Star Clusters

Review of Star Clusters Megaclusters™

Star Clusters Megaclusters™ is from the Australian developers Big Time Gaming and for one reason or another there is always a lot of interest when they unveil a new release. There is little doubt that this slot could turn out to be their greatest release since Megaways were first introduced. Big Time Gaming are known for their brilliance and innovation and this is something that players have come to expect.

One thing you can guarantee with a Big Time Gaming slot is that they never ride on the tails of a prior success, they put everything into every slot they produce. It would be understandable if they did simply sit back and let the royalties from their Megaways licenses to land, but this is not the way this company work. Not ones to let the grass grow under their feet the team have been busy developing new ways to entertain their fans. First Big Time Gaming provided the first cluster pays slot and now they have gone one further by introducing a brand-new game engine that will become to be known by Megaclusters™.

Theme and Design

Once the slot opens you will see a new design which may be quite familiar as it is full of jewels as well as the classic menu area where you can choose and select your options. The background is remarkably simple and if you have seen the sci-fi comedy Spaceballs it is lot like the baddies go through the light speed to clock up ludicrous speeds. For those who have not heard of this the best way I can explain it is the game appears to fly through the time warp at light speed effect.

I must pay homage to the audio as this was created with complete passion by Nik Robinson the CEO and with the use of a Moog synth, he created the music then layered some fun samples over the top. You need to listen out for the references that he has included such as Pac Man, Metal Gear, Bonanza to name just a few. Be sure that you have speakers that can handle the bass as the soundtrack really does provide a sensory feast.

Game Play, Statistics and Symbols

Once the slot loads you will see the 4x4 reel set which is set within a retro, high end device. The slot is a cluster pays slot with a twist that I will get to shortly and due to this you have no pay lines to contend with, instead you land need to land five matching symbols that connect horizontally or vertically.

You will see when you open your pay table that there is an abundance of gems of various colours including yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, green, and aqua. The values of the jewels range from 10x to 50x when you land 25 or more in a cluster. To help you pull the clusters together are the two wilds, one is regular and the other a special Gold wild.
Both wilds can substitute for all the regular pay symbols to create winning combinations. The difference between the wilds is that when a Gold wild becomes part of a cluster a multiplier is also added to your win. The multiplier begins at x1 and then rises by x1 every time a gold wild is in a cluster with no limit. The multiplier is reset on every new spin unless you have activated the free spins.

When it comes to placing your bet, the minimum is 20p per spin and this rises to a maximum of £20 per spins. There is no doubt that this is a highly volatile slot however not the most volatile from this developer. If you have been caught with other Big Time Gaming slots you will be pleased to see that the match model for this game is more lenient and the return to player is a solid 96.54% which will be appealing to all types of player.

Star Features

Once you land a winner the Megaclusters mechanic bursts into life and this is simply but pure genius. Each symbol that is part of a winning combination will split to reveal four smaller symbols so that you have even more chances to land additional Megaclusters.
If you land wins with the smaller symbols, they are removed so that new symbols can fall into the spaces that they have vacated until you land no more winning combinations. When wins are created using the smaller symbols, they are removed to allow space for other wins to occur and this happens until there are no more wins landed. This means that when you are in the base game the 16 tiles on your 4x4 reel set can split into 4 smaller tiles when they are part of a winning combination and this brings the total of Megaclusters up to the maximum of 64.

The Free Spins are what it is all about with this slot and this feature is activated when you land 5 or more consecutive reactions in the base game and you are rewarded with 2 free spins and +1 spin for any additional reaction greater than the 5th. Should you land any Gold Wild Multipliers in your base game it is carried over to the free spins.

The free spins are played over an expanded 8x8 grid, and in the same way as the base game if you land a cluster each winning symbol splits into 4 smaller ones. Therefore, the grid can technically reach 16x16 and should you land the entire grid you will be able to take advantage of 256 Megaclusters. The Gold Wilds also act in the same way they do in the base game, and when the Gold Wild Multiplier totals x10, you will be awardee with +2 free spins and there are no limits.

Final Thoughts

Star Clusters Megaclusters™ is yet another breakthrough in the milestone in the growth of online gaming which will change the way of cluster slots forever. As with all Big Time Gaming slots we need to look at the brand-new mechanic. Granted when you first open the slot it does look basic, but this is the type of slot that will grow on players.

This slot is highly entertaining and challenging particularly when it is covered with tiny symbols breaking into even small symbols which is a veritable visual feast. Big Time Gaming has carved its own unique niche in the slot world that is easy, fun and games that you can lose yourself in.

I really enjoyed playing this game although at points it did lack personality, but with such an ingenious idea in the Megaclusters there is no need for any additional bells and whistles. The slot is perfectly balanced, and you will see that you can be entertained for long periods of time without your balance diminishing. The total win potential in the base game is up to 1,300x your stake with the biggest rewards available in the free spins where you can win a massive 23,000x your stake.