Crystal Rift is a fun futuristic slots game where a sci-fi theme is applied to slot machine games. A clear focus is placed on mining for rare crystal formations found deep within what may just be an enormous interdimensional cave. Will there really be valuable minerals out there, accessible by slot game players? Is it possible that this could be the first of many such releases from the makers of Microgaming?
There are several facets to this unique slot game. The first is the fact that this is not a traditional casino game; hence, the name ‘crystal’. The second point is that the number of free spins that are provided is actually quite limited. In addition, the initial price of this game is pretty hefty, and that reflects well on the quality of the game, as no start up capital is required to play.
The action revolves around a single crystal formation, which forms part of a pattern that the game further breaks down into smaller crystals. To spin these, the player has to trigger the ‘use’ icon on the bottom right of the screen. This will cause the crystal to shoot out and thus produce a line of sight towards the targeted area. As the lines of sight to reach their ends, they turn to the left and right, respectively, and end up intersecting with’stone circles’. These are naturally highlighted in the screen and serve as mini-falls, or otherwise useful obstacles that one must avoid to continue progressing through the Crystal Rift slots game.
It is important to note that the game incorporates another very interesting element that is absent in most of the slot games that have been released so far. This is the ‘wild grid feature’, which was first introduced in the immensely popular and successful slot game Solitaire. This grid is basically where you can place crystals freely and is where Crystal Rift differs from its slot and video game competitors; the advantage here is that you have a much greater range of crystals to use in each run, and where you want to place them is entirely up to your own personal preference.
In addition to this, there are several other neat aspects that are present in the slot game Crystal Rift that I’ve got to mention. For instance, the 1,000in bonus falls off at certain coordinates, and where you might find it falling off at, say, the south east corner of the map (the green line that indicates where the crystal will fall off), it will still be there when you approach the same location a few hours later. This is something that I haven’t seen in any other slot machine games, and it’s a nice little Easter egg hidden inside the design of the game that makes it special.
Apart from that, the graphics and sounds are both pretty good. However, the music is what really sets Crystal Rift apart from its competition. Each reels match the symbol on the screen appropriately, and also give out a slight musical tone as they sound off against the background music. It’s nice to hear these sounds and to see these symbols arranged in such a pleasing way on screen. The visual elements of the slot machines and reels themselves are very pleasing, and this is one of those games that makes me feel like I’m really playing some sort of magical, mythical themed slot machine.