Rio Carnival is a legendary event that most people would like to participate in at least once in their lives, and it is certainly on this reviewer’s wish list. The festive theme has inspired many slots over the years, and Heart of Rio doesn’t really stand out from the herd. It also doesn’t help that it’s a reskin of El Dorado The City of Gold, and the biggest difference is in the hair decorations, makeup, and all-female character icons.

In these days of “social distancing”, this game is possibly the closest to reality and can certainly help you dream of better times. The base game is all about collecting money symbols with 5 different modifier collectors. During the bonus round, you can build up a huge mega money collecting symbol. If you’re looking for some samba and high energy during the lockdown, Heart of Rio may be a good excuse to get loose.

Bonus Features at Heart of Rio Slot

The lady with the red hair ornament is the wild symbol, and it substitutes for all regular payout symbols to help you form winning combinations. She can only land on reels 2, 3, 4 or 5, and the wild has no value of its own.

Disco ball money symbols land on reels 1 through 4 and come with random cash prizes. If you land 1 of the 5 collectible symbols on Reel 5 at the same time, one of the following alternatives is offered:

• Collect – all money symbol values are added up and paid.
• Collect additional credit – the additional credit value is added to all money symbols before they are collected.
• Collect Multiplier – All money symbols are subject to the specified multiplier before they are collected.
• Expanding Collect – All money symbols are spread out to cover the respective reels. Then the total amount is added up and paid out.
• Respin collect – all money symbols become sticky and the remaining positions spin again. All money symbols are then totaled and paid after the respin.

You need to land 3 bongo drum scatters on reels 2 to 4 to trigger the bonus round. This will award 8 free spins . You get an initial scatter win of 1x upfront, and the bonus round includes 1 additional rule regarding the money collection feature. All money symbols that land are now collected in a bonus money pot, and the total value is returned as a Mega Money symbol on the final respin.

The Mega Money symbol fills Reels 1 through 4, and Reel 5 spins again. If you land a collect symbol on Reel 5, you win the entire bonus pot. You can retrigger the bonus round with +8 new free spins. This happens if you land 3 new scatters during the feature. There is no cap on how many times you can retrigger the free spins.

The 200 Spins Heart of Rio Slot Experience

Nothing overly exciting happened to us in the base game, although we did get a few minor wins. The bonus round is triggered at 1:33 in the 3-minute highlights video, and you can see for yourself how we fared by clicking the play button.

Rating Conclusion

Heart of Rio is a reskin of Pragmatic’s own El Dorado The City of Gold and can hardly claim to be an original game. The Hold & Win feature is a bit unusual, however, as you don’t get respins as usual. Instead, you have the 5 different collectible modifiers, and only one of them allows for potentially landing more money symbols from a respin.

This all changes in the bonus round, where you may build up a decent bonus pot. However, landing the required collectible symbol on the last respin is anything but easy, and it’s really frustrating when it doesn’t show up. The 10,500x potential seems a bit far-fetched, not least because the maximum win per a single spin is only 800x your bet. We thought Pragmatic was done with over-the-top potentials, but maybe that doesn’t apply to reskin jobs.

Pros

Money symbols with 5 collection modifiers
Bonus round with bonus pot collecting
Wins up to 10,500 times your bet

Cons

The maximum win on one spin is only 800 times

Heart of Rio Slot FAQs

What is the Return to Player of Heart of Rio?

The RTP of 96.5% is slightly above the industry average, but you can get a lower return due to the RTP ranges. Available RTP values are 96.50%, 95.50% and 90.02%.

How volatile is Heart of Rio?

The volatility is medium in this game, scoring 3 out of 5 on Pragmatic Play’s own volatility scale.

What is the biggest possible win?

You can win up to 10,500 times your bet, but the maximum win for a single spin is only 800 times your bet.

How does the Money Collect feature work?

You land money symbols with different values on reels 1 to 4, and there are 5 different collect symbols that can land on reel 5. These offer different ways to collect the money, including multipliers, money distribution symbols and respins.

Is there a free spins mode in Heart of Rino?

Yes, you get 8 free spins and all the money symbols that land are collected in a bonus pot. The pot is released on the last respin as a mega money symbol on reels 1-4, and you need a collect symbol to win the prize.

Can I play Heart of Rio slot for free?

Yes, you can try the free Heart of Rio demo game at the very top of this page (UK players must have their age verified first).