The Goonies Return Review and Demo

The Goonies Return Slot Review

Released by Blueprint in 2021, The Goonies Return is a slot based on the 1985 family adventure film The Goonies. Despite being a feature-driven title, the base game is equally enjoyable thanks to the seven reel modifiers and gamble features. The slot’s 50,000x max win is unlocked by progressing through six unique bonus rounds, which I’ll discuss later on in this review.

Blueprint is a multi-platform iGaming developer based in Nottinghamshire. Players may recognise titles like Fishin’ Frenzy, or other branded titles such as Rick and Morty Wubba Lubba Dub Dub.

Category	Detail
Game Title	The Goonies Return
Software provider	Blueprint
RTP	95.5%
Volatility	Medium
Max Win	50,000x
Theme	The Goonies
Key Mechanic	20 paylines*

Feature-driven slots are often highly volatile, since significant payouts tend to be only accessible through bonus rounds. While the 50,000x maximum win is only achievable in the One-Eyed Willy Riches feature, the medium-volatility gameplay means payouts in the base game often feel significant.

Wins are multiplied by the line bet, which is your stake value divided by 20 (the number of paylines). For example, if you landed five pirate flags on a £1 spin, the 500x multiplier would translate into a £25 payout. Here’s how every combination would pay out on a £1 stake:

Symbol	5-of-a-kind	4-of-a-kind	3-of-a-kind	2-of-a-kind
Pirate flag	£25	£5	£2	£0.10
Mikey, Mouth	£15	£4	£1	N/A
Data, Sloth	£10	£3	£0.50	N/A
A, K	£5	£2	£0.40	N/A
Q, J	£2.50	£0.50	£0.20	N/A

Line wins are added together. Only the highest line win is paid per line.

Theme and Story of the The Goonies Return Slot

The Goonies Return features the characters, locations and themes of the original film, but the gameplay is engaging enough to be enjoyed by those who aren’t familiar with the plot.

The narrative is driven by adventure, exploration and the search for riches.

Pirate flags pay out the highest, followed by the characters, then the royal symbols. While the line wins don’t look too impressive on their own, the random reel modifiers can often create sizeable payouts. I’ll cover these in more detail later on in this The Goonies Return Slot review.

Graphics, Sounds and Vibes

The 5x3 reel setup sits atop One-Eyed Willy’s map of Mar Del Zur, with various trinkets scattered around. Each bonus feature is set in a different location, each with unique mechanics and design that always manage to stay on theme (such as the skulls, chains and planks around the 5x4 reels in the One-Eyed Willy Riches feature).

I was particularly impressed with the amount of thought that went into the sound design. Each feature has different backing music from the jaunty base game soundtrack. Waterslide To Wealth, for example, is underscored by a haunting, tense synth and violin track. Gameplay is interspersed with lines from the original film and sound effects that reflect the action on the reels.

The Goonies Return Slot on mobile

All Blueprint slots run on an integrated HTML5 framework, which ensures cross-compatibility between mobile, tablet and desktop devices. You can expect the same experience whether you prefer to use casino apps or access games via your mobile browser.

While the slot can be played in both portrait and landscape, the base game’s 5x3 reel setup and bonus features are undoubtedly better suited for a wider display. Small tweaks, like moving the ‘Spin’ button and bet adjustor, would improve the user experience in portrait mode.

The Goonies Return Slot Bonus Features

The Goonies Return has more bonus features than most games on the market. Most of these can be divided into two categories: One-Eyed Willy Key Of Plenty Reel Modifiers, which appear in the base game, and One-Eyed Willy Bonus Features, which you progress through across the entire duration of your session.

Wilds

The Goonies Return features seven wild symbols: Medallion Wilds, Truffle Shuffle Wilds, Mikey Wilds, Colossal Wilds, Super Sloth Wilds, Goonie Wilds and Inferno Wilds.

