Heart of Rio is one of the latest titles from Pragmatic Play that floods the screen with big feathers, Brazilian drums, and bright costumes, all landing on the reels in the rhythm of samba. The Rio de Janeiro Carnival is one of Brazil’s main attractions, so the developer couldn’t let it slip. The carnival atmosphere is brought to life not only by the bright colours and the beautiful women in thematic costumes but also by the Money Collect round that puts not less than five Collect Symbols into the spotlight and the Free Spins mode with a bonus pot!
I’ve never been to the Rio de Janeiro Carnival, but I’ve seen pictures, and it seems like Pragmatic Play mixed the exotic vibe of the event with a max win of 10,500x nicely, which results in a bright, energetic slot that I can’t wait to try.
Heart of Rio sets the tone of the gameplay from the very first screen. An avalanche of colours, music, and fireworks expands on your screen, sending you straight to Brazil’s fun city, Rio de Janeiro. The glitterballs are the ones that make the rules in this videoslot, triggering the Money Collect round where five types of Collect Symbols kick in, adding to your balance like there’s no tomorrow. There’s also a Free Spins feature available at the end of which the bonus pot collected throughout the entire round returns on the reels in form of a giant Money Symbol. I’m telling you, this online slot really gets the party started!
PROS
CONS
As you probably know from reading my other reviews, the theme of a slot doesn’t play a key role for me. Of course, it’s important because it sets the atmosphere of the gameplay, having the ability to increase the fun big time. However, Heart of Rio brings a carnival on the screen in such a way, that I simply can’t ignore it. Although it uses basic, carnival-related symbols, like dancers, masks, and coconuts, the big, purple features behind the grid, the parrots, and the recognizable soundtrack make this slot stand out in the carnival slot category.
Heart of Rio keeps things simple, integrating the gameplay on a classic 3×5 grid, with high-paying and low-paying symbols hitting prizes of up to 32x the total bet. The two beautiful Brazilian women, the mask and the coconut are the character symbols, while the royals hit with wins of up to 4x the total bet.
The volatility of this new title is high, while the RTP remains above average with a 96.5% value. The game also features 25 paylines, plus other juicy symbols that can trigger the bonus rounds available.
This way, we have the Wild that hits on reels 2, 3, 4 and 5, replacing all the other ones except the Money, Collect and Bonus symbols. The Bonus symbol is also part of the paytable, landing on reels 2, 3 and 4, and awarding 1x the total bet for three on the grid.
Another very important symbols are the Money and Collect ones without which the Money Collect feature can’t happen. There’s one Money symbol, shaped like a round disco ball, and five Collect symbols, each with its special power. I’ll talk more about the Collect symbols in the features section, where I’ll also tell you more details about the bonus round.
Heart of Rio can deliver the carnival experience on all sorts of devices, from PCs to tablets and mobile phones, so that you can take the fun with you everywhere you go.
There’re two bonus rounds available in the Heart of Rio slot. One has to do with the Collect symbols, while the other is all about the free games.
This feature goes hand in hand with the gameplay, as it can be triggered anytime during the game. To activate it you’ll need at least one Money Symbol on the screen and any kind of Collect symbol on the fifth reel. Here’re the possible Collect symbols that can hit:
The free games in Heart of Rio can be activated with three Bonus Symbols on the grid. The round consists of eight free spins during which the Money Collect feature is active.
Now, this free spins round comes with a little carnival sparkle, meaning that all Money Symbols that hit are collected in a bonus pot. After the last free spin ends, the bonus pot you’ve gathered is returned on the screen as a giant Money Symbol, covering reels 1, 2, 3 and 4. The last reel remains as it is, and respins one time. If you hit a Collect Symbol, you’ll get the value of the bonus pot. Hurray, la vida es un carnaval!
The provider seems to know that more free spins equals more fun as it set a retrigger option to the free spins round. Land another three Bonus Symbols on the reels, and you’ll play eight additional free spins.
Pragmatic Play’s Heart of Rio really got me dancing my socks off. With a bustling soundtrack and vivid visuals, this online slot had me learning all samba moves in no time (metaphorically speaking, of course). The Money Collect feature is key to landing some sweet prizes, with the win potential increasing in the free spins due to the bonus pot addition.
All in all, Heart of Rio creates a fantastic atmosphere that represents quite accurately the Rio de Janeiro carnival. Although the game mechanics aren’t new to the industry, the slot adds a different, fun layer thanks to its engaging soundtrack and colorful visuals.
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