As far as the theme goes BTG have kept this fairly basic for Star Clusters which is of course the debut slot with their new mechanic. But there is still plenty visually and audibly to keep your senses alive, including snippets of classic electronic and synthpop music, as well as catchphrases from some popular online streamers.

Heading over to the paytable we find that it is completely made up of coloured gems, which BTG have used in some of their previous slot titles. The lower value symbols are coloured turquoise, yellow, orange, and green, with pays ranging from 0.1x, up to 20x when winning clusters are formed through them. Premium paying symbols are reserved for the colours blue, red, and purple, where completing clusters of 25 symbols or more will pay 25x, 30x, and 50x respectively. 

It's not at all expensive to play Star Clusters and you can get straight into the action for as little €0.20 a spin, with the maximum stake on the game reaching €20 a play. As it has now become the norm with a BTG slot, the structure of the bet sizes have been well thought out with players of all sized budgets comfortably being able to find a stake to play at that is comparable to their bankroll.

When the action commences on Star Clusters Megaclusters™ you will initially be playing on a grid that is 4x4 in size, which gives you a total of 16 Megaclusters™ that is displayed at the bottom of the game reels. To adjust the format of the grid you will need to form winning combinations on the reels, and this is done through creating clusters of 5 or more symbols that are adjacent to each other.

When these wins are formed each symbol that has been involved in that combination will explode and be replaced by 4 smaller symbols. Each of these symbols will now count as a Megacluster in their own right, with the Megacluters™ counter at the bottom of the reels adjusting accordingly.

As you can see from the image above there are now far more chances for you to be able to create winning clusters, and if all larger symbols can be broken down into smaller ones then a maximum of 64 Megaclusters™ can be in play at once in the base game. 

It should of course be noted that once you fail to make a winning cluster of symbols the game reels will revert back to the default set up of 4x4.

Star Clusters features the cascading reels mechanic which is integral to triggering the free spin bonus that we will talk about shortly. It is also the key factor in creating further wins after the larger symbols have broken down into smaller ones.

Any winning clusters that are formed through the smaller symbols will see those symbols eliminated from the game reels. New ones will then drop down to replace them with this process continuing each time that a win is formed. 

There are two wild symbols that feature on Star Clusters Megaclusters™. The first is the standard wild that will substitute for all other symbols and help you in your quest to create more winning clusters, and the second is the gold wild multiplier.

Positioned at the top of the reels you will see the gold wild multiplier symbol and a multiplier value next to it. Whenever one or more of these symbols is involved in a win it will increase in value by x1. A huge plus point with the gold wild multiplier is that its value will hold and carry over into the free spin bonus when you trigger it.

Again for reference you should be aware that the value of the gold wild multiplier will reset to x1 each time that a new spin takes place from the 4x4 grid format. 

So as we mentioned previously cascading reels are the way in which you trigger the free spin bonus on Star Clusters. If you complete 5 consecutive reel cascades then you will be awarded with 2 free spins, each subsequent reel cascade after the 5th will award 1 additional free spin to your total.

You can track the progress of your cascades by looking at the sides of the reels, these light up with each successful cascade that is achieved. 

The bonus round on Star Clusters will begin on a grid that is 8x8 in size and consists of a total of 64 Megaclusters™. The aim once again is to form clusters that comprise of 5 symbols or more which in turn will see those symbols explode and be replaced by 4 smaller symbols.

In the image above you can see that creating more Megaclusters™ can soon lead to having an insane amount of chances to win, with a total of 256 Megaclusters™ being able to be active if all symbols explode to create smaller ones. Again it's notable that after a non winning connection the grid will revert back to the 8x8 format.

Our friend the gold wild multiplier plays a huge part in the free spin bonus. When a winning cluster also involves this symbol it will cause the multiplier to increase in value by x1. Every time that you hit 10x and all 10x multiples thereafter you will be awarded with 2 extra free spins.

Keep a look out for when two gold wild multipliers both appear in the same win, they will also multiply each other before the winning symbols. This can potentially lead to some mouth watering wins, especially if it is a large cluster of premium symbols.

We can always rely on Big Time Gaming to bring something new and unique to the table, and once again they have delivered something special that offers a vast amount of entertainment in Star Clusters Megaclusters™.

The amount of free spins that are awarded on the feature trigger may initially feel a little low, of course they can be increased with further cascades but players are much more used to getting a larger amount when triggering the bonus on a slot. We do feel however that the bonuses will come thick and fast, and with the volume of symbols that can appear within the grid it might only take one spin to roll in something that's truly epic.

Cluster pays slots have always had a fairly decent following with plenty of other providers trying their hand within that niche in recent times. This however from BTG is next level slotting and Megaclusters™ could well prove to be the gaming mechanic that eclipses the Megaways™ gaming engine.

STAR CLUSTERS FAQ

AUTHOR BIO