Wilds substitute for any symbol except scatters and pay out as follows:

Symbol	5-of-a-kind	4-of-a-kind	3-of-a-kind	2-of-a-kind
Wild	£25	£5	£2	£0.10

• Cash: Awards a cash prize based on a multiplier of your stake value

• Collect: Ends the round

• Bonus feature: Triggers a different bonus feature

• Advance (1, 2, 3, 4 or 5): You’ll advance that number of spaces along the trail

• Collect: Ends the feature and pays out your current multiplier value

• Big Money: Advances you straight to the Big Money Bonus Round

If you land on a position with a ship’s wheel behind it, you’ll spin a wheel with the following possible outcomes:

• Upgrade: Increases some of the multipliers ahead

• Eliminate: Removes some upcoming spaces, making your path to the end shorter

• Shortcut: Advances you further down the path

Completing the trail will unlock the Big Money Bonus Round. You’ll be given the chance to choose an exit, which could reveal a big cash multiplier or a different bonus round. If you proceed to another feature, none of the winnings from this bonus will be carried forward.

Skeleton Organ Free Spins

At the start of the round, you’ll be awarded five free spins. The Skeleton Organ symbol will be super stacked on each reel. This special symbol is sticky, meaning any that land on the reels will stay there until you run out of spins.

If a special symbol lands, you’ll pick a key on the Organ. This appears from behind the reels and will reveal a symbol, which will replace every Skeleton Organ symbol on the screen.

You’ll be presented with Gold Doubloons once you’ve used up all your spins. These will reveal one of the following:

• Extra Spins: Awards more spins (with your Skeleton Organ symbols still sticky)

• Bonus: Triggers a different bonus feature

• Collect: Ends the round and pays out everything you’ve accumulated

Fratelli Free Spins

You’ll begin the round with eight free spins. If a Super Sloth Wild lands on the reels, it’ll leave an outline in its place once any wins have been paid out.

When you’ve run out of spins, all of these positions will be respun to reveal a Cash symbol or another wild.

Landing five or more Cash symbols will trigger the Momma Fratelli Money Spins feature. Each reel position is replaced by a smaller cash reel and you’ll get three more spins to land as many Cash symbols as possible. Every time you land one, your spin count will be reset to three.

At the end of the round, you’ll pick a key that reveals one of the following outcomes:

• Extra Spins: Awards more spins (with the Super Sloth Wild borders you earned in the first eight spins reinstated)

• Bonus: Triggers a different bonus game

• Collect: Ends the round and pays out your wins

The Final Voyage Free Spins

The Inferno Wild starts on the leftmost reel. For each spin, it’ll move one reel to the right before holding in place. At the end of each spin, the Goonie symbol below the reel the wild lands on will be turned wild, and the Inferno Wild will move again.

This will continue until all high pays are upgraded and you reach the Doubloon on the rightmost reel. At this point, you’ll be offered a choice of doubloons, containing the following outcomes:

• Collect: Pays out your wins from the round

• One-Eyed Willy Riches: Triggers the final bonus round

• Super Spins: Triggers super spins (all Goonies are wild and the full reel Inferno Wild is active)

• Landing it on the Bonus Wheel

• Gambling for it on the Bonus Wheel

• Unlocking it within a feature/from a modifier key

• Landing five Bonus symbols in the base game

The 5x4 reel setup spins to reveal multipliers until the booby trap on the scales is triggered, at which point you’ll be paid out.

You will then be awarded three Money Spins. If you land a cash value, your spin counter will be reset to three.

Goonie symbols are active, each of which carry a cash value plus extras such as overall win multipliers, respins, symbol upgrades and expanding the reel setup up to 9x4.

The feature ends when you run out of spins or fill the 9x4 grid.

One-Eyed Willy Key Of Plenty Reel Modifiers

At random, the One-Eyed Willy Key Of Plenty on the right-hand side of the reels may start to glow. You’ll pick from three golden keys, which will unlock one of six reel modifiers:

• Truffle Shuffle Wilds: Overlays appear which turn positions wild. Wilds may be turned into multiplying wilds. A Truffle Reshuffle may be awarded, which rearranges the reels to award a second win.

• Hidden Treasure: Awards multiplying Wild Reels.

