Great Blue Slot - Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

Introduction

Founded in 1999, Playtech has built up a solid reputation as a leading developer and creator of online casino titles, with an emphasis on producing high-quality online slots games that are packed with desirable features. With so many players now depending on their portable devices to access all the best games that an online casino can offer, Playtech makes sure that its games work seamlessly, no matter which device you choose to access them. That means that you can comfortably access great online games, such as their Great Blue Slots game, no matter which device you choose to play on - the game will load and display perfectly on your desktop, laptop, mobile and tablet.

From the opening screen, which depicts a friendly-looking killer whale taking a rest against the game’s logo, it’s clear that there’s plenty of aquatic fun to be had from this attractively presented online slots game. Featuring a standard five reels with 25 paylines, Great Blue contains all of the elements that online slots fans simply can’t get enough of, including stacked Wilds and plentiful Scatters.

Unlike some online slots games, there’s no progression through a story, but with plenty of chances to scoop big wins, there’s no need for gimmicks - hard-core players keep returning to Great Blue time and time again to take advantage of the generous payouts.

Play for Free

Whether you’re a complete newcomer to online casino games or a seasoned player with hundreds of wins under your belt, you’ll enjoy playing Great Blue. Here at Slots Temple we offer our customers the opportunity to play all of their favourite games for free, as this is generally considered to be the best way of getting to grips with the gameplay, particularly if this is a title that you’re not familiar with.

Playing for free gives you ample opportunity to trigger bonus features within online slots games, so you know exactly what’s ahead once you decide to wager real money. We generally recommend playing a game on free play for around 500 spins, as we reckon that allows you plenty of time to take in all of a game’s features and get to grips with the paytable.

Once you’ve mastered gameplay, then you can progress to wagering real cash, but once again we urge caution in the early stages. Start with the smallest allowable bet at first to assess whether your luck is in, and to decide whether you can make a profit from your gaming session. Only once you understand all aspects of a slots game inside out should you start wagering with higher sums of money. And, of course, always keep one eye on your gaming statistics, which most games and casinos encourage so that you don’t lose track of time and gamble more than you can comfortably afford to lose.

RTP and Variance

 In Great Blue, the RTP is 94.3%, which means that a player wagering 100 coins could expect to win back 94.30 coins. Of course, this figure doesn’t equate to a single playing session, so it would be foolish to approach this game anticipating this type of win level. Many thousands of playing hours are used to arrive at this figure, so you should use it merely as a guide. Remember that numerous factors govern your overall returns during a gaming session, and it’s possible for one player to suffer heavy losses while another is scooping a major prize.

The high variance factor is partly down to the Wild Multiplier that increases your winnings from combinations that include the killer whale Wild. The bonus feature games also contribute to the high variance, bringing the potential for some huge wins with constantly recurring free spins that could increase your prize pot, sometimes quite dramatically.

Playing a high-variance online slots game means keeping your nerve and being prepared to spend a great deal of time and money on chasing down those big wins. Simply logging on and playing the game a few times with relatively small amounts of cash won’t scoop you any of the big prizes, but players who settle in for the long term and play cautiously but sensibly can reap significant rewards.

It’s Great Blue’s high variance and good RTP that attract keen players time and time again, with many online slots fans citing the game as being one of their firm favourites thanks to the opportunity to benefit from significant prize pots over the course of a playing session.

How to Play

Great Blue isn’t as complicated as many online slots games, but if you’re a relative newcomer to the genre, it pays to spend some time familiarising yourself with the game’s controls.

Start by deciding on the coins that you would like to bet with, bearing in mind that these are only virtual coins during the free play mode, but they will nonetheless give you the chance to assess how the wagering process works.
 
Directly below the reels you’ll see your playing console set out. Starting from the button furthest to the left, click to reveal the coins with which you can play. Keep your bets small by wagering just 1p per line, or go for broke with a 25p line bet - the choice is yours. Your line bet will display in the central window of your player console, and you can also alter the amount by clicking on the button directly below this window, which increases your line bet in increments.

