Berryburst

About Berryburst

Much has occurred with technology since the release of Starburst, and the graphics in Berryburst reflect this. But while major advances have certainly happened in the last five years, at heart, the same simple scheme is also used in this long-awaited successor. At first glance, this seems to mean that, like its predecessor, Berryburst is straightforward to the point of being basic, which is being said in a nice and uncomplicated way because a lack of visual clutter is actually quite refreshing in the modern slot scene. It’s minimalism done right with a clear focus on what matters: the symbols, which have the winning combinations, in this instance, a prize with an inviting tone of pink, purple, green, and orange.

Bets and paylines

Berryburst is in many ways a classic slot machine. It has five reels and three rows, although the game is designed so the symbols float instead of sitting on reels. Unlike other slot machines, however, Berryburst does not have paylines. Instead, it has what the manufacturers call "cluster pays." If you are an experienced player of NetEnt's slots, you might recognize this from, for example, the game Aloha! Cluster Pays. This means that instead of traditional paylines, you win by getting identical symbols in a cluster, or getting a cluster to form on the screen. In order to get a win, you need to get a cluster of at least five identical symbols, and at most, you can get a cluster of 15 identical symbols, which means that the entire playing field is filled with the same symbol.

Among the entire playing field, if there arises a cluster of the symbol of lowest value (not just a few), you get an automatic win of 50x your bet. If you happen to fill the entire screen with the highest-valued raspberries or a bunch of wilds (again, not just a few), you get an automatic win of 250x your bet. That potential win can only go up further if you happen to get a re-spin from the game and land more of those high-value symbols (wilds or raspberries) on the screen. The potential for winning in this game is definitely impressive, with the maximum payout potential set at 500x. Stakes for the game are between $0.10 and $100, which in New Zealand should feel like somewhere between a dollar and a thousand. With a game RTP of 96.56%, you're also, almost assuredly, getting a good deal for the price of simplicity.

Symbols

As mentioned above and as one could deduce from the name, this game mainly revolves around berries and fruits. The only notable exception is the classic card symbols, i.e. hearts, clubs, spades, and diamonds, which usually yield the lowest payouts. But when it comes to berries and fruits, the selection is really fruitful, vivid, and diverse. Among the main symbols you'll find raspberries, limes, kiwis, orange wedges, and blueberries. It's actually the glowing raspberry that serves as the highest-paying regular symbol. But if you land limes, blueberries, or orange wedges, you should still be in for some nice-sized profits. Any way you slice it, NetEnt has done a great job of serving up high-quality, well-designed symbols that practically leap off the screen.

Berryburst lacks the exciting action and amazing bonus features of other slots. The only bonus symbol you'll find is a wild. Like Starburst, the only thing you can hope for that'll bring in the big bucks is a wild, which, despite being devoid of any resemblance to fruit, looks pretty cool in the sense that it symbolizes an ice cube. Who doesn't want an ice cube in their summer fruit bonfire? But if you're expecting Berryburst to bring home the bacon with a bunch of other awesome-looking symbols that might pop out of nowhere and give you an electric jolt, you're going to be disappointed. This is the only way the game can tease you with a win. Still, if you play the game, you're far more likely to be impressed by what it does with the wild and how fun it can be to play with pretty much the same level of franticness as the average Starburst session.

Bonus features

Berryburst is, like its predecessor, a game that does not feature complex bonus functions. However, don't mistake simplicity for lack of excitement or profit potential. Berryburst can actually be quite profitable, and you have a good chance of hitting the game's only bona fide bonus feature: the wild symbol. The wild can show up anywhere on the reels and, when it does, it's not just any old wild; it's an expanding, sticky wild that can presumably give you a ton of winning opportunities.

When the wild symbol shows up on the playing field, it expands to cover a reel and thus becomes a sticky wild. What the wild then does is trigger a re-spin feature. If you won something in a previous spin, it will be paid out before you initiate your re-spins. During your re-spins, there is also the possibility of the wild symbol reappearing and replacing other symbols. The wild symbol remains of the sticky character and thus continues to remain, while triggering new re-spins. As a maximum, you can get five re-spins, and if you are lucky enough to do this, you will be rewarded with a win of 500X your stake. So just like in Starburst, NetEnt has chosen to bet on quality instead of quantity when it comes to bonus features in Berryburst.

Summary

We trust you are set for a salad of fruits that will seduce your taste buds! Berryburst is thus the NetEnt sequel to the hit slot Starburst, with many design elements reminiscent of its much-loved predecessor. Yet, whereas Starburst seemed a little simple by today's standards, Berryburst notches up the design and presentation considerably. This is still, to be sure, a simple game, really in the spirit of a light fruit salad, with almost no extras but a pretty stage set for the symbols to float across. And from there, the thrill of the chase: to win big.

The biggest news, compared to Starburst, is that the game does not contain paylines. Instead, NetEnt has something called "Cluster Pay." This means that you should not hinge your wins on same symbols appearing in a row. Instead, you want to get as many of the same symbols in a cluster of at least five as you can. This is actually a really fun variation when it comes to slots, and it is something that NetEnt has featured in the past in some of their slots. This is a fruity new development.