Gold Party 2 After Hours Slot Review

Casino game creators cannot manage to get away from popular stereotypes to create Irish slots that explore their rich and varied culture. Gold Party 2 After Hours, a sequel to 2022's Gold Party from Wild Streak Gaming, certainly embraces its ‘luck o’ the Irish’ theme; however, elements of the design nod to more of a story. Personally, I picture the events depicted in Gold Party 2 After Hours as being a huge celebration, as the leprechauns have finally got their hands on the gold at the end of the rainbow.

It seems they throw one hell of a party. After all, a leprechaun in disco attire is certainly rare, and instead of the usual Celtic soundtrack, the game has upbeat party music (which can be turned off if you prefer to supply your own tunes).

The slot has 17 symbols. Traditional card values—10, J, Q, K, and A—pay low. Premium symbols include Harps, Mushroom Houses, Horseshoes, Unicorns, and Leprechauns, the highest-value regular symbol at 4x for five. Wild symbols only occur on reels 2, 3, and 4 and replace all other symbols. Wilds can contribute to wins with 2x, 3x, or 5x multipliers. When several Wild multipliers appear in a win, their values are multiplied together, which does a lot to boost the potential prize payout.

The full paytable for the Gold Party 2 After Hours slot is as follows:

• 10: Awards 0.2, 0.24, and 0.4x the total stake for 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols across an active payline.

• J: Awards 0.2, 0.28, and 0.4x the total stake for 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols across an active payline.

• Q: Awards 0.2, 0.32, and 0.48x the total stake for 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols across an active payline.

• K: Awards 0.2, 0.32, and 0.6x the total stake for 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols across an active payline.

• A: Awards 0.2, 0.4, and 0.8x the total stake for 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols across an active payline.

• Harp: Awards 0.2, 0.4, and 0.8x the total stake for 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols across an active payline.

• Mushroom Bar: Awards 0.28, 0.4, and 1x the total stake for 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols across an active payline.

• Horseshoe: Awards 0.32, 0.48, and 1.2x the total stake for 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols across an active payline.

• Unicorn: Awards 0.4, 0.6, and 1.6x the total stake for 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols across an active payline.

• Leprechaun: Awards 0.2, 0.8, 1.6, and 4x the total stake for 2, 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols across an active payline.

• Wild: Looks like the Celtic Tree of Life (Crann Bethadh), and can stand in for all other non-special symbols to form a winning combination. In the case of multiple wilds on the reels in a single spin, the values will be multiplied together for a larger win.
• Pot of Gold: This symbol is used to activate the Money Respin feature.

Gold Party 2 After Hours carries over many of the most popular features of the original game and ups the ante on them, as you would expect from a sequel slot. Each of the features in play is explored in more detail below:

Copy Feature

During the base game, a complete stack of the Leprechaun symbol on the first reel activates the Copy Reels feature. This enables the stack to reproduce on one or more additional reels, replacing any symbols underneath the copied stacks and generating new winning possibilities. As the Leprechaun symbol can pay out for just 2 of a kind, the likelihood of further winning combinations is high.

Money Respin Feature

This was a standout feature in the original game and makes its return for the sequel. Operating as an alternative for a typical free spins bonus, the Money Respin feature is triggered by landing six or more Money symbols in any position within a single spin. There are also ‘double money symbols’ which can only appear on reels 4 and 5 in the base game and count as two money symbols.

This bonus is played on four different 3x5 game grids. The initial triggering Money symbols are put at random throughout these grids, and only special symbols can emerge during the round, including ordinary Money symbols, Double Money symbols, Super Pot symbols, Multipliers, Extra Spins, and Bonus Award tokens.

• Money Symbols can have predetermined bet multiplier amounts ranging from 0.2x to 200x.
• Super Pot Symbols function similarly to Money symbols, except they increase in value with each respin.
• Multiplier Symbols assign a random multiplier (2x-25x) to one Money symbol in any matrix.
• Extra Spin Symbols provide an additional respin.
• The Bonus Awards Symbols symbolise jackpot rewards (Mini: 20x, Minor: 60x, Major: 320x, Grand: 10,000x). Collecting three of the same symbol during the feature triggers the prize at the conclusion.

The round starts with eight respins. When a special symbol falls, it locks in place, and the respin counter resets. If a spin does not produce a new symbol, then the respin meter will drop by 1. The bonus will end when no more respins remain or if the player has been lucky enough to fill one of the grids. 

When a full matrix (all 15 symbol locations) is filled, a bonus multiplier is applied to the grid's total value. Multipliers differ by matrix—x2, x3, x5, or x10—depending on whatever board is finished, and they apply to all values except Bonus Awards. If there are respins remaining and spaces left on other grids, the feature will continue. Only when either all respins are used or all grids are filled will the round conclude, and all winnings will be totalled up and awarded to the player.

Feature Buy (Non-UK)

Players in eligible regions (non-UK) can fast-track their access to the respins bonus round by paying 100x their current wager.

If you ask players if there is any genre of slot which has been done to death, they will probably say one of three things: fruit machines,  Ancient Egypt, or, most likely, the ‘Luck o’ the Irish’ genre. This theme has been woven into online slots history ever since Barcrest’s Rainbow Riches franchise moved from real-world game to online slot. Just about every developer has created at least one, if not many, slots set in the Emerald Isle. There are, however, certain elements about the Gold Party 2 After Hours slot which separate it from the more generic ones. 

The theme of this game reminds me a lot of Yggdrasil’s ‘Rainbow Ryan’ slot series, and while there is less storytelling and attention to detail than the aforementioned series, the title of the game, combined with the toadstool bar and disco leprechaun, gives enough hints for the player to make their own narrative.

Some of the bonus features of Gold Party 2 After Hours are pretty creative, too. The Copy Feature, for example, is innovative and should not be overlooked, especially as the Leprechaun symbol it works in conjunction with pays out for only 2 matching symbols. While a respin bonus is not anything new, it is always nice to see a developer take an alternate route to the typical free spins bonus. The four game grids the bonus is played also add a more unique element to the gameplay experience.

Overall, I think that the Gold Party 2 After Hours slot may, at first glance, seem little more than a quirky Luck O’ the Irish game. Look a little closer, however, and you find an amusing game with rewarding bonus features, clear statistical information, a general RTP of 96.5% and a top payout of over 10,000x the total bet. In my opinion, Gold Party 2 After Hours is a party you do not want to miss and gets a rating of 8/10 from me.

Rating: 8.0