Starburst Demo
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Starburst has been the star slot machine at several online casinos and the centre of many free-spin casino bonuses. Starburst's main characteristics include:
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Offers a respins bonus
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Low max win
Should You Play Starburst?
Play Starburst if you enjoy respin bonus features. The visuals are stunning, and the music adds to the galactic feel when looking beyond the reels into the background.
This online video slot has pros and cons:
Things We Like
The gameplay has a magical galactic atmosphere
Respins are available
Expanding wilds are available to drive up your winning chances
The game uses a low-variance engine
Things to consider
500x is relatively small as the maximum win
The slot has no free-spin feature
Starburst Gameplay
NetEnt puts up a 5x3 playing area for the Starburst online slot. It is space-themed, with gems to colour the galactic experience and ten paylines to grab a win. You must land at least three matching icons starting on the leftmost reel for a winning combination. Learn more about all the symbols on the Starburst reels.
Purple Gem
This symbol packs a payout that starts at 0.5x for three on a payline. The payout increases to 1x and 2.5x for four and five on a payline, respectively.
Blue Gem
The blue gem has a similar payout to the purple gem. That means you’ll win 0.5x, 1x, and 2.5x for three, four, or five blue gems on a betway.
Red Gem
This icon rolls out higher payouts, giving players 0.7x, 1.5x, and 4x for 3, 4, and 5 on a betway.
Green Gem
The green gem goes even higher with payouts of 0.8x, 2x, and 5x for 3, 4, and 5 on a payline.
Yellow Gem
This icon rounds up the mid-paying segment with payouts of 1x, 2.5x, and 6x. These values come when you land 3, 4, or 5 yellow gems on a payline.
Seven (7)
The 7 is a high-paying symbol, although not the highest-paying. Players receive 2.5x, 6x, and 12x for 3, 4, and 5 on a payline.
Bar
This icon is the highest-paying in the game. You’ll receive 5x, 20x, and 25x coins for landing 3, 4, and 5 on a payline.
Storyline
Starburst is the first release in its series and one of NetEnt’s greatest hits. You’ll find the gameplay feels like you are above the clouds, exploring the galaxy. In addition, the background music stays with you all the way, picking up steam when you spin the reels.
Starburst Design and User Experience
You’d have to look up the release date of this video slot after seeing the graphics. The timeless design looks vibrant with its near-borderless reels. That makes the reel spins look fluid as the symbols flow down the screen.
The icons have a zoom-in and zoom-out animation when they form a winning combination. Then, you have an exploding flash of light when the wild symbols appear and expand to fill the reels. Those are immersive, especially with the galactic music guiding you as you play.
Starburst’s user interface is not basic, adding controls that even some modern slots do not have. The "Max Bet" and "Auto Play" buttons are on either side of the spin button, which remains in the centre below the reels. You’ll find the buttons to adjust your coin value and level for your wagers.
This slot is browser-based and responsive on devices. Its HTML5 framework makes it fluid on several devices, including smartphones, PCs, Macs, desktops, etc. Overall, you’ll find little, if any, reason to complain about its compatibility.
Starburst Wilds, Bonuses, and Free Spins
Wild Symbol
The Starburst wilds can appear anywhere on the second, third, and fourth reels. They will substitute for other symbols if that gives you a win. Consequently, you can land combo wins when this symbol appears on the reels.
There isn’t much to work with as a bonus in the game. We don’t get free spins or multipliers. However, the wild icon's presence adds an element worth mentioning in the next section.
Expanding Wilds
The wild symbol will always fill up an entire reel whenever it appears. Hence, you don’t need to land three to get a wild reel.
This bonus increases the chances of having combo-winning combinations. Notwithstanding, you can only get expanding wild reels on the second, third, and fourth reels.
Respins
The appearance of a wild icon triggers a respin. You’ll have a wild reel, but you will also get a respin that can land more wild icons.
Repins will continue until you get to the third one. At that point, landing a new wild symbol will not trigger it. Everything will reset to the base level as you continue.
How to Play Starburst
Follow the steps below if you are ready to smash some gems on a payline in Starburst:
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Get yourself to a reputable online casino.
