Stardust Evolution

Item: Stardust Evolution
Rating: 1
Author: CasinoSlots

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1	Reels	5
2.	Paylines	10
3.	Progressive	No
4.	Maximum coins	10
5.	Jackpot	500
6.	Maximum jackpot in coins	500
7.	Multiplier	No

8.	Scatter symbol	No
9.	Free Spins	Yes
10.	Betting range	from $0.1 up to $10
11.	Coin Bet Range	from $0.01 up to $1
12.	Coins per line	1
13.	Bonus Game	No
14.	Wild symbol	Yes
15.	Payout percent	96.02

There's a saying that goes something like, "Good artists borrow, but great artists steal." That may have been what Capecod Gaming had in mind with the Stardust Evolution slot as it's very clearly "inspired" by NetEnt's extremely popular Starburst slot. By "inspired," we mean it's a complete and total blatant copy of the concept. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that except that they have mostly failed in trying to make a game that is a better version of the concept, so you're left with a less fun and less visually appealing version of a popular game from another supplier.

Format and Layout

There are five reels in this game with three rows of symbols, and it's all on a transparent background that allows you to see stars and outer space in the background. Players will have 10 paylines of action, and coins start at the $0.01 level. You can bet with coins that are worth as much as $1, giving this game a betting range of $0.10 to $10 per spin. You do have the option to play with anywhere from one to ten paylines per spin, but we strongly recommend that you keep this option at the maximum of ten spins to keep the RTP percentage up as high as possible for better average payouts.

Expanding Wild Symbols

The twirling galaxy symbol is the wild symbol in this game. It will only appear on the second, third and fourth reels, so you will not have opportunities to make winning combinations with only the wilds. However, every single time a wild appears on the reels in any position, it will expand vertically to cover the entire reel. This is also the key to the respin bonus feature, which is the main bonus feature that drives the gameplay for the Starbu... err, we mean the Stardust Evolution slot.

Respin Bonus Feature

When you get an expanding wild symbol, all of your payouts are paid to you normally. However, the wild reel will then hold in place while the rest of the reels spin once again for a free respin. This gives you a chance to get extra wins, which are made even easier by the fact that you stat out with a reel full of wilds. If you get another wild on this respin, then it will expand, pay the normal wins, and then both wild reels hold in place while you get yet another free respin. You can get a total of three free respins on one normal, paid spin this way if you like up the wilds with the right timing.

Classic Slot-Inspired Top Symbols

Players will find that the two top symbols in this game are inspired by classic slot motifs. The BAR symbol shows up inside of a sort of diamond bar, and it will pay 500x for five of a kind on an activated payline. The lucky seven is in yellow in this game, and it's also a large, complicated gem. You can pick up 250x for five of a kind of this symbol as well. These are some reasonable top wins for a game that is based on expanding wilds, a respin feature and getting several pays on the same spin.

Bottom-end Gem Symbols and Payouts

The rest of the paytable consists of five different gem shapes. The red heart gets you 130x for five of a kind, and you can make that 100x for five of the green, rectangular gem. Five of a kind of the pink diamond gets players a win worth 80x, and it drops down to 50x for five of the teal teardrop. Five of the blue oval gem gets you 40x as well. These wins don't drop off suddenly, but instead, they smoothly step down bit-by-bit to give you a more balanced pay table, which means a smoother expeirence with a lower volatility.

Our Thoughts

As we've alluded to several times, this game is almost a point-by-point copy of another popular game by a different provider. While all is fair in love and online slot development, we would have much rather preferred Capecod Gaming do their own spin on the concept instead of just taking someone else's idea and not even trying to improve on it. Instead, it really comes across as a sort of generic, off-brand version of the already-existing game, and that's never going to get good reviews. It wouldn't have taken much to make this game really stand out with some added features or a different element of gameplay added in, but there's nothing here to really get excited about at all.