Reef Raider

Reef Raider Overview

Welcome to Reef Raider, one of the newest cluster pay engine online free casino slot games for fun from the industry legends, NetEnt. In this game, players are invited to trawl the watery depths in search of lost treasure deposited there by careless pirates fleeing the authorities. As you would expect from NetEnt, the graphics, playing mechanics, and symbol design are all excellent. The charming cartoon style of the slot combined with the seemingly endless features and attractive payouts will have players spending at least more than one game here.

The features for this slot include everything from the obligatory avalanche feature to a treasure trail and a free spins feature. In addition to these bonuses, there is also a multiplier feature. This works by landing a multiplier symbol next to a winning cluster on the vertical axis or the horizontal. The relevant multiplier then boosts the payout of your win. The treasure trail feature is also much more complex than it first may appear, as, at different points in the trail, you are awarded different new bonuses. All features will be explained in greater detail later in the review.

Theme and Symbols

The theme for this game is an underwater adventure that takes place on a reef. The perspective that the game gives you is as though you are looking down onto the reef from above like a diver or snorkeler. From the colour of the water, the reef is probably very shallow too. The titular character in this piece is the crab pirate whose charming hook hand and eyepatch match his tricolour hat and peg leg. He is this game's adorable mascot.

The background for this slot is the reef on which this game takes place. The board sits within a small clearing of coral where only calm white sand can be seen. On the peripheries of the board are various coloured and textured corals. To the right are some beautiful pink spindly corals joined by a pale blue coral in a different shape. To the left, there is some more spindly coral with some seaweed and a thicker purple coral. Across the screen, there are also scattered golden coins to remind you of the treasure hidden in these waters.

The board for this game is clever in that it looks like it has been drawn into the sand beneath it. The board's border also acts as the bonus trail for this slot, with the bonus symbols for each trail bonus located on each corner.

The symbols for this game are made up of low-paying, high-paying and special symbols. The low-paying symbols are comprised of the 4 shell symbols in green, blue, yellow and purple. The more valuable set are the gem symbols which come in red, orange and yellow and purple. The most valuable of the standard symbols is the red jewel symbol, which pays 150x your total stake for a cluster of 25 or more. The specials for this game are the 2 wilds. The first wild is the clam, and the other is the coin. This game also has multiplier symbols, represented by a treasure map.

Game Play

Reef Raider is played on a 7-reel, 7-row cluster pays mechanic game board. To create winners in this game, players must land clusters of 5 or more of the same symbols on the board. The betting range for Reef Raider is 20p to as much as £100 per spin. To change your betting level per spin, use the bet adjuster tool located at the bottom of the playing window.
Further information regarding the slot, including a display of the paytable, can be accessed by clicking on the settings menu. The spin button is located underneath the reels. You can set up auto spins in the game's menu.

The volatility for this slot is rated in the medium category. The return to player percentage for Reef Raider is 96.02%, which is about average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 8,500x your total stake.

Features

The first feature included in this game is the Avalanche feature. This feature is triggered every time that a successful win is registered. When this happens, the winning symbols disappear off the reels and are replaced by a new set from above. If another winning cluster is formed, then this process is repeated. Every consecutive avalanche also charges the bonus trail meter by one.
The next feature in this game is called the multiplier feature. To activate this feature, a multiplier symbol must land adjacent to a winning cluster. The size of the relevant multiplier then boosts the payout earned from that cluster. The multipliers can come in sizes ranging from 2x to 50x.
Next up is the range of treasure trail bonuses on offer. These are triggered at various stages along the bonus trail map, which you progress along by landing consecutive cascades/avalanches. They are as follows:
Landing 3 avalanches activates the Anchor Dop feature, which removes 1, 2 or 3 low-value symbols and removes them from the board.
Landing 6 avalanches activates the Random Wilds feature. Here between 4 and 8 coin wilds are added to the grid. These symbols can substitute for every symbol barring the multiplier.
Landing 9 avalanches activates the mystery chest feature, which replaces between 2 and 16 low and medium value symbols from the reels. These selected symbols are transformed into the same symbol, and a new payout calculation is made.
Finally, landing 12 avalanches triggers the cannon blast feature, which removes 1 symbol from play with all the symbols on the same row and reel also being removed.
Lastly, we have the free spins round. This is activated when players managed to charge all 15 positions on the bonus trail. This will give you a minimum of 9 free spins. The game will also add to your free spins by 2 every time you land 3 consecutive cascades.
During this round, something called the Mystery Overlay is active. This means that 1 symbol is placed in the central position on the grid with 4 more added vertically or horizontally. The mystery symbols will then transform into the same symbol. The bonus trail is also active during this round.

Conclusion

The pirate crab can be a very rewarding shipmate if you play your cards right in this game. This is especially true if you manage to trigger 1 or more of the many features available. The RTP and top prize are also encouraging from a statistical point of view. If you like nautically themed games with cluster pay wins, this is about as good as it gets.