Starburst pokie review with bonuses

Starburst (Birth of Stars) is rightly considered one of the most famous pokies from the studio NetEnt, which quickly became famous after its release in 2012. This pokie is a timeless classic that has retained its relevance to this day. Players' interest in this vibrant game has not dwindled even after all these years, and that's great! Starburst holds a place of honor among the leading pokies and often acts as a kind of ambassador for promotions with free spins and welcome bonus offers for newcomers.

The simple design of Starburst is part of the genius of this great game, which is played on 5 reels with 10 paylines, with payouts possible in both directions (Win Both Ways mechanic). A hint of nostalgia for the old pokie halls can be seen here with the naked eye, but this nostalgia is pleasant rather than intrusive. There is a lot going on in the game (although the pokie is only known for a bonus feature), so you will hardly have time to get bored while you are capturing the gems.

The biggest highlight of this game, which attracts attention with its sparkling rainbow star, is the presence of starburst gold. Even though it's a low-volatility game, with a bit of luck you can still get a good payout. Starburst is a dynamic, exciting and dazzling flight through the galaxy that you will return to again and again.

RTP, volatility and technical features of Starburst Pokie

Before we get into the description of the game's fun "chips", let's first give you a brief overview of the Starburst pokie's technical specs:

• RTP: 96.09%
• Volatility: Low
• Layout of the game field: 5x3
• Play lines: 10 (payout in both directions, or Win Both Ways mechanism)
• Bonus features: Widgets Respin, Repeat feature (Respins), Expanding Wilds or Wild Rush feature.
• Betting odds: 0.01 £ to 100 £
• Maximum win value: 600x

Starburst pokie RTP is 96.1%, which is above average, as most pokies have an RTP of around 96%. like other nz online pokies real money pokies. The term RTP translates to "Return to Player" and refers to a theoretical number that indicates what percentage of winnings the pokie pays out to the player in the long run. Thus, Starburst's home advantage is 3.9% (based on 100% minus 96.1%).

The low volatility of this game means that your virtual wallet will hardly change while playing Starburst. However, low volatility can promise you a lot of small wins, which is good if you want to recover your total bet or just have fun without taking a big risk.

Starburst Pokie Overview

Starburst has long proven to be timeless and is one of the most memorable and popular online pokies. The developers at NetEnt really didn't go wrong with this game when they decided to focus on sparkling jewels and light-hearted music that will keep you in a good mood while playing.

Low volatility limits the amount you can lose, but it doesn't limit your chances of winning the biggest. Given this nuance, it's not surprising that people still can't get enough of this pokie. The secret to its success is that the developers have done everything they can to make sure you have fun and feel comfortable playing it, without depending on all sorts of special effects and unusual features. It's just a good, old-fashioned pokie that we've grown accustomed to since the first pokies.

The bright colors, energetic pace and arcade nostalgia bring back memories of the old days. Players can bet either 10p or £100 (maximum bet) per spin. You can form winning combinations from different symbols on both sides of the board, and the expanse of wilds will certainly not leave you indifferent - this is true for the entire game. Starburst shows that simplicity can trump any sophisticated design or gimmick, and NetEnt has turned this little diamond into a near-perfect pokie.

Bonus Features in Starburst

As mentioned earlier, Starburst is not a typical NetEnt pokie, which usually comes with a plethora of unusual special effects and bonus features. To be honest, Starburst has only one bonus feature that basically makes the game even more famous. Let's take a closer look at this feature.

Respin with expanding "sticky" wilds.

Starburst is widely known for its feature in the form of expanding wilds. Here's how it works: the wilds can appear on any of the three middle reels. They then extend across the entire reel and remain "sticky" for a maximum of three re-spins. The spread of the jokers across the board is not only entertaining, but also offers big wins!

The remaining reels that are not affected by the expanding wild symbols will keep spinning in the hope that another sticky wild symbol will appear, triggering an additional respin. This feature ends when no more Starburst Wilds appear during the respin.

A Starburst pokie doesn't have a special freespins feature, but with special wild symbols you get something just as good as the sticky wilds scattered across the reels. Most casinos often offer a welcome bonus in the form of free spins for Starburst. You can find a list of recommended casinos at the end of this review.

Where should I start playing?

Although Starburst is an outwardly simple game, NetEnt's betting level system can seem a little complicated. Don't worry, the following will tell you everything you need to know to master this game from the very beginning.

So, you can choose a coin value from 0.01 to 1; there are 10 bet levels in total. The good news is that NetEnt allows you to see your total bet in currency - the number is displayed in the fine print under the spin button, so it's not hard to keep track of all your transactions. You can play with stakes from 10p to £100, but unfortunately the paytable in this game is not dynamic.

Accordingly, the values of the symbols do not change depending on your bet amount. Instead, they show your winnings statically with the same bet per payline for each symbol and winning combination. If you want to know how much each symbol pays for the total bet, you just need to divide the value of that symbol by the number of paylines (10). For example, the highest paying "BAR" symbol pays 25 times your bet for 5 symbols per payline.

A small wrench icon in the lower left corner of the screen will take you to the game settings menu. Here you can enable the spin acceleration feature, activate the option to start spins with the space bar, and enable/disable the welcome screen at the beginning of the game. The game volume can also be easily adjusted, and the information icon will take you to the paytable. Here you can find out about the bonus features of the game and get an overview of the value of the different symbols.

