ELK Studios is an independent casino game developer that is popular in the United Kingdom for its diverse selection of games which all feature unique visuals and animations as well as fun gameplay mechanics and bonuses. In this article, you can learn more about the developer, what the best ELK Studios games are, and where you can play ELK Studios slots too.
Founded in 2013, ELK Studios is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and has become a popular game developer in the UK and internationally for its great selection of slots. Although the studio was founded in 2013, the developer didn’t release its first slot until 2014 with the release of The Lab followed shortly by Electric Sam. The games, although not as successful as slots such as Gonzo’s Quest or Thunderkick II, quickly became popular and were followed by a slew of other casino games, all of which well received.
ELK Studios’ success was officially recognised in 2017 when the developer won the Game Of The Year Award at the 2017 EGR Operator Awards. Over the next few years, ELK continued to release successful video slots albeit at a much slower pace than its competitors. Some of the slots to come out since 2017 include Kaiju, Ecuador Gold, Tahiti Gold, and so many others.
At the time of writing, ELK Studios has released more than 40 popular video slots and has slowly been working on expanding its player reach across the UK and internationally too, giving more people a chance to play its great games.
Before we take a look into ELK Studios’ games and laying out some suggestions on what you should play, we thought we’d take some time to look at why ELK’s games are popular and what has helped it stand out from other developers. Unlike many other casino game development studios, all of the slots developed by ELK are based on their own themes and concepts, which means you won’t find any branded games by the ELK Studios.
What’s more, ELK Studios pours time into developing slots with gorgeous artwork and animations, and immersive sound effects too. Finally, we’ve found that rather than relying on traditional slot mechanics, ELK Studios has created unique bonus games for all of its video slots, giving players even more chances at making wins while having fun along the way.
All of this combines to create a high-quality casino product that is memorable, fun to play and offers a great chance at making wins. So what games in ELK Studios’ catalogue are worth playing?
As we’ve already mentioned, ELK Studios has released more than 40 different video slots, each of which has unique gameplay mechanics, concepts, and special features. Due to this large amount of slots, it can be a little difficult working out which games you should play, and while all of the games in ELK’s catalogue are worth checking out, we believe that the following five slots are the first you should play when trying out ELK Studios games. Take a look at our recommendations below:
Taco Brothers is another ELK Studios-developed online slot. This game released back in 2015, making it one of first to be released by the developer, and it has gone on to become one of the studio’s most popular games. The slot follows three brothers from the small village of Santa Maria, Mexico, who are required to take back their stolen tacos from the evil Captain Diaz. The slot uses a 5×3 layout with 243 paylines and has an RTP of 96.3%. When it comes to special features, the game benefits from a Respin mechanic, Wild Symbols which substitute for other symbols, and the FreeSpins Wild Escape game which includes Running Wilds, chances to win additional spins, and Multipliers of up to 3x on all winnings.
Another slot by ELK Studios is Tahiti Gold which follows Kane the Adventurer as he crash lands on Tahiti Island and sets out on a mission to uncover its mysteries and find the secret treasure. This ancient and jungle-themed slot uses a 6×4 layout with 4,096 paylines and it has an RTP of 96.1%. Symbols in the slot include multi-coloured totems, turtles, lizards, fish, frogs, and Kane himself. When it comes to special features, you can enjoy the Wild Forge which triggers Wild Symbols, an Avalanche mechanic where new symbols can create more wins, and the Eye Of Tiki which removes certain symbols. Tahiti Gold also features 2×2, 3×4, and 4×4 big symbols, Scatter Symbols, substituting Wilds, Sticky Wilds, as well as the Avalanche Free Drops bonus game to help you make more wins.
The sci-fi inspired Kaiju is another game by ELK Studios and a slot which sees a group of people come together to stop Kaiju Godzilla-like monsters from destroying the world. The game uses a 5×3 layout with 7,776 paylines and it has an RTP of 96.3%. Symbols in the slot include various multi-coloured crystals and cards and the game’s special features include Wild Symbols which connect identical symbols to help create a win and Bonus Symbols which trigger the game’s Free Spins mode with 7 free spins. During the Free Spins mode, you’ll be required to fight against three terrifying Kaiju monsters, expanding the slot’s reels and earning more spins along the way.
Our final ELK Studios slot suggestion is Route 777, a game which is inspired by the United States’ Route 77. Symbols in this classic slot machine-influenced game include lemons, skulls, BAR symbols, sevens, and plenty of other symbols too. In addition, the game uses a 3×3 layout with 17 paylines and has an RTP of 96.3%. The special features available include Respins and two Bonus Games Fortune Wheel in which you can win cash prizes or a Free Spins mode of up to 15 spins.
Wild Toro is arguably one of ELK Studios’ most popular video slots and helped the studio win its first-ever casino award. Released in 2016, Wild Toro is based around Spanish bullfighting and it uses a 5×4 layout with 178 paylines and has an RTP of 96.4%. Symbols in the slot include oranges, roses, Matador, the Toro itself, and plenty more. When it comes to special features, Wild Toro includes Walking Wilds, Wild Symbols which substitute for other symbols, Re-spin triggers, and the special Toro Goes Wild bonus game in which the Toro chases after the Matador and leaves Wild Symbols in its wake to help you make more wins.
After extensively reviewing all of ELK Studios’ video slots, we found that they all have decently high RTP rates. However, there are some ELK games which have somewhat higher RTP rates, providing you with a better chance at making wins. If you want to know which ELK Studios slots have the highest RTP rates to maximise your wins, we suggest you take a look at our top 10 list below:
The above rates, although we’ve seen higher in slots from other developers, means that you’re given a decent chance at making wins on all of the ELK Studios slots. If you’d like to know more about Return To Player (RTP) rates and how they inform you of how likely you are to make wins, we suggest you check out our RTP guide here.
As an independent developer, ELK Studios is still growing and this means that its catalogue of video slots are not yet widely available at all online casinos. However, there are plenty of online casinos in the United Kingdom which do offer ELK Studio slots, and they include:
While all of these websites do offer ELK Studios content, it’s important to understand that you won’t find the developer’s complete catalogue of games available there, just a small selection. What’s more, the websites we’ve listed above are all safe to play in the United Kingdom because they all possess valid licenses from the UK Gambling Commission, so you don’t need to worry about your safety or fairness!
ELK Studios offers dozens of high-quality video slots; all games feature gorgeous artwork and visuals, come packed with special features to help you make more wins, and are generally just fun to play. All of this, along with the fact that all ELK content is mobile-friendly, comes together to provide players with a truly unique experience that just cannot be felt with any other game developer, no matter how popular it or its games are.
The only major downside to ELK Studios slots is that the developer isn’t yet widely available in the United Kingdom, although it seems the studio is working to address that issue by striking more distribution deals.
In short, if you’re looking to play entertaining slots that are gorgeous to look at, fun to play, and give you a fair chance at making wins, we suggest you try out ELK Studios games. We’ve shared some suggestions on which games we think you should try first, so feel free to give those a go or take a look at our list of ELK Studios slots with the highest RTP and try those. Regardless of what you choose to play, we suggest you register with the ELK Studios casinos we suggested above, make note of any welcome bonuses, and have fun.
