x1
	5	x0.5
	4	x0.3
	3	x0.2
	6	x1
	5	x0.5
	4	x0.3
	3	x0.2
	6	x0.8
	5	x0.4
	4	x0.25
	3	x0.15
	6	x0.8
	5	x0.4
	4	x0.25
	3	x0.15
	6	x0.3
	5	x0.2
	4	x0.15
	3	x0.1
	6	x0.3
	5	x0.2
	4	x0.15
	3	x0.1
	6	x0.3
	5	x0.2
	4	x0.15
	3	x0.1
	6	x0.3
	5	x0.2
	4	x0.15
	3	x0.1
	Wild
	Scatter
	Special

Katmandu Gold: Slot Verdict

Runs of dead spins happen, yet the anticipation when rows pile up is the hook, especially as you edge towards the eighth and tease the tucked-away ninth. Big Symbols, arrows that expand, and that Ice Climber can pop from nowhere and flip the board. The multiplier in free drops is where I've seen the best of it, and the 10,000x ceiling feels attainable on a good chain. I rate this as the most complete Gold entry to that point, with the Super buy used sparingly.