The "?" symbol will take you to the game's rules menu, which will give you an overview of all the rules to help you understand the gameplay. Some of the game statistics are also displayed here, and it's worth taking at least a quick look at them. The autoscroll option lets you choose between 10 and 1,000 autospins. You'll also appreciate the benefits of the advanced options, such as stopping the autoplay feature after winning or losing a certain amount of money.

Where can I play the Starburst pokie?

Since it is the most popular video pokie of all time, it is hard to find a casino that does not offer this game. If a casino doesn't offer it, you're probably wondering how trustworthy it is. We review all casinos on the market every day and provide you with the perfect rating for each casino. Below we give you the 2 main options on how to play the online pokie game.

Playing with real money

Since this is a really simple game, most people will have no problem playing for real money here. The volatility is low, so it will be pretty easy to stay afloat, which means that you will risk almost nothing if you play with a reasonable stake. If you want to check out our selection of trusted casinos (and their welcome bonuses), just follow the link at the top of this page. Or you can follow this link and start playing Starburst for real money right away.

Playing in the free demo version

Just because the game mechanism is simple and the pokie itself is insanely popular, Starburst may not be everyone's cup of tea. There's no reason to risk your money before you know whether or not this game is right for you. Low-risk (and low-payout) pokies aren't for everyone, but the good news is that you can try out the Starburst demo right here on this page. Just follow the link at the top of the review and you'll get involved in the free Starburst demo right away.

Our experience with 200 free spins on the Starburst pokie.

When we launched Starburst, we knew it was the most popular online pokie in the history of online casinos. Nothing beats Starburst in terms of bonus offers or the pokie's location in an online casino. This pokie has stood the test of time, just like the sparkling diamonds on the reels.

The game loads very quickly, probably due to the simplicity of its design and mechanics, and we were looking forward to testing this beauty for our traditional and exciting 200-spin test session. We started by enabling the option to speed up the spins in the settings and then set the bet to the usual €1 per spin. We also remembered to set the auto-roll feature to 250 spins, since the game doesn't offer an option for 200.

This pokie should be paired with low volatility, and the gameplay should basically be simple and relaxed - but we didn't find that to be the case, especially since this was our first test session. Although we prefer higher risk games, it was a bit strange to see how quickly our game deposit decreased in this "simple and relaxed" game. The number of losing spins was surprisingly high, and the winnings we made in the first hundred spins were not even close to enough to keep us afloat.

After 100 spins, we had lost about £70, and since the game didn't include the normally expected bonus free spins round, we wondered how this whole story would end (and how much more money we would lose). As the game progressed, we kept activating a single bonus feature (a respin with expanding "sticky" wilds), but the outcome never lived up to expectations. With this feature, we managed to win something relatively decent only once - 16 times our original bet - and after that our virtual wallet continued to bleed like a wounded animal.

After our nightmare of 250 games was finally over, we pinched ourselves hoping to wake up from the nightmare: How in the world did this game gain international popularity? We were in shock, having just been mistreated by a pokie with supposedly low volatility. It felt like we were not playing a relaxing game with stars and gems, but a crazier version of a game like Dead or Alive 2. Frankly, we felt cheated. Yes, we agree that 200 spins is by no means enough to affect reliable stats, but it was still very frustrating.

Needless to say, our love for high volatility pokies hasn't disappeared after this scary session, and we sincerely hope you newbies have better luck with this game than we did. While Starburst offers a light-hearted, simple and charming game, our test session only proves how subjective your conclusion can become if you base it only on such small sessions of 200 spins. Consider it an unorthodox first impression and not an assessment of the overall quality and status of the game.

Starburst Jackpot (maximum win).

There is no progressive or fixed jackpot in Starburst, but that doesn't mean you can't win something big in this game. The maximum win is 50,000 coins, which is very promising for a pokie with low volatility. The key to big wins is the wild expansion feature described above. If you manage to collect three expanding wilds on the board, the payouts can be huge.

Starburst on smartphones and tablets

Starburst pokie is available on all mobile platforms, and you can play at home or on the go with any smartphone or tablet. It doesn't matter whether you prefer Google's Android or Apple's iOS: the developers have optimized the game for all devices. This way, you won't have to be bored while waiting for your friends in the pub or sitting on public transport. Let others stare out the window while you spin the reels for another big win.

Verdict

The Starburst pokie is unique, and inspired competitors can come up with as many as a hundred copies, but they will never manage to outshine this beauty. Starburst should be looked at as a whole picture, not as individual features. No matter how you look at it, there is something magical about it that can't be put into words.

The amount of positive and encouraging feedback from other players who have experienced this pokie is overwhelming, if not more so. Every small win gives the same feeling as a big jackpot in another game. Maybe it's a psychological trick that explains the principle of the sense of achievement, or maybe it's the inexplicable, paradoxical mystery of Starburst. Either way, the mysterious is exactly what appeals to everyone, just like the secret ingredient in Coca-Cola.

Every spin here is inexplicably uplifting, even if not much actually happens. Not all pokies can boast a similar effect. Dazzling Expanding Wilds take the game to another level - a hidden plateau where huge wins are suddenly possible in a low-volatility pokie. Excitement is always in the air, and you'll never get tired of this simple game, just as it never gets tired of you.

Advantages

• Fabulous atmosphere
• Low volatility
• Potentially big winnings.
• The game is called a "timeless classic".
• Expanding Wilds

Disadvantages

• No free spins feature (freespins)