Strap Yourself in, This May Be a Bumpy Ride as We Take on The “Iconic” Starburst XXXtreme Slot!
Spaceships are fully re-fuelled and ready for the re-launch of the “iconic” Starburst XXXtreme Slot, Rizk Casino and all our Recommended Casinos will be rushing to add this new online slot on the release day of the 15th July 2021.
There is no doubting the notoriety and success of the original Starburst slot, which has won numerous awards, held top spots on casinos homepages for years and generally been completely overhyped and is still being touted as a “player favourite” today.
The reality is that the original Starburst is almost held in disregard by serious slot players and it’s close to holding meme-worthy status when suggested as a good slot to play, this, however, is a subjective opinion held by hardcore slots players, we will try to be as objective as possible in our review of this new machine, but definitely whilst gritting our teeth a little in the process!
It’s a complete article in itself as to the reasons why casinos love Starburst (low-value free spins, low variance, low max win) and there is definitely some attraction for new players as it’s a very simplistic online slot feature-wise.
So what is new in the XXXtreme Version? Multipliers, big fat juicy multipliers thanks to the Starburst Wild symbols awarded randomly in the range of x2, x3, x5, x10, x25, x50, x100, x150.
There’s has been a slight alteration in the maximum number of paylines down to 9 (fixed), but the same 5×3 reel layout remains, the “pay both ways” functionality has been removed, adopting a more standard left to right payline structure which made adjusting to this new version confusing as we were expecting the exact same set up as the original slot machine.
Visually of course this is definitely still “Starburst” with a deep red more volatile colour scheme hinting at the volatile fiery nature, the reel symbols are all instantly recognisable as you would expect from a sequel.
Whilst the highest multiplier is fixed at x150, the overall Multiplier value can go much higher if more than one of these Multiplier lands during a spin or even a Re-Spin and are added together.
Just with the introduction of these crazy multiplier values the overall volatility of this slot has been increased by a huge factor, given the max win on the original slot was in the region of 500x Stake and is now capped at a staggering 200,000 x.
Given current trends towards “Bonus Buys” there is also a new feature where you can activate XXXtreme Spins mode at a cost of 10x Stake for 1 guaranteed Starburst Wild symbol per spin, or even 95x Stake for 2 guaranteed Starburst Wild symbols per spin.
More details on these new features later!
Starburst XXXtreme Slot – Gameplay
| Starburst XXXtreme Slot - Technical Summary | |
|---|---|
| Paylines | 9 |
| Variance/Volatility | High |
| Free Spins | No |
| Multipliers | Yes |
| Re-Trigger Bonus Round | Re-Spins |
| Special Features | Wilds Re-Spins Multipliers XXXtreme Spins |
| RTP (Return To Player) | 96.26% |
Starburst XXXtreme Slot – Special Features
Base Game
The base gameplay is very similar to the original Starburst with the same core gameplay mechanics of pay both ways, wilds on the middle 3 reels and re-spins, there is one payline less with 9 being used in this version as opposed to 10 paylines in the original Starburst slot from 2013.
There is of course the addition of Multiplier Wilds along with the Randomly Added Wilds feature which is described below in detail.
The biggest single change to this slot is from the wide-ranging multipliers (2x right up to 150x), whilst these can combine together they are added not multiplied, even so, 150x + 150x + 150x Multipliers is nothing to complain about!
Starburst Wild Symbols
These regular wild symbols appear on reels 2, 3, and 4 only. The Wilds when landed expands to cover the entire reel and awards a Re-Spin of the reels.
In Starburst XXXtreme these wilds can also add random multiplier in the range of x2, x3, x5, x10, x25, x50, x100, x150.
If more than one Multiplier lands either in a regular spin or re-spin then the sum of these Multipliers is applied to any winning paylines.
Random Wilds Feature
The Random Wilds feature can be randomly activated after a spin or a Re-Spin during play, when this new feature activates Random Wilds that range from 1 to 3 Starburst Wild symbols will be randomly added to reels 2, 3, and 4.
XXXtreme Spins Feature
By clicking the button positioned below the reels you can activate the XXXtreme Spins feature.
Once activated this feature guarantees that the Starburst Wild symbol will land in view on the middle reels on every of course for a premium cost per spin.
There are 2 options available here,
- 10x Bet – 1 guaranteed Starburst Wild symbol per spin
- 95x Bet – 2 guaranteed Starburst Wild symbols per spin.
And of course with this mode activated you will get a re-spin at least since wilds will land in view and expand, followed by a re-spin in the hope of that elusive 3 reels of wilds.
It is worth noting that the XXXtreme Spins feature remain active until you deactivate the mode, so be very aware especially if you are opting for the 95x stake per spin option!
Paytable
The paytable for Starburst XXXtreme shown below is based on a £2 Stake size, the values indicate wins where no multipliers are present, these win values can be increased hugely when 150x Multipliers or even multiple Multipliers form part of these winning combinations.
Starburst XXXtreme Slot – FAQ’s
Starburst XXXtreme Slot
Final Review
The great news is that we didn’t dislike the Starburst XXXtreme slot as much as we thought we might do, I can honestly say I was dreading trying to remain objective in this review but the introduction of the multipliers has given this slot enough in terms of a volatility boost to make it “current” and interesting again.
Let’s not get too excited though, it’s Starburst still, the lack of a bonus round means the gameplay gets old quite quickly unless you have the bankroll to be playing with the XXXtreme spins mode activated active on every spin (which is a blast) but could be very costly too.
The difficulty in landed the elusive 3rd reel of wilds remains, and if you take this slot for a spin in demo mode and plough through the bonus buy Xtreme feature you will notice just how difficult it is to land.
This is also true of the higher multipliers, of course, the 2x and 5x are very frequent, when the 150x multiplier does arrive there is a nice rumble and count up animation to signal something special which is nice touch.
Overall, Netent did a good job of maintaining the classic gameplay (if you ever liked it) and have injected a big dose of volatility that will appeal but current online slot players, way more than the original ever did.
Terms Apply – 18+, New Customers Only, Gamble Responsibly – www.begambleaware.org
Where to Play the Starburst XXXtreme Slot
Wagering 40x Free Spins Winnings
UK Accepted
Wagering 60x Free Spins Winnings
UK Accepted
Terms Apply – 18+, New Customers Only, Gamble Responsibly – www.begambleaware.org