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Load Starburst.
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Take a detour to the “Info” section to see the paytable and other bonus details.
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Adjust your bet level and coin value. These are tied to ten paylines automatically.
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You can use “Max Bet” to go all in.
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Tap the “Auto Play” or “Spin” button to get the game underway.
Starburst’s simple nature gives you ten paylines. You can place wagers from C$10 to C$100 for the highest payout of 500x.
What is Starburst’s RTP?
The RTP of Starburst is 96.09%. It manages to edge past the average of 96% we use in the slot industry. So, for a C$100 wager, you may expect a theoretical return of C$96.09 in the long run.
Starburst’s low variance will draw you in for a casual play. It is not a high-risk online slot machine, resulting in relaxed gameplay. You’ll like being on a spaceship exploring the galaxy.
How Can I win at Starburst?
You can win a spin on Starburst if you have matching symbols from the leftmost reel that stay adjacent. The minimum number is three, and they can be on different rows. Landing five gives you the highest payout for that symbol.
Our Top Tips and Tricks to Winning
We have a few tips you may try if you want to win. They include splitting your budget into small wagers to have more spins and having a strict budget for a gaming session.
Our Personal Experience Playing Starburst
When we were re-testing Starburst, it was nice to see that the game does not feel old, despite debuting a decade ago. It loaded quickly, and we immediately set it to 50 auto spins on a C$10 wager. A few wins came along, but we lost a chunk of our budget instead of winning. We hit the re-spin feature after over 100 spins. The hit frequency is low at 26%, despite being a low-variance slot machine. Our biggest win came from having two wild reels, as we could not hit three wild reels. The theme itself was fantastic and the design of the game was really well done. Besides the lack of big wins, we still enjoyed having a go at this game, and it would be great for avid players looking for a casual change to their daily slot routine.
How We Tested Starburst
We tested Starburst by playing a few spins on the demo version and moved to the real money version setting 100 spins on auto-spin and 100 manual spins. The game itself ran smoothly, on various devices, and we even enjoyed how the theme was perfectly executed and felt modern despite the slot's age. We had a go at the different features of the slot game and unlocked some super fun bonus rounds. The gameplay was easy to get used to and we consider the slot to be really player friendly.
Starburst Vs. Similar Slot Games
Slot | RTP | Theme | Payline | Provider | Volatility |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Starburst | 96.06% | Space, gems | 10 (both ways) | NetEnt | Low |
Gemblast | 96% | Gems | 10 | Endorphina | Low-Mid |
Stellar Ways | 96.1% | Gems and space | 486 (both ways) | 1X2 Gaming | Medium |
Other Slot Games
NetEnt took the amazing aspects of the original Starburst and made something better. The sequel will astound you, even though the slot doesn't have many siblings.
Starburst XXXtreme
Most parameters you could think of have increased in this variation. The RTP has increased to 96.26%, while the maximum win has increased to 20,000x.
NetEnt shot up the volatility but decreased the paylines to nine. The following bonus features make the sequel a steal: random multipliers, respin, expanding wild, multipliers, expanding symbols, random wilds, etc.
Our Final Thoughts
Starburst does not look like it will run out of steam soon. Instead, the game goes strong with its simple mechanics, respin, and expanding wilds. The few bonus features call for worry, but the low variance balances things and restores the fun.
The return to player is decent, and the both-way paylines give us something to look forward to in each gaming session. They are ideal for using a slot strategy.
We recommend this game to Canadian players looking to enjoy low-risk gaming.
Starburst Frequently Asked Questions
There are a few things worth mentioning, but let’s address them as questions.
NetEnt, the company behind Starburst, is licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority to provide Type 1 gaming services. Its license type is B2B Critical Gaming Supply. Hence, Starburst is a legal game, provided you are on a regulated platform.
Having a budget and splitting your wagers into smaller amounts will increase your winning chances. Being a low-variance slot means you don’t need big bets to land considerable wins.
You are free to play this game without making any real-money deposits. Most online casinos host a demo version.
Go for Canadian casinos licensed by the AGCO such as Fire Vegas Casino.
Fact-checked by Valerie Lizotte
Reviewer
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