Starburst Game Demo

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. Here's a rundown of the symbols and what they entail:

• 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 bet way.

• 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 has "Max Bet" and "Auto Play" buttons on either side of the spin button, and you’ll find the buttons to adjust your coin value and level for your wagers.

Like most software providers nowadays, NetEnt created this slot to be responsive on all devices, including smartphones, tablets PCs and Macs, thanks to its HTML5 framework. Overall, you’ll find little, if any, reason to complain about its compatibility.

Starburst Wilds and Respins

There isn’t much to work with as a bonus in the game. We don’t get free spins or multipliers commonly found on other online slots. However, the wild icon's presence adds an element worth mentioning in the next section.

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. 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.

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 in Starburst:

1. Get yourself to a reputable online casino or select our recommended operator.

2. Search for Starburst in the search bar and load the game.

3. Adjust your bet level and coin value. These are tied to ten paylines automatically.

4. You can use “Max Bet” to go all in.

5. Tap the “Auto Play” or “Spin” button to get the game underway.

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.

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 volatility 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.

My Top Tips and Tricks to Winning

I have a few tips you may try if you want to win.

1. Test out Starburst for free in demo mode before you bet real money. This will give you a better idea of the slot's mechanics.

2. Take a detour to the “Info” section to see the paytable and other features to properly familiarize yourself with all the details.

3. Split your budget into small wagers to have more spins. I generally recommend avoiding the max bet so you can extend your game time

4. Set a strict budget for your gaming session and once you reach it, stop playing. This will prevent you from spending more than you can afford.

5. Play the game using casino bonuses. These will boost your available bankroll significantly. Just make sure to ensure that the bonus can be wagered with Starburst.

My Personal Experience Playing Starburst

When I was re-testing Starburst, it was nice to see that the game does not feel old, despite debuting a decade ago. It loaded quickly and I immediately set it to 50 auto spins on a $10 wager. A few wins came along, but the hit frequency is low at 26%, despite being a low volatility slot machine.

My biggest win came from having two wild reels, as I 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, I 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 I Tested Starburst

I 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 I even enjoyed how the theme was perfectly executed and felt modern despite the slot's age. I 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 I consider the slot to be really player friendly.

Starburst Vs. Similar Slot Games

There are quite a few online slots that give you the same space and/or gem vibes. They also come with decent RTPs and mechanics. Here's a brief overview of my top 3 slots games that are similar to Starburst.

Slot	RTP	Theme	Payline	Provider	Volatility
Starmania	97.87%	Space, gems	10 (both ways)	NextGen	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, Staburst XXXtreme increases the available parameters, the RTP to 96.26% and the maximum win to 20,000x On the other hand, NetEnt shot up the volatility and decreased the paylines to nine.

However, the biggest perk of this new version is the added bonus features. These include random multipliers, respin, expanding wild, multipliers, expanding symbols, random wilds, and more.

My 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 lack of bonus features is a significant downside, but the low volatility balances things and restores the fun.

The return to player is decent, and the both-way paylines give you something to look forward to. They are ideal for using a slot strategy. So overall, I recommend this game to Canadian players looking to enjoy low-risk gaming sessions.