Solar Wilds Slot Review

04/04/2021 | Categories: Microgaming Slots | Published by: Joe | Last updated: 05/01/2024

All41 Studios are a relative newcomer to the interactive gaming space, launching their operation in 2018, from Tallin, Estonia. Though they operate as an independent developer, they are a Microgaming partner and provide this iGaming giant with quality reel-spinners. They have managed to produce about twenty games, of which Solar Wilds is their most-played one. After some controversy regarding the original name and design of this slot and a few release date push-backs, it finally saw the light of day in March of 2021. When it hit online casinos, it instantly shot up in the rankings and has grown in popularity ever since.

Theme & Design

The theme here is NetEnt’s Starburst. If you read our review of Skywind Group’s Super Lion slot, another Starburst copycat, then you may remember us mentioning this game. In that article, we said that Super Lion is the more blatant rip-off of the pair. However, that does not hold for the original version of Solar Wilds. You see, this game was first titled Space Enigma and featured a super-similar design to Starburst. You can Google that title and see some preview images of how this game looked before getting a makeover. We assume that following protests from NetEnt, All41 Studios decided to make changes and lower the similarity level to Starburst. The same thing happened to Play’n Go’s Starblast. Nevertheless, that move seemingly has done nothing to hurt this game’s appeal. In all honesty, we prefer the new version.

The gameplay here plays out, as expected, in space. You have green and blue nebulas in the background, sprinkled in with a few stars. Semi-transparent hexagonal symbol positions make up the reel grid, and every time you land a Wild win, a shooting star appears with an accompanying win counter. There isn’t much to say about the presentation here. The symbols are 2D graphics that feature vibrant contrasting colors, and the game’s base soundtrack is a subtle one that plays at a lower volume in the background. Some of the sound effects here have a very game-show-like feel and get annoying at times.

If you are playing Solar Wilds on a desktop, the button’s panel will be on the right side of your screen. It is a vertical one. The spin button is in the middle, with the auto-spin function and the bet-adjuster below it. You can access the settings and info pages by clicking the corresponding icons at the top of this stack.

Specs & Gameplay

Solar Wilds is a five-reel, three-row game with ten available paylines. The same as Starburst. It differs from NetEnt’s legendary slot in that this is a medium variance game, with a slightly higher RTP of 96.27%. Bet sizes here range from $0.1 to $100, and the max exposure is a disappointing x1,000 your stake. We would have felt more at ease with this spec if the variance was lower. Wins here form when you land winning combos of three to five matching symbols left to right and right to left.

The pay symbols of Solar Wilds are different colored planets. The most valuable ones are the red and yellow planets, which payout prizes worth x12 and x50 your stake, respectively. The Wild here is a hexagonal symbol that contains a sun and the word wild inside it.

Bonus Features

The Wild appears on the second, third, and fourth reels, and it substitutes all other symbols. When it lands, it expands to cover its entire reel and activates a re-spin. For which, it remains locked. If you manage to land another Wild on this complimentary reel rotation, it will add another re-spin. Naturally, the max is three. Hitting multiple Wilds on a single spin will only provide one more re-spin.

GOSU Verdict

Solar Wilds is a super-basic slot. If you like Starburst, give it a try. It is the perfect alternative for those who have no access to this Swedish developer’s products due to region restrictions but can play Microgaming distributed reel-spinners. Other than that, we do not see a reason why you should spend time on this release. We found nothing engaging about it. The positives we can list are that it is a decent-looking and uncomplicated game that plays fast due to its lack of features. That is about it. If you are into rudimentary gameplay, then this may be the spinner for you. Otherwise, stay away. You can find other medium variance slots out there with better graphics and game specs.