There was a time when every home page of a casino site had a Starburst logo or screenshot. This was the most enticing thing to online gamblers. Why did that happen? Well, NetEnt know their stuff, obviously, but what else happened there that created a star out of Starburst? We can put the success of the game to several factors, which all contributed equally or at least commensurately to Starburst becoming an undisputed hit. We will look at all of them separately so as to avoid mixing things up.
Popular Layout
Five reels and three rows seems like a recipe for success at this point. This category of games is so expansive, including other titles like Jack Hammer 2, Jungle Jim El Dorado, Dead or Alive, Immortal Romance, and the list goes on and on. So why would the famous Starburst slot go off the beaten track? It utilizes a familiar layout that most players love. Furthermore, the reels spin quite like you would expect them to, making for a gratifying gamer experience. Interface, graphics, and sound are on point as well. So that’s about the visuals and sound. Let’s see what else Starburst does the right way.
Way Ahead of Its Time
Starburst was released when gaming was at a phase where not very many spectacular games were available. Maybe sibling Gonzo’s Quest – which is one year older – was the closest thing to a truly original slot machine back then. As we mentioned already, Starburst has crisp graphics in high resolution – something that wasn’t that characteristic of slot games from a decade ago. Starburst was one of NetEnt’s games that raised the bar high in that respect. They upped the antes, so to speak because other developers had to match the work put into the fabulous appearance of Starburst if they didn’t want their creations to look subpar.
It’s a Game of Bonuses
Although you may not find anything about the new exciting slot machine titles in the latest news, you should know that there’s no shortage of new games of this type. As the most popular gaming category, slots are literally inundating the industry. However, there isn’t a case of a slot machine being promoted for so long online. There was a long period of time when the majority of the new and already established casino sites in the sight of the UK Gambling Commission would offer free spins on Starburst to new players. Imagine ‘walking into’ an online casino, and the first thing you see is a beautiful in-game collage of Starburst with a free spin offer underneath. Most players would take that in a heartbeat.
Special Features
Starburst has a crazy re-spin feature that is triggered by the wilds. It also is one of the first games with expanding wilds that cover the entire reel. Such mechanics were not that common during that time, and it turned out the players loved them. So much so that many of them were binge-playing the game using the Auto Play feature to their heart’s content.
Now, this simple function may not look that impressive, but in the early 2010s, it was the hottest thing. Let us tell you a bit more about the Auto Play button. It has advanced settings whereby you can tailor what occurrences can interrupt the Auto Play cycle. In other words, you can set the conditions under which you will be okay to stop playing and let chance run its course. Who would want that anyway when they play the gaming hit of the decade? But then, NetEnt had to outdo themselves yet again…
The Average Bettor’s Cup of Tea
If you’ve actually played the game, you will see that you can drop the bet per pay line to a mere one cent. That means the minimum bet is 1 unit of currency (EUR, USD, GBP). Meanwhile, the maximum bet is ten units of currency. We are talking about a slot machine that perfectly targets the average online punter. High-stakes players are a minority and can rarely make a game a hit on their own. That, right there, was the final strategic move that made Starburst so popular.
