Shimmering Woods slot review (Play’n GO)

Shimmering Woods – insane win potential, but the theme is a bit run-of-the-mill.

On average, Play’n GO releases one new slot per week, and most of the times, we see a fantastic slot. Week in, week out.

And also, with this slot, the gameplay has some unique features. We have splitting symbols, the avalanche mechanic and increasing multipliers, making Shimmering Woods an incredibly volatile slot.

SLOT: Shimmering Woods | SOFTWARE: PLAY’N GO   Number of paylines: 243 up to 7.776 win-all-ways RTP and variance: 96.2%, Very High variance Maximum win: 25,000 x the bet or  $€2.5 million Betting range: $€0.20 – $€100 Bonus features: Free spins Pasadena Pinot Fest Casinos verdict: Hot! Thanks to its win-potential. Animations and theme are not so unique, though.

 

The massive win potential is what stands out: the top win is a blistering 25.000x.

When you open the slot, it says, “Diamonds are your best friend”. Well, that’s certainly the case for this slot!

Only Play’n GO’s Coils of Cash has a higher win potential (30.000x), but for the moment, this slot comes in second place. For comparison: the Book of Dead slot has a max win of a “mere” 5.000x

Gameplay and Features

Shimmering Woods is a 5-reel slot machine and has 243 up to 7.776 ways to win, thanks to splitting symbols.

Each spin, you see a random symbol (except Scatter) on top of the reels, which acts as a Splitting Symbol. Any identical symbols on the reels split into two symbols.

In the ideal situation, you have all 15 symbols split into two symbols. That way, the number of ways to win increases to 7.776 at most (6x6x6x6x6=7.776).

Shimmering Woods relies on the Cascading (Avalance or Tumbling) mechanic, where you win a re-spin following a win. The winning symbols disappear and make way for new symbols. Besides, your win multiplier increases by +1. The win multiplier can be as high as x5.

The high-paying symbols are the purple, red, green and blue gems and the lower-paying symbols are the 10, J, Q, K and A.

The Wild symbol (Diamonds) substitutes for all symbols (except Scatters).

The Scatter symbols are the pink coloured and gold framed gems.

How do you get the free spins?

You access the free spins if you manage to land 3, 4, 5 or 6 Scatters. It gets you 10, 13, 16 and 19 free spins and 1, 2, 3 or 4 extra splitting symbols.

During the Free Spins, 3, 4, 5 or 6 Scatter symbol gets you another 3, 6, 9 or 12 free spins and an additional 1, 2, 3 or 4 splitting symbols.

The free spins

The free spin’s main advantage is that you have more splitting symbols. If everything goes your way, all your high- and low-paying symbols are splitting as well as the Wild symbols.

The number of ways to win will increase substantially and, therefore, your odds of winning. If you manage to win at least four consecutive times, your win multiplier is 5x as well!

Shimmering Woods slot: the payout rate (RTP) is 96.20%.

The RTP of Shimmering Woods is 96.20%, around the average of the RTP’s of all Play’n GO slots.

Beware, though, that you always verify the RTP of Play’n GO slots before you play for real money. Even the most trustworthy online casinos can offer the game at less favourable terms (read lower payout rates).

Shimmering Woods slot: the variance (volatility) is very high

Given the enormous win potential, it should not come as a surprise that we’re talking about a very volatile slot, and maybe even an extremely volatile slot.

Time will tell, but I would not be surprised to see top wins of 5.000x or more!

Pros en Cons Advantages: √  Incredible win potential √  Easy to understand Disadvantages: χ  Run-off the mill theme χ  Animations are not as good as most other Play’n GO slots   You may like The top 10 Play’n GO slots Our list of Play’n GO slots with the highest win potential The top 10 most volatile Play’n GO slots

 

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