Solar Se7en

No matter how many times outer space is used as a theme for a slot, it never gets boring. With such a wide space full of stars, planets and the infinite beyond, the limits on human imagination are taken off, and we are free to visualise the weirdest and most interesting life forms and it can still seem somewhat plausible. No artists’ rendition of outer space is the same, but it speaks volumes that most aliens tend to be like us – humanoid with slight differences to appear exotic, but still instinctually familiar.

The mixture of what we know and what we don’t shines through in Solar Se7en, a slot with a 5×3 playing field and 40 fixed paylines. Rather than having standard free spins, the game employs a re-spin system that utilizes a special two tile high Scatter that looks like a spaceship. Every spaceship that lands rewards three re-spins, so at maximum you can have fifteen if you have them all up at the same time. The ships all remain on the reel until the re-spins are done. And while these re-spins are cool, there’s also a very visible lack of any other bonuses present in the slot.

We have to give credit where it’s due, the artists over at Playtech certainly know how to draw some pretty backgrounds. The soft wind movement on the blades of grass is a nice touch, and while there’s no doubt the world it depicts is gorgeous, it really doesn’t feel alien enough. The symbols don’t really have this issue, but we feel even minor shifts could have done the job to really make it stand out. One of the icons is a special crystal aligned as three triangles – a few crystalline formations sticking out instead of mountains could have done the trick.

On the gameplay side of things, Solar Se7en is a medium volatility title with an RTP of 96.12%. It has one special feature, and most of the time, you will be chasing after that single bonus, as wins outside of it are somewhat boring. There is a regular Wild present, but it doesn’t make many appearances on the reels, and when it does, the win rarely makes it worth it, so apart from a few high hits where you put together a big five-of-a-kind score, most of the time, gamblers will be chasing spaceship Scatters which activate the re-spins.

Solar Se7en has 40 fixed paylines, so the minimum bet sits at $0.40, up to a maximum of $500 per spin. So with a coin range from $0.01 up to $12,5, you can tell that Playtech wanted to make sure everyone from the low rollers to high end gamblers could spin to their delight on their latest release. For players who enjoy chasing bonuses and who want the delight of hitting a chunky jackpot after all the stars line up, it is a very fun to play game. Keep in mind it is a medium volatility slot, however, with a maximum win of 800x the wager.

The backdrop doesn’t really sell far away and alien that well, but the symbols make up for it. You have a familiar human explorer and the alien, despite the odd pigmentation and head crests, is very visibly humanoid – but just about everything else looks properly foreign and alien. The fruits have exotic colours, odd spikes and generally look nothing like what you can pick out for yourself at the grocery store, and the mechanical tiger was a nice touch. With an array of fully unique symbols, Solar Se7en earns plenty of points with us. As far as special features go, there is just one. Spaceship Scatters can appear anywhere on the reel, and even a single one rewards three re-spins. Additional spaceships can appear on the playing field during the bonus, allowing you to potentially fill the reels and have all five up at once. The spaceships all remain on the reels until the special feature runs out, and move up and down along the reel they’re in.