The original Winterberries from Yggdrasil looks archaic by today’s standards, but 9 years is a long time in the ever-evolving world of online slots. Winterberries 2 is a visually pleasing follow-up, and it comes with a similar, if not identical, cheerful melody in the background. You get a nice selection of berries on the grid, and a highly tempting Golden Bet option unlocks an extra 6th reel, while also doubling your bonus round chances.
The extra reel does more than just give you more winning chances, as well as higher 6 of a kind wins. It also adds a higher top-tier multiplier that can be achieved via the Frozen Respins feature. Everything revolves around this sticky winning symbols respins mechanic, and full reels award the relevant total win multiplier. The multiplier range doubles in the bonus round, where they can also be upgraded, and the10,000x max winis also a significant upgrade compared to the original game.
You can turn on theGolden Betbetween base game spins, and it costs50 % more per spinto keep in on. This unlocks a 6th reel, and it also doubles your bonus round chances. In addition, it allows for 6 of a kind wins, and it also means that the largest possible multiplier can be activated. More about all that below. The premium berry symbols pay between 6 and 10 x your stake for 5 of a kind wins, and between 18 and 30 x your stake for 6 of a kind wins.
Allwinning symbolsbecome, quite literally, frozen in place, and the remaining positionsrespin. New symbols of the same type that are already frozen as a win will also become frozen in place, and this awards another respin. The process repeats as long as you keep adding to the frozen win, and the win is paid when the respins end. Scatters are frozen if you land 3+ while also landing a win, but they do not trigger respins on their own.
You’ll see a multiplier above each reel, and these become activated from the leftmost reel towards the right as you fill whole reels with frozen symbols. Thebase game multipliersarex1, x2, x4, x8, x16, and x32, and you need to fill reels consecutively from the uttermost left to the right to activate each multiplier tier.
Landing at least3 scattersin view triggers theBonus Round, and you win10, 12, 15, or 20 free spinsfrom3, 4, 5, or 6 scatters, respectively (the latter is only available with the Golden Bet active). Themultiplierrange above the reels is doubled in the bonus round, so you getx2, x4, x8, x16, x32, and x64above reels 1 to 6.
There are 3 kinds of scatters you can land during the bonus round, and these are thesilver, gold, and diamond scatters. No matter the scatter type that appears, you get+1 free spin per scatter,and the silver scatter increases eachmultiplier by +1 to +3. You get+4 to +8 for gold scatters, and+10 to +15 for diamond scatters.
TheBonus Buy menuis available in some jurisdictions, but not in the UK for sure. You get4 different optionsif eligible, and these are as follows:
You get a decent taste of the base game, before we purchase the top-tier bonus round. It triggers around 1:25 into the 9:41-minute highlights video, and it went on for quite a while as you probably understand. This is due to all the respin triggers and extra spins we got, and you can check it all out for yourself by hitting the play button below.
It’s hardly surprising that the visuals are far more pleasing in this follow-up than in the original, as it was released all the way back in 2014 (feels like ages ago, no?). Winterberries 2 comes with a zen-like, clean, and pleasing visual presentation, and it throws itself on the sticky winning symbols respin trend that’s had an upswing recently. It’s a well-balanced game in most respects, and it comes with a decent pace and flow with the turbo switched on.
The sticky winning symbols respins system gives you plenty of non-paid extra spins that each improve the original win, so it’s not a bad system at all. Yggdrasil has decided to spice things up with the reel multiplier system as well, and the Golden Bet seems like a very good idea in this game. The 6th extra reel is helpful by itself, but you also get a larger top-tier multiplier, and your bonus round chances are doubled. The feature comes with enhanced multipliers, and the10,000x potentialis 4 times what you get in the original game.
Pros
Cons
The original Winterberries game from Yggdrasil may seem outdated by today’s standards, but Winterberries 2, the visually appealing sequel, has managed to keep up with the ever-changing world of online slots over the past 9 years. This game features a similar upbeat melody and a wide variety of berries on the grid. The Golden Bet option, which doubles your chances in the bonus round and unlocks an extra 6th reel, is a major highlight. <br><br>This 6th reel not only increases your chances of winning but also introduces a higher top-tier multiplier achievable through the Frozen Respins feature. The game revolves around this sticky winning symbols respins mechanic, with full reels awarding the corresponding total win multiplier. The multiplier range doubles in the bonus round, where they can also be upgraded. The maximum win of 10,000x is a significant upgrade from the original game. <br><br>The Golden Bet can be activated between base game spins for 50% more per spin. This also doubles your chances in the bonus round and allows for 6 of a kind wins. The premium berry symbols can win you between 6 to 30 times your stake. <br><br>Scatters are frozen if you land 3+ while also landing a win. Multipliers are activated from the leftmost reel as you fill entire reels with frozen symbols. Landing at least 3 scatters triggers the Bonus Round, where you can win up to 20 free spins. <br><br>There are three types of scatters you can land during the bonus round: silver, gold, and diamond. Regardless of the type of scatter, you get an additional free spin per scatter. The Bonus Buy menu is available in select jurisdictions. <br><br>The visuals of Winterberries 2 are more appealing compared to the original game released in 2014. The game follows the recent trend of sticky winning symbols respin and offers a balanced gaming experience with a decent pace. The 6th reel and enhanced multipliers in the Golden Bet feature make the game more exciting. The maximum potential of 10,000x is four times higher than that of the original game.