Pokie developers love a good crystal themed slot, but while that could be an invitation to churn out a fairly basic and by the numbers game for some developers, Microgaming have used Crystal Rift as an opportunity to make something that looks really good. With excellent graphics and a stylish, modern looking set of sounds and animations, this really has the look of a video game about it. But will you blast the right rocks in your search for treasure, or will you be left with nothing but dust? Let’s take a look in our Crystal Rift slot game review.
Crystal Rift is set in the deep darkness of a cave packed with valuable gems, but don’t think that means you’re in for a gloomy time, because Microgaming have taken the time to make this game look magnificent. Shafts of light catch the dust particles in the background to create lovely yellow clouds in the shadows, while the symbols themselves are extremely detailed and look great, with shards of various valuable looking crystals embedded in lumps of rock. The game actually feels very space age, and from the clean white interface to the futuristic sound effects and the glowing, neon pay lines, you’ll be impressed with how high-tech the design looks.
The Crystal Rift slot game is a cascading reels slot, which means rather than a traditional spin mechanic the winning combinations are removed and new symbols fall into their place. If this results in another win then yet more symbols fall to replace them, which can result in a cascade of wins that can keep going, effectively giving you free re-spins. The downside of this is that the betting and winning range aren’t terribly high, with a maximum bet of £/$/€50 per spin and a maximum win of 1000x your stake, but you’re trading big prizes for more wins, and the end result is an exactly average RTP of 96%.
The cascading reels are also key to the bonus game in Crystal Rift, which is activated by landing three consecutive wins in one of the bonus areas of the screen. Before each spin you’ll see a group of the hexagonal symbol areas picked out in white, and each win inside one of these areas will build up the walls around it until they’re complete. This will transform every symbol contained within one of those areas into a randomly selected type of wild, from basic to insane, which will then win you a prize and set off another potential chain of wins. You can even re-activate the bonus again if you manage to land three more wins inside bonus areas during the last bonus, so it can go on forever!
Crystal Rift is a combination of excellent graphics, sound and animation and its addictive and fun mechanics make it a real treat to have a spin on. It won’t make you a millionaire overnight, but you’ll have a lot of fun and make a decent wedge in the process!