You always know you’re in for a good time with Playtech slots, whose online slots have been making waves in the market since 1999. Great Blue is no exception. Players who grew up with the Free Willy movie franchise will be instant fans.
This aquatic-themed online casino game is not the most modern, given that it was released in 2013. But, as you can expect from this developer, you can still look forward to exceptional gameplay and a rewarding bonus.
Before you play online slots for money, it’s always a good idea to research and read up about the slots you’re interested in. In this review, find out everything you need to know about Great Blue from Playtech.
Game Overview
The game takes place on the standard 5×3 grid you’d be familiar with if you’ve played similar online casino games. There are 25 active paylines.
This slot has high variance and an RTP (return to player) of 94.3% — slightly below average for online slots. You can look forward to all the usual slot features with a couple of distinct extras, like stacked wilds. Then there’s also the scatter symbol, which triggers a generous bonus game in which 33 free spins and a 15x multiplier are up for grabs.
Got your snorkel and fins at the ready? Dive right in.
How To Play
As with all jackpot slots, you should always start by choosing your wager amount. Great Blue has a betting range of between $0.25 and $125 per spin, which means there’s an option for all kinds of budgets.
You’ll find a plethora of underwater creatures on the reels, along with the usual playing cards. To form a winning combination on the reels, you must land two to five adjacent nines, turtles, and sharks. The rest of the symbols only form a winning combination from three adjacent symbols and up.
The turtle and the shark are the highest-value standard symbols, known as “of a kind.” This means that they represent identical pay values, and you can form winning combinations by matching two of them on the reels. For two turtles or sharks, you’ll be awarded 2x your wager, while they will payout 25x, 125x, and 750x your wager for three, four, or five symbols, respectively.
The wild symbol is the game’s main character: the killer whale. It can substitute for any symbol except the game’s scatter, which is represented by the oyster. The wild and the scatter have great features in Great Blue, which is discussed in more detail below.
Graphics
As you’d expect from this game’s title, the reels are set against the great expanse of a deep blue ocean. The only movement comes from the reels and tiny bubbles floating up the screen. The screen does change for the game’s bonus round when players are transported to the ocean floor. On the golden sand lie three pink shells with some attractive coral to the left-hand side of the screen, while the shadows of forbidding sharks move in the background — all of which are accompanied by the sound of splashing waves.
On the reels, you’ll find a killer whale, oyster, angel fish, shark, turtle, seahorse, and starfish. That this game wasn’t developed recently doesn’t detract from the fact that the symbols are well-designed. They look cute and quirky, which makes them perfectly suited for the theme.
Features
The two main features of Great Blue are the wild and the scatter symbol. The friendly killer whale is the game’s wild and does a great job substituting for all standard symbols. But that’s not all you can look forward to.
The wild symbol can also appear stacked, significantly increasing the chance of forming a winning combination. Perhaps even better is the fact that when you form a winning combination with this symbol, it brings a 2x multiplier to double your winnings.
Keep an eye out for the oyster with a pearl in its center, as it’s the key to the free spins round. It can land anywhere on the reels, and if you get three or more of them, you trigger the Great Blue bonus game, which includes eight free spins and a 2x multiplier.
Bonuses and Jackpots
Land three or more of the oyster pearl scatter symbols on the reels, and you’ll trigger the game’s bonus feature to receive eight free spins and a 2x multiplier. You’ll be taken to a screen where five pink shells rest on the ocean floor. Here, you must select two of the shells, which will let you win up to 33 free spins and a 15x multiplier.
The free spins round can be retriggered by landing three or more scatter symbols during the round.
Similar Games
If you like the vibe of Great Blue and want to check out other Playtech games, read the following online reviews:
If it’s the ocean creature theme that you enjoyed, be sure to try out one of these games:
- Shark Shore (High 5 Games).
- Shark Week (Slingo Originals).
- Whales of Cash Deluxe (Aristocrat).
- Ocean’s Treasure (NetEnt).
- Orca Magic (Ainsworth).
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