Stellar Ways Review
So mysterious and boundless, space has remained one of the things that humanity still isn’t able to conquer, or at least explore. However, in the slots world, space is a far more open book, and has been used as a setting in countless games. What’s more, slot developers often stick to a certain template when it comes to designing a cosmic-themed slot, recycling legendary Starburst over and over again. 1x2gaming has taken such an approach while producing Stellar Ways, yet another addition to the 1×2 Classics series, this time taking players to a magical universe full of glimmering gemstones.
Stellar Ways – Slot Outlook
Classic doesn’t always mean being stripped down to basics or outdated design. It’s about the experience that a classic slot offers, and this depends on the gameplay to a larger extent. The design of Stellar Ways is beautiful, yet still, nothing impressive to be found here as it has a strong Starburst feel to it, with those reels made up of shiny gems set in a backdrop of outer space.
Stellar Ways – Reel Screen
Here, the actions take place on a 5×3 grid with 486 paylines, paying both ways. Players drop in by setting bets from 0.1$ to 100$ per spin, which should appeal to both high-rollers and less risky players. The slot is powered by a medium-volatile math model, so wins should occur fairly often. However, be sure to check the paytables before depositing since Stellar Ways comes with ranging RTP values, which means that the payback percentage may vary depending on where you play. By default, though, RTP is decent at 96.1%, yet it can be lowered to 94.07%. Anyway, don’t expect to be showered in diamonds since the max win is only 1,500x the stake.
The paytable includes all sorts of precious gems alongside a couple of space objects, split into two categories. The lower side is made up of purple, blue, red, green, and orange gemstones, while premiums include in ascending order red and blue planets. Scoring wins requires landing at least 3 instances of the same symbol adjacently starting from either the leftmost or the rightmost reel, and full combos are achieved by matching 5 symbols on a win line.
Stellar Ways – Bonus Features
Those who are familiar with NetEnt’s Starburst slot know what kind of gameplay to expect in Stellar Ways. The game relies heavily on Wild symbols, which not only substitute for any other regular symbols, assisting players to hit wins, but also play into the features, explained below.
Stellar Ways – Expanded Wild Respins
Wilds symbols can only appear on reels 2, 3, and 4, but whenever they do, they expand to cover the reel entirely and trigger a Respin. Expanded Wilds remain in place while the other reels spin again, and if a new Wild symbol lands, it also expands and awards another Respin.
Stellar Ways – Slot Verdict
Well, Stellar Ways is a fairly enjoyable game, but there can be only one Starburst, and bona fide copies aren’t likely to ever reach the same success. 1x2gaming has already produced a slot with Expanding Wild Respins mechanics and both ways pay system recently, Fields of Clover, which seems a much more appealing option. It’s got way fewer paylines but features progressive Multipliers and comes with twice the potential. Anyway, if you’re looking for a break from Starburst but still somehow are able to stand the cosmic theme, Stellar Ways might be an option.
Pros
- Magical atmosphere
- Exciting Respins feature
Cons
- Starburst copy