Congo Cash XL: Slot Overview

Keep a tight grip on those bananas, because Pragmatic Play’s partner, Wild Streak Gaming, has headed back into the jungle for a follow-up featuring a gorilla in Congo Cash XL. To be fair, that opener isn’t entirely spot on. Gorillas supposedly don’t really eat bananas, though they do munch on the pith and leaves of the banana plant. Strange, right? You’d think the bananas would be the best bit. Apparently, getting to them can be tricky too. Still, gorillas—and players—like what they like, and if you’ve got a soft spot for retro-styled slots, Congo Cash XL might be worth a quick glance.

Just don’t stare too long if you demand richly detailed, modern, attention-grabbing visuals. As hinted, Congo Cash XL is “fine” if you’re into old-school, machine-like presentation. It leans into a throwback vibe with graphics that—let’s put it gently—aren’t exactly cutting-edge. Even so, it arguably looks about as dated as the original while reusing familiar elements like the gorilla on the left side, a Jewel Board, and the uneven 4-3-3-3-3-4, 6-reel gaming grid.

Congo Cash XL expands the play area and increases the number of winning routes. This time there are 1,296 ways, and all wins must start from the far-left side of the grid. Volatility has been nudged up to high, while the RTP is 96.41% when betting 25 c to $/250 per spin, or 96.51% when buying free spins.

The game also reintroduces the original’s pay symbols. You’ll see 10 to A royals, plus frogs, lemurs, mandrills, leopards, and gorillas as the low and high pays. Landing 6 matching royal symbols returns 1.2 times the bet, while 6 matching animal symbols pay 1.6 to 8 times the bet. The wild replaces all regular paying symbols to help complete combinations, and it can appear on every reel except the leftmost reel.

Congo Cash XL: Slot Features

For the most part, Congo Cash XL sticks closely to the same style of play, bringing back features like the Jewel Board rewards, free spins, and a bonus buy.

Jewel Board

Random jewels show up above reels 2 to 5. With every spin, the jewels change, and fresh ones drop down from the top. Jewels posses the following awards:

• Money values of 4x to 200x the bet.
• Fixed jackpots of 20x for the Minor, 80x for the Major, and 2,000x for the Grand.
• 8 to 100 free spins. They also award 2x the bet when collected.

When 2 Butterfly symbols land on the leftmost and rightmost reels (the only reels they are present on) and at least 1 Congo Cash symbol lands on reels 2-5, the value on the jewels on top of the reels with Congo Cash symbols are awarded. When 2 Butterfly symbols land on the leftmost and rightmost reels and at least 1 Congo Cash XL symbol lands on reels 2-5, 1 to 5 values are randomly awarded from the row of jewels on top of the reels with the XL symbol.

Free Spins

Free spins begin once you collect at least 1 free games jewel. While the feature is running, at least 1 wild is guaranteed to land on the reel where the free spins jewel was collected. Players enter the round with the number of free spins collected from all jewels. The Jewel Board remains active throughout free spins.

Buy Free Spins

You can purchase the free spins round for 100 times the bet, and doing so grants a random number of free spins.

Congo Cash XL: Slot Verdict

The first thing that popped up when checking out Congo Cash XL was whether it truly deserved the XL in its name. The answer is… yes, no, sort of? It’s definitely a step or two bigger than the original, though that isn’t a huge statement since Congo Cash was fairly small when it launched. With a max win of 2,200x (compared to Congo Cash XL’s 4,400x) and a very particular look, it was never going to suit everyone. It’s pretty safe to say that if Congo Cash appealed to you, Congo Cash XL likely will too. And the reverse is also true, as Congo Cash XL brings back the aged presentation and the emphasis on local jackpots that were central to the previous game.

So yes, Congo Cash XL has an old-school feel, but not in a stylish Brick Snake 2000, Hellcatraz sort of way. More like genuinely out of date—like it slipped out of the mid-2010s (or earlier) in a time machine to challenge modern players’ eyeballs. Some will enjoy that backwards-leaning approach, and fair enough. Hopefully, they’ll get a kick out of what Wild Streak Gaming has put together. There is some fun in landing a Butterfly on the leftmost reel, Congo Cash symbols in the middle, and then—right—another Butterfly on the rightmost reel. Some fun. Then you remember what year it is, and the next thought is, “Why?”

Because of that, going in with a retro mindset is probably the best way to approach Congo Cash XL. Otherwise, players could end up seriously underwhelmed. In truth, it’s likely one to skip if you prefer more modern gameplay and presentation—or one to try if a make-believe trip back in time sounds like a good idea.