Crystal Rift

There are a ton of online slots out there that use crystal and gem types of themes. The Crystal Rift slot by Rabcat takes this to a different level and really breaks out of the box that the sub-genre tends to have.

They've done this by taking a more realistic look at how they present the gems with a cave theme, and that is combined with a high-action style of play with a bit of a twist on some common features that help to give this slot its own unique flavor.

Format and Betting

This is a 25-payline video slot. There are five vertical reels, but you'll notice that they're sort of open-air in how they are presented. That's important, and we'll show why below. Three rows of symbols are used, and you'll see the gems on the reels sort of floating in the air to create this 5x3 grid.

You'll pick from various stake options per payline with a simple tool at the bottom of the game screen, and that's the amount wagered on each of the 25 paylines. You can't change the number of active lines for this game, but you will be able to see the total bet size just above the bet selection mechanic. You can wager $0.01 to $2 per line for total bet sizes of $0.25 to $50 per turn.

Wild Symbols and Payouts

The white crystal is the wild symbol in this game. It appears on each reel, and it helps you to get extra payouts. There is a win available for five of a kind of the wilds as well, and that comes in at 1,000x. Note that these are line bet wager wins, just like we'll be describing all of the payouts in this slot.

Bonus Falls Feature

After each spin, all winning combinations are calculated normally. From there, those symbols involved in those combinations explode, and that allows new symbols to fall down in place. This will continue as long as you have any winning combinations at all, and it allows for players to get a number of different wins in a row on the same paid spin for a higher hit-rate and more excitement.

Wild Grid Feature

On each spin has a wild grid outlined on the game board behind the symbols. If you're able to get three falls in a row with the Bonus Falls feature, then you'll activate that grid. Every symbol on the backlit grid will turn into a wild symbol, and that increases your chances of getting winning combinations a great deal. There are 16 different wild grids that can happen in four different groupings from "basic" to "insane," and you'll have from two to nine different wild symbols added to the reels as a result.

Winning Combinations and Symbols

There are nine total gems in this game including the wild symbol. The highest-paying regular symbol is orange and gets you 1,000x for five of a kind. Five of the green gem drops down to 250x, and you can win 100x for the cluster of red ones. The yellow gem pays 50x, and players get 25x or 20x for the light blue or dark yellow gems in five of a kind combinations, respectively. The black gem with a blue hue gets you 10x for five, and a 6x payout for five of a kind of the purple is the prize for the lowest symbol in the pay table.

Our Thoughts

This is a slot that offers a set of features centered around a high hit-rate style of play. As a result, Rabcat's Crystal Rift slot has a pretty reasonable volatility, and it puts players in a position where they can get a lot of individual wins all on the same spin thanks to the bonus falls. Moreover, getting at least three of these falls kicks the winning potential into overdrive with the wild grid feature.

There are two major things we like about this game. First, we love how they used a visual style that helped them to break out of the mold when it comes to the gem-based sub-genre. Second, we love how the two main features come together.