Winterberries 2

Review Winterberries 2

When imagining the taste of berries, winter is not the season most closely associated with them. Thanks to this instalment, berry lovers won’t have to miss out in the cooler months as berries are also the star of the show in Winterberries 2, an online pokie that is delivered by game provider Yggdrasil. As the ‘2’ in the title suggests, Winterberries 2 is a sequel to the original Yggdrasil pokie, and it comes with a fair share of similarities, but still offers some differences. It’s time to grab a bowl and discover what these berries taste like. And if you prefer mangos, apples, or kiwis, don’t worry: the maximum payouts of 10,000x will give you reason to play this game anyway. In this Winterberries 2 you’ll discover why.

How to Play

Winterberries 2 is a new online casino game delivered by Yggdrasil and the gameplay uses a standard setup with 5 reels and 3 rows. Though not difficult to grasp, we offer a free demo version at CherryRed. This should help you to get familiar with the game rules without having to spend your own money. Also, below is how to play Winterberries 2:

• Click on the Cash Bet display to enter the page where you can find the bet selection. Choose between $0.10 and $100 bet sizes and then close the window. The betting limits Winterberries 2 comes with should be good enough for both conservative and big spenders. Make sure to set a bet that meets your bankroll.
• Make a spin by using the straightforward Spin button. Alternatively, you can make use of the Autoplay feature and set it to play games continuously. Whilst doing so you can also opt to set limits.
• Go ahead and access the paytable, help, and settings pages by pressing the Menu icon. From the settings window, you can go ahead and choose to show the splash screen, spin speed, and then press space to spin. You can also enable or disable the audio options.

Symbol Wins

The first and original Winterberries pokie was launched in 2016, so you can probably imagine the improvements the new version brings with regard to the audio and the graphics. Everything looks sharp and crisp and we like the simplicity of it all. As for the symbols, the low values are made up of the standard 4 playing card suits: clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades. Next, a bunch of berries form the high values of this game.

These berries include different berries such as blueberries, gooseberries, cloudberries and raspberries. Out of these fruits, the raspberry symbol is the most valuable one, paying 2, 6, 10 or 30x your total bet for combinations of 3, 4, 5 or 6. This online casino game has no wilds but there are 3 different scatters that come in the colours silver, gold and diamond. The gold and diamond scatters come into play in the game’s highly anticipated Free Spins feature, and can all offer additional free spins and increased multipliers.

Bonus Features

The different features of Winterberries 2 can easily be divided into respins during the base game and also a free spins feature. Then there is also an Ante Bet and the bonus buy feature. This gives us the following features to enjoy in this game:

Respins

You can earn 2 respins in Winterberries by making winning combinations. All symbols that are part of the winning combination freeze and are locked in position.

The remaining positions then rotate again. You will continue to receive respins as long as new symbols freeze. This can be done by expanding the original winning combination or by forming a new winning combination. When there are no more winning combinations, the feature comes to an end and the prize money is paid out.

Scatters can also form a winning combination themselves. In this case, scatters will freeze and initially trigger a new respin. After the respins feature has ended, the free spins feature of Winterberries 2 will automatically be activated.

If you manage to freeze all symbols on a reel, the multiplier above that reel will be activated. The multipliers above the reels run from x1 on the 1st reel to x32 on the 6th reel. However, if you want to activate the multiplier on reel 3, you will have to freeze all symbols on reels 1 to 3. The same applies, for example, if you want to activate the multiplier of reel 5. All symbols from reels 1 to 5 will then have to be frozen.

Winterberries 2 Free Spins

You will need to spin three or more scatters to activate Winterberries 2’s free spins feature. In Winterberries 2, the number of free spins increases as you spin more scatters. Here is how this works:

• 3 scatters awards 10 free spins.
• 4 scatters awards 12 free spins.
• 5 scatters awards 15 free spins.
• 6 scatters awards 20 free spins.

During the Winterberries 2 free spins feature, all multipliers above the reels are doubled, which means that the multiplier above reel 6 is a whopping x64. It is also important to know that every scattered scatter during the free spins feature awards 1 extra free spin. However, 3 special scatters can award a number of multipliers:

• Bronze scatter: 1x to 3x multipliers.
• Silver scatter: 4-8 multipliers.
• Gold scatter: 10-15 multipliers.

Ante Bet

In the Ante Bet you pay 50% extra on your bet to activate the sixth column. Enabling this feature boosts the possibilities of activating the Winterberries 2 bonus spins, unlocking 6-of-the-same payouts, and the highest column multiplier.

Buy Feature

In most countries, including New Zealand, you can also buy your way to the Free Spins. As a Kiwi, you have 4 Buy Bonus options to pick from:

• 100x bet: 10-15 free spins with 5 reels.
• 150x bet: 10-20 free spins with 6 reels.
• 200x bet: 15 free spins with 5 creels.
• 300x bet: 20 free spins with 6 reels.

Payout Metrics

The Winterberries 2 RTP hits the nail as it comes at 96%, which is right about average for an online pokie. Do note that there are three other RTP rates available and all of them are considerably lower: 94.0%, 90.5%, 86.0%. Winterberries 2 also comes with a hit frequency of 25.73%, which is very reasonable compared to a lot of other NZ pokies we have come across in recent months. At the same time, volatility levels are very high. The top win is capped at 10,000x your total stake or $1,000,000 which is royal. This is best achieved in the Free Spins feature thanks to the additional free spins and the increasing multipliers.

Summary

Whilst there are definitely a lot of similarities between the Winterberries 2 pokie and the original game that was launched a few years ago, there are some important improvements. Very noticeably the graphics and the audio have improved to give us the full experience. Then there is also a thrilling and new Free Spins feature as the original pokie didn’t have this. The hit frequency has improved from 12.7% up to an outstanding 25.73%. If you’re after respins, multipliers and/or fruit-themed games, there is no doubt you’re going to like this one. With top wins of 10,000x the bet, playing this game is worthwhile. Online pokies with respin and/or multiplier features have been on the rise in recent months and Winterberries 2 now enters the conversation too. Good on ya, Yggdrasil.