Winterberries 2

Winterberries 2: Slot Overview

When thinking of berries, winter isn't generally the season most closely associated with them. Summer is typically the first that comes to mind with its harvest of strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries, and so on it goes. However, berry lovers don't necessarily have to miss out in the cooler months, either. According to an internet search, juniper berries are available in winter for collection, as are rowan berries (a bit sour, though) or hawthorn, which can be consumed raw or in jellies, wine, or even ketchup. Is anyone getting hungry? Berries are also the star of the show in Winterberries 2, an online slot from casino game Yggdrasil Gaming. The '2' in the title indicates Winterberries 2 is a sequel to an earlier Yggdrasil Gaming slot, possessing a share of similarities and differences. So, feel free to grab a bowl of your favourite berry and discover what they may be.

First of all, Winterberries 2 has a more modernised look than the original, and instead of being solely focused on one season, seems to split its screen between the snow of winter on the left with a warmer, almost autumnal scene on the right. Perhaps this division is a nod to Winterberries 2's old and new dichotomy. In the middle of it all is a Whomping Willow kind of tree, fairly bare of leaves, propping up a game grid with multipliers lining the top part and a vine entangled sixth reel. As well as the original Winterberry slot, ELK Studios' Tropicool 2 came to mind, thanks to the icy symbols, though Winterberries 2 wasn't quite as bursting with life as ELK Studios' games were.

Winterberries is a relatively older slot released in 2016, a time before the move to eye-watering volatility and goose-pimple-inducing max wins became the norm. Winterberries 2 is a more modern slot in just about every sense. Mechanically speaking, this translates to a math model rated 'Super High' for volatility, pushing out RTP versions of 86%, 90.5%, 94%, and 96%, depending on the market. When picking a stake, players have two decisions to make. One is choosing the base bet, where levels vary from 10 p/c to $/€100, the second is whether to activate the Golden Bet. The Golden Bet increases the bet by 50% to unlock the sixth reel, doubling the chance of entering free spins, making 6-of-a-kind wins possible, and allowing the biggest multipliers to be used.

Along Winterberries 2's 6 reel game grid, 20 paylines have been built in to land winning symbol combinations on. Naturalistically designed clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades stand in for the low pays, awarding 2x the bet for five or 6x the bet for six-of-a-kind. Next, are four high pay symbols represented by various berries, awarding 6x to 10x for five-of-a-kind, or 18-30x the bet for six.

Winterberries 2: Slot Features

Respins are one of Winterberries 2's focal mechanics and trigger on each win. How it works is when a winning line hits, the symbols that formed it are frozen into position, and others respin. If new symbols of the winning type land, they also freeze, and another respin is triggered. Respins continue until no new symbols freeze, then the total prize is paid. On their own, scatters do not trigger respins, but if there is a winning combination and 3 or more scatters, the scatters are frozen as well as the winning tiles.

Column Multiplier

In addition, freezing whole columns consecutively from the left activates the multiplier above the column. In the base game, the multipliers above reels are 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x, and 32x. As an example, you'll need reels 1 and 2 covered in frozen symbols before it is possible to activate the reel three multiplier.

Free Spins

Moving from the base game to the bonus round occurs when at least 3 scatter symbols are in view. Landing 3, 4, 5, or 6 (six when the Golden Bet is active) of them awards 10, 12, 15, or 20 free spins. For free spins, the multipliers above the reels are doubled in value – 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x, 32x, and 64x. When scatter symbols land during the round, each one adds +1 extra free spin while increasing the respective reel multiplier by +1-3 for the silver scatter, +4-8 for the gold scatter, or +10-15 for the diamond scatter.

Buy Bonus

Depending on the jurisdiction, players have the opportunity of buying one of four bonus buy options. These are 10-15 free spins with 5 columns for 100x the bet, 10-20 free spins with 6 columns for 150x the bet, 15 free spins with 5 columns for 200x the bet, or 20 free spins with 6 columns for 300x the bet.

Winterberries 2: Slot Verdict

Variations on winning symbol hold and respin mechanics were roasting hot at the time of reviewing Winterberries 2. NetEnt might have had a hand in sparking the movement with Jack Hammer, while Nolimit City rekindled the heat later on in Serial, with a number of studios making contributions with games like Monster Superlanche from Pragmatic Play or Dionysus Golden Feast from Thunderkick, to name but a few. What we're trying to get at is locked winning symbol respin slots appear to be on the rise, and Yggdrasil Gaming has kept its eye on the ball by releasing Winterberries 2.

It did, ever so slightly, feel like Yggdrasil Gaming might have made Winterberries 2 to make the most of the respin phenomenon, or were at least motivated to join the rising throng rather than from a simple desire to follow Winterberries part one up. Though not being mind readers, it's tough to confirm that assumption. Either way, Winterberries 2 is a solid example of this style of gaming, with an exciting multiplier reel element added to provide individuality. Multipliers can be useful, too, in both the main game and free spins - where they are doubled and even beyond when scatters hit. Perhaps the main controversy in Winterberries 2 is that the Golden Bet might have to be switched on to really get the most out of it. The Golden Bet has been employed in a number of other slots, but rarely does it have such a direct impact on so many aspects of a game. In fact, The Golden Bet brings so many benefits it's kind of hard to see players not making use of it when it's available.

As for the biggest possible rewards, since everything else has been cranked up, it's no surprise to see winning potential has been jacked as well, to a maximum default value of 10,000x the bet. So, unless the Golden Bet concept is a turn-off, players interested in hold and respin mechanics should be chuffed when harvesting or attempting to harvest Winterberries 2's form of entertainment.