ALL ABOUT STAR CLUSTER MEGACLUSTERS™ SLOT
We’ve talked about our adoration for Big Time Gaming before on The Slot Buzz, so we won’t go into the history of their impact on the slots business again. The Megaways™ game format is now a feature of CA slot sites and casinos, and its popularity is a tribute to this Australian developer’s brilliance and originality. With almost every new release since Bonanza in 2016, BTG has continued to push things forward, innovate, and add new concepts, with nary a flop in their collection. Again, in Summer 2020, they’re giving us even more craziness by incorporating Mega magic into the cluster pays grid slot model. The first in what we believe will be a series of Megaclusters™ games is an amazing looking slot with tremendous win potential, and while it may be low on features, it is still an excellent looking slot with fantastic win potential.
THE GAME, SYMBOLS, AND GRAPHICS
The bright and cheery hues, all pinks, reds, yellows, and greens, are the first thing that strikes you when you start up the Megaclusters™ game. The background is a basic pink, and you’ll be serenaded throughout the game by an electro-house mashup that will have you bopping along. The grid itself starts off as a basic 4×4, but that’s not going to last, is it? No. But we’ll get to it in a moment.
To win, you must create clusters of five or more symbols that connect horizontally and/or vertically.
The symbols are all gemstones in a variety of hues, and hitting 25 in a single cluster can result in a 50x multiplier. You should also be aware of two essential wild symbols. The basic wild and the Gold Wild are the two types of wild. Both substitute for all other gems to form winning clusters, with the Gold Wild adding multipliers to each victory in which it appears. Each Gold Wild in a cluster increases the win multiplier by one. When the victory is finished, the multiplier is reset.
RTP, VARIANCE, AND PAYOUTS
Star Cluster, like virtually all Big Time Gaming and Megaways™ slots, has a high volatility, albeit not as high as a Bonanza or a Lil Devil. It’s not a bad slot, and it may be a good entry point for individuals who want a taste of high-risk action but are put off by the extended periods of dry spins that are common in high-volatility slots. The RTP is set at a respectable 96.54 percent, and the highest payout of nearly 20,000x promises that this game will produce some spectacular moments. However, keep in mind that huge, massive victories will be rare and far between.
GAMEPLAY AND FEATURES
Megaclusters™
The Megaclusters™ mechanism is the game’s main attraction, while there are also free spins and multipliers to help with the fundamental gameplay. As a result, once you hit a winning cluster, each of the symbols that make up that cluster will split apart into four smaller ones, with the potential to generate further clusters. In the original version of a cluster pays grid game, as the smaller symbols win, they are removed from the grid and new ones drop in to replace them.
Bonus Spins
You’ll need five consecutive wins or reactions from a single spin to activate the free spins round. You’ll gain two free spins plus one extra for any reaction or consecutive win of more over five. The multiplier value earned from Gold Wilds during the spin that started the bonus round is also carried over into your free spins.
The free spins round follows the same rules as the main game, with the exception that the grid extends to 8×8 and further 2 spins are added to your total when the Gold Wild multiplier hits 10x, with no limit to how many times this can happen.
When more symbols are in play on the extended grid and the Gold Multiplier is at its highest, the action in this slot clearly heats up. It’s game time!
OUR OPINION
Star Clusters is a novel spin on the classic grid slot with a smart variation on the regular gameplay, as you might expect. It’s a little low on functionality, so we’ll have to wait and see how things progress when new Megacluster games are released in the next months and years. Despite its simplicity, it appears to be a tremendously engaging game with a wider appeal than some of BTG’s previous high-variance monsters. So relax and have fun while gambling wisely.
Other top-quality slots from Big Time Gaming include Wild Flower, Bonanza, and Extra Chilli.
