If a slot game is powered by Yggdrasil Gaming, we can safely assume that it's going to look and sound great - that's certainly the case with Seasons. Symbols on show include leaf-like playing card suits alongside toad stools, pine cones, acorns, blueberries and strawberries.
The game is played out with 4 different backdrops in play, each 1 based on a different season. Each season plays out for 10 spins before changing to the next. This is more than cosmetic though as the wild extra feature changes depending on which seasonal mode you're playing in:
- Spring – when the owl wild lands, it will give you a series of re-spins. That's not all as the owl will move 1 position vertically, horizontally or diagonally. The re-spins end when there are no more wise owls on the reels.
- Summer – the deer is the wild in summer. When it lands, it will expand to create a cross pattern with an extra 3 wilds added to the reels.
- Autumn – the canny fox wild delivers multiplier prizes in autumn. The more wilds that hit, the greater the potential payout boost. This can be anything from 2x right up to 10x if you manage to find 5 foxes on the screen.
- Winter - the hare wild hops across the reels to turn another symbol wild and in the process create the optimum winning pattern.
Land 3, 4 or 5 free spin symbols to trigger the Free Spins feature and be awarded 7, 10 or 30 free spins - they are played out in the same season as the base game mode that triggered it. So for example, if you get the free spins while in winter mode, the hopping hare wild feature will be in play with extra wilds are added to the reels for the duration of the feature. What you want is to trigger the feature in Autumn mode as you can get up to 10x multipliers!
Don't expect too many extreme conditions in Seasons - the variance is in the temperate, medium range, neither scorching hot nor freezing cold. Expect a balanced range of payouts. A nature themed slot could have been a tranquil and dare we say it a little boring affair - thankfully, Seasons is better than that.
Indeed, with its good lucks, funky animation and range of features, it's a very playable game all year round. If, like me, you like the sun, Microgaming’s SunTide is a good game to play.