• W-invention Reels: Between two and five consecutive reels will replicate the same outcome. A Colossal Wild (up to five reels wide) may appear, and symbols might be upgraded.

• Lucky Coins: A random symbol is chosen to replace every Gold Coin Mystery symbol. If a cash symbol is revealed, it will remain in position while the reels respin until no more land in view.

• Bonus Boost: Adds bonus symbols to the reels.

• Win Spin: Guarantees a large payout relative to your stake value.

• Scythe: Repositions the reels to form a win on a losing spin.

• Shooting Spikes: Removes one or more columns of symbols to form a win.

• Dynamite: Upgrades wins.

• Cave collapse: Clears every symbol in view to make space for a winning set of symbols.

Feature Gamble

When you receive a feature from the bonus wheel (excluding the One-Eyed Willy Riches Bonus), you’ll be given the option to accept it or gamble for the next best feature.

If you win, all features below your new bonus will be eliminated until you either reach the top feature (the One-Eyed Willy Riches Bonus) or land on the Mystery Win segment of the reel. This will award you a Mystery Win Prize, which is a cash payout between 5x – 15x the value of your stake.

• Collect: Accept the win

• Gamble: Take a spin on the Bonus Wheel

The Bonus Wheel will offer one of three bonus levels depending on the size of the payout being gambled: Bonus, Super Bonus, or Mega Bonus, plus a Mystery Win.

The Goonies Return Slot Wagering Details

Return To Player (RTP) and volatility are the two main things you need to look for when you’re trying to gauge the nature of a slot’s payouts. While The Goonies Return’s RTP is slightly below average, its medium-variance gameplay will suit most players.

The Goonies Return has an RTP of 95.5%, which is slightly below average for UK slots. It has a medium volatility rating, which means players can expect some dry spells, but a relatively steady gameplay session overall.

RTP can vary by casino, so make sure to check it in the paytable wherever you choose to play the The Goonies Return slot.

As is the case with all UKGC-licensed slots, young adults aged between 18 and 24 can stake up to £2 per spin, and those aged 25 and over can bet a maximum of £5.

Jackpots and Best Wins

The Goonies Return’s maximum win potential is 50,000x your stake, which is above the UK market average. Depending on your stake limit, this could translate into maximum payouts of £100,000 or £250,000.

The game does not contain a jackpot mechanic.

Setting my spin value to £0.50 gave me 100 spins. The Truffle Shuffle Wilds reel modifier appeared on my 15th spin, producing a win of £12.50. On my 84th spin, I landed three Bonus symbols and collected the Waterslide to Wealth feature. I reached the end of the trail and advanced to the Skeleton Organ Free Spins round, where I won £34.70.

If you want to try The Goonies Return in demo play mode, you can find a free-to-play version at the top of this page.

The Goonies Return Slot vs Similar Slot Games

Blueprint has released a number of slots based on The Goonies. Here’s how The Goonies Returns measures up against the original The Goonies slot and The Goonies Megaways:

Slot	Developer	RTP	Max win	Volatility	Theme
The Goonies Return	Blueprint	95.5%	50,000x	Medium	The Goonies
The Goonies	Blueprint	96%	10,000x	Medium/High	The Goonies
The Goonies Megaways	Blueprint	95%	10,000x	Medium/High	The Goonies

While the original The Goonies slot has a fractionally higher RTP, the maximum win limit is significantly lower. Since The Goonies Return has a lower volatility rating than the original, it’s a better choice for players looking for shorter sessions.

The Goonies Megaways has 15,625 paylines and a fixed jackpot mechanic – but, due to its lower RTP, lower maximum win and higher volatility, I’d say The Goonies Return is a better choice for casual players.

Does CasinoTopsOnline Recommend The Goonies Return?

Absolutely. The Goonies Return offers an amount of organised chaos I don’t see in a lot of games. Each feature is unique and distinct from the base game’s core mechanics, creating welcome changes of pace and rhythm. The modifiers keep the core gameplay feeling dynamic, since they appear at random either during the round or once your spin has finished. If you’re looking for a game where you never know what’ll happen next, I’d recommend giving it a try.