The Goonies Return

The Goonies Return Overview

Join Chunk, Sloth, Mikey and the gang again in another classic caper. However, rather than searching for hidden treasure and One-eyed Willy, this time, players will be on the hunt for exciting top prizes in the form of big payouts. Will you manage to escape the perilous caves with the treasure, or will you be stuck under the earth forever?

This game you may or may not know is also a sequel. The original Goonies slot game was a massive hit. Let's hope this one impresses too.
There are a massive 13 features in this slot, which come in two different types – One-Eyed Willy Modifiers and One-Eyed Willy Bonuses. The first group of features are triggered entirely at random on any spin in the game.

They offer everything from extra wilds, synced reels, more bonus symbols and guaranteed wins. The other set – the One-Eyed Willy Bonus features are triggered only when players manage to land 3 of the bonus symbols on the same spin. These include cash rewards, free spins, stacked reels, a trail bonus, and many others. All features will be explained in more detail later in the review.

Theme and Symbols

Like the previous game, The Goonies Return is based on the 1985 film The Goonies, an American adventure comedy. Chris Columbus wrote the screenplay with the executive production by Steven Spielberg. The story follows a group of kids curious about an old map that they found in one of their attics, leading them to set off on a mission to find the treasure of a legendary 17th century Pirate named One-Eyed Willy. However, they are not alone in their pursuit, as a gang of criminals also wants the treasure for themselves. The game is a faithful recreation of all the cinematic wonder, with elements recreating iconic moments from the film such as the 'truffle shuffle.

The background for this slot is the table that they lay the famous treasure map out on. The wooden table is illuminated as it is in the movie by candlelight, casting an atmospheric glow across the board. Also scattered across this table are a smattering of golden doubloons, the film's skull logo and a silk purse.

Like the playing board, the playing window is made from wood but looks a little more detailed, with a golden frame and a few more ascents to give it the old-school pirate-like look that fits with the rest of the game's aesthetic.

The symbols for this game are split into low-paying, high-paying and special symbols. The low-paying symbols are the J, Q, K and A in playing card royals in the Goonies trademark font. The high-value symbols, however, are the members of the gang. These are in order of value from lowest to highest – Data, Mouth, Chunk, and Mikey. However, the most valuable symbol is the pirate flag, which pays out at 25x the stake for the top combination. The specials for this game are the Medallion Wild, and the One-Eyed Willy Bonus scatter.

Game Play

The Goonies Return is played on a 5-reel, 3-row machine with 20 fixed pay lines. To win combinations, players must land three or more matching symbols on pay lines moving from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel.

The betting range for The Goonies Return is 10p to £100 per spin. To adjust their bet levels, players can toggle their stake up and down using the tool located at the bottom left-hand side of the screen.

Further information, including a short tutorial and a display of the paytable, can be found via the menu button in the right-hand corner of the screen. The spin and auto spin buttons are located in the centre of the screen.

Volatility for this slot is rated in the medium range. The return to player percentage for The Goonies Return is 96%, which is about average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 50,000x your stake.

Features

As explained in the introduction, the first set of features available are the One-Eyed Willy Modifier features. These are randomly triggered on any spin. These are as follows:

The Truffle Shuffle Wilds modifier – If this modifier should trigger, players will receive a distribution of overlaying wilds onto the board. The Chunk character will also have the ability to morph into a multiplier wild. This particular bonus might also start a Truffle Reshuffle, giving you a second chance at scoring a win.
The Hidden Riches modifier – Should you trigger this modifier, a Mikey wild will be added and slide into the central position on the middle reel. After the spin is completed, any other Goonie symbols on the reels turn wild. A new payout calculation follows this.

The W-Invention modifier- Triggering this modifier makes Data use the Punch-Out Glove, syncing between 2 and 5 reels next to each other. The punch could also mean a deposit of outsized symbols or an upgrade to the existing symbols on the board.
The Lucky Coin modifier – This modifier deposits golden coin symbols, which represent mystery symbols. All the coins at the end of the spin will transform into the same symbol, helping to create a new payout. If a cash symbol also lands, you'll trigger a streak re-spin mechanic that keeps going until no new coins land.

The Bonus Boost modifier – More bonus scatters will appear on the reels if you land this modifier, improving your chances of landing the other set of features.

The Win Spin modifier – This gives you a guaranteed win.

The Winning Spin Modifier – Now and then, one of three symbols may randomly appear: the scythe, spike or dynamite. These turn losing spins into winners.

The other set of features are called the One-Eyed Willy Bonus features. To trigger these, you must land three of the bonus symbols on the same spin. Land these scatters, and the game will give you one spin of the bonus wheel, which will decide the bonus you have earned.

They are as follows:

The Booby Trap Bonus – This bonus provides you with a cash reward.
The Waterslide Bonus – This bonus is basically a trial bonus. To work your way down the slide, you have to collect golden doubloons. With each one collected, you increase an attached multiplier. Get to the end of the slide, and you will play the Big Money Bonus.

The Skeleton Organ Free Spins Bonus – Trigger this bonus, and you will be given five free spins with the sticky Skeleton Organ symbol stacked on every reel. If you manage to land a special symbol in this bonus, you will be granted a key that opens the organ, revealing a symbol. All organ symbols will then display that new symbol, and a payout follows. At the end of this sequence, players then choose from a selection of gold coins that can award extra spins or trigger another bonus.

The Fratelli Free Spins Bonus – Land this bonus, and you are granted ten free spins. Within this game, if a super sloth wild lands, that symbol is highlighted. The final free spin will display cash or wild symbols, which will appear in all the highlighted positions.

Momma Fratelli Money Spins Bonus – Land 5 or more of the cash symbols in the previous bonus, and you'll unlock this round, which starts with three re-spins. If a new cash symbol appears in this game, the re-spins reset to 3. At the end of the feature, you can pick from a group of different keys to award more free spins or grant access to a new bonus feature.

The Final Free Spins Bonus – Landing the bonus in the previous feature will give you access to this feature, which takes place on a new screen. You'll notice that a trail with inferno to the left below the reels, markers in the centre and gold coins to the right.

The inferno wild moves one reel to the right for every spin. Plus, the character symbol will turn wild. The bonus does not terminate until all of the characters have been upgraded and reached the right-hand side of the board. This is then followed by another pick me gold coin bonus that can trigger either a random bonus or the Super Spin bonus, which involves all the Goonies characters being wild and a stacked inferno wild being active throughout.

The One-Eyed Willy Riches Bonus – Here, you'll play a series of 3 streak re-spins on a 5x4 grid. Multipliers can also appear here, plus a range of characters, each of which bestows its own bonuses. When the feature ends, all prizes culminate into one final multiplier reward.

It is also possible to trade your 15x multiplier for a possible upgrade of feature in the One-Eyed Willy Exchange.

Conclusion

The Goonies Return is certainly an assault on the senses both from the visuals and the endless barrage of features. It is a really exciting slot with a lot going on, a decent top win, and a solid RTP. Condensed film nostalgia meets thrilling slot gaming in this another home run for the Blueprint Gaming studio.