Gem Crush

Review Gem Crush

Gem Crush takes us to a place somewhere in a mysterious jungle. The game’s action takes place on a 6×8 grid with the atmosphere carrying a subtle mistiness. To offer players a complete jungle, waterfalls are found on both sides of the reels, and rays of sunlight pierce through the gaming screen. The stacked, gently bobbing stones and the leaves blown in the air give us an element of surprise which means that winning combinations can be made at any time. The combination of complex visuals and exceptional sounds works together to get you ready for your next spin. As for the game’s interface, it has retained its simplicity, providing a hassle-free and enjoyable experience. Get ready for the Gem Crush demo that can be played directly in this CherryRed New Zealand review.

How to Play

Games by NetEnt mean that the graphics are top notch whilst most of their games tend to be easy to understand. Gem Crush, however, may turn out to be a little bit tricky as it works with a 6×8 playing field. As always, we’ll be more than happy to help you grasp the main rules of the game, helping you with how to play Gem Crush:

• This game is played on a playing field of 6×8, but the grid isn’t very big in comparison to other recent pokies we’ve come across.
• Winning combinations are made using clusters of 5+ identical symbols connected either vertically or horizontally. When payouts are made, an avalanche effect will occur which can lead to subsequent wins, removing winning symbols and making space for new ones.
• Bets can be made from $0.10 to $40, with the symbols filling the reels randomly and potentially trigger wins of up to 4,361x the bet.
• Go for the green “Spin” button to make a spin. The Autoplay function can be used to make multiple spins. If you enable Quickspin, it’ll make the reels spin faster than usual.
• We recommend all of our visitors to make use of the free demo version which is readily available at CherryRed New Zealand.
• Go for the Menu icon to take a closer look at the “How to Play” and “Paytable” buttons as they will turn out to be very helpful. Meanwhile, the top right arrow expands and collapses the progressive jackpot metres.
• We always stress as much as possible that CherryRed stands for responsible gambling. This means that we recommend all of our players to set limits upon registering at a casino and think of a predefined budget before they make their spin.

Symbol Wins

In Gem Crush, players are taken to a temple, which is found next to a waterfall in the forest. The overall setting is very serene and presents the perfect place to look for the hidden gems that can pop up everywhere if luck happens to be on your side. Whilst you make your spins and trigger the free spins feature you’ll notice how day turns to night, with the audio on changing ever so slightly. The visuals are great and the colours really make everything stand out. Gemstones in different colours represent the pay symbols. Some of these symbols are framed and have a higher value. Out of the gemstones, the orange framed gem is the most lucrative one. The framed orange gem is the most rewarding symbol of them all, paying 0.6 the bet for combinations of 5+ up to 80x the bet for 30 or more of them. The game’s wild symbol is easy to recognise as it comes with a large W that substitutes for all paying symbols. It can also land as a 2×2 Wild in the FS feature. Here is everything you need to know about the different symbols in this casino game by NetEnt.

Bonus Features

There are 5 different bonus features that can be found in the Gem Crush pokie game. These range from multipliers and rainbow gems to colossal wilds and free spins, which means there are heaps of them to pay attention to. Let’s guide you through all of the bonus features in Gem Crush. After reading this section, you will know exactly how they work and how to trigger them. Let’s first start with the multipliers waiting for you.

Multipliers

Multipliers can be activated randomly, and their role is pretty straightforward. When they get triggered, they will multiply all wins by either 2x, 3x, 4x or 5x the stake. The multiplier is shown next to the playing field.

Rainbow Gems

If a Rainbow gem is landed anywhere on the playing field, it will mark one symbol type to upgrade to another symbol type for that spin. A maximum amount of 4 Rainbow gems can land during the Free Spins feature.

Free Spins Feature

The free spins bonus feature is triggered when 3 bonus scatters land on the playing field. They will then activate this bonus feature which will come with 10 free spins. In the fourth bonus round, 4 modifiers will enter the game:

• Increasing Multiplier: Doesn’t reset during the bonus round, this multiplier is increased 1x on every second spin.
• Colossal Wild: With the colossal wild, a wild with a size of at least 2×2 will land on each spin.
• Symbol Transformation: Symbol transformations can happen with a Rainbow gem during the bonus round during the remainder of the free spins round.
• XStrike: The multiplier increases with 1x every time this bonus feature is triggered.

Payout Metrics

The RTP in Gem Crush is 96.1%, which is above the industry average and just fine. As for the volatility level of Gem Crush, it falls in the medium range and is rated 3 out of 5 by the Swedish provider itself. The hit frequency is medium to high and rate 4 out of 5. The maximum win of Gem Crush is 4,361x the bet. Although this isn’t necessarily bad, most games we review have a higher top win potential. This might be a dealbreaker to some players and we’re wondering why NetEnt didn’t just go ahead and include a 5000x or more win potential.

Summary

When we opened Gem Crush pokie, we didn’t really know what to expect as NetEnt hasn’t been very stable in recent years. Although they’re definitely back, not all of their pokies have turned out to be classics ever since they started overproducing games in 2019 and got acquired by Evolution in 2020. The serene soundtrack and background did make us feel comfortable even before we hitted the spin button. Our mixed expectations turned out to be right as the 6×8 playing field doesn’t necessarily lead to massive payouts. The inclusion of 2×2 Wilds and multipliers will lead to even more excitement throughout the 10 free spins. However, there was a lingering desire for an additional feature or a unique element that would set it apart, a characteristic NetEnt was once renowned for.

In summary, whilst Gem Crush didn’t leave a lasting impression on our review team, it still offered a pleasant pokie experience which tends to be the case for most NetEnt powered pokies nowadays. This game is particularly suitable for enthusiasts of gem-themed games, although the maximum win potential of 4,361x the stake falls short.