Once you are happy with your line bet, decide on the number of lines you wish to play with each spin of the reels. Clicking on the button labelled ‘Lines’ will display the options, so simply pick the number of lines that you feel comfortable playing with. Remember that the more lines you play, the greater the sum you wager on each spin, but the greater your chance of achieving a winning line too.

And if you don’t want to keep hitting the Spin button each time you play Great Blue, there’s also a handy Auto Play function built into the game. You’ll find the Auto Start button to the left of your console, with a window above showing the number of repeat spins, which you can toggle through using the + and - buttons to either side. Select the number of automatic spins that you’d like, then hit the Auto Start button and the reels will spin for your designated number of spins, highlighting winning lines as you go.

Game Symbols and Paytable

The number 9 is the lowest-scoring symbol on the reels, but players can score a win when just two of them appear on consecutive reels, beginning from the leftmost reel. Next come the number 10, the Jack and the Queen symbols, which are the second-lowest-scoring symbols, requiring three matching symbols on consecutive reels starting from the leftmost reel to score a win. Close on their heels come the King and Ace symbols.

Bigger wins occur with the cutely-animated aquatic stars of the game, beginning with the gorgeous yellow-striped Angel Fish. Next in line come the starfish and the seahorse, but it’s with the next two symbols, the shark and the turtle, that bigger wins appear on the paytable. With these two characters, as with the Number 9 symbol, a win is achieved by achieving just two matching icons on a winning payline, with one symbol occurring on the leftmost reel and the next on a consecutive reel, making these icons particularly desirable during gameplay.

Of course, no self-respecting online slots game is complete without a Wild, and in Great Blue this is represented by the friendly killer whale that we met on the opening screen. He can appear anywhere on the reels, substituting for any other symbol apart from the Scatter to create a winning line where it would not otherwise have existed. And even better, the killer whale can appear stacked on any reel, bringing the potential to increase your prize pot significantly during your gaming session. And even better, where a Wild creates a winning line, it also brings a 2x multiplier into play too, so your overall line payout is doubled! It doesn’t take a genius to see that a Wild in combination with a higher-paying symbol could bring significant returns to the player - and this is a game which features frequent appearances from the Wild symbol, helped by the stacking Wilds feature of gameplay.

Max-win 10,000x

Volatility Medium

Top RTP 94.3%

Bonus Free Spins Round

Unlike all the other symbols in the game, the Scatter pays out whenever two or more appear anywhere on the reels - with all other symbols, the first winning symbol must appear on the leftmost reel, with other winning symbols appearing on consecutive reels.

Achieve three or more Scatters, anywhere on the reels, and the bonus round is triggered, awarding you a total of 8 free spins with a 2x multiplier, which could lead to some very favourable outcomes.

As soon as the bonus round is triggered, you are taken to a selection of closed oyster shells and invited to pick any two. These then open to reveal extra free spins and additional multipliers, with the potential to offer you an astonishing 33 free spins or up to a 15x multiplier.

That’s already generous, but the feature can be retriggered during the course of the bonus round, with the potential to win 15 additional spins, all with the same multiplier as the spin that triggered the bonus in the first place. And with the possibility of retriggering the feature multiple times, the sky is literally the limit when it comes to assessing your winnings!

Gamble Feature

In addition to its renowned bonus feature, Great Blue also contains a Gamble feature that can be triggered by a win. The turn of a card could double your winnings if you’re brave enough to risk it, so keep this in mind whenever you achieve a winning line.

To take advantage of the Gamble feature, simply hit the Gamble button located just to the left of the Spin button once a win has been revealed. You’ll be taken to a new screen where you are presented with the backs of a playing card. All you have to do is decide whether a card’s face is red or black and click or tap on your choice of colour. If you win, your previous winning line amount is doubled, and you can keep on picking red or black until you lose or until you decide to collect your winnings. And to help you further, the Gamble screen even informs you of the colour of your previous choices, which could inform your next choice of colour.

This is a simple little sub-game, but one that has proved very popular with players over time, as it offers further chances to increase a winning prize pot, adding to the overall enjoyment of the game.

Disclaimer: Great Blue trademark / license is owned by Playtech. This site is not endorsed by Playtech.