Introduction to Celestial Buffalo
Celestial Buffalo is a casino slot from Relax Gaming that comes with a rather standard prairie theme, but there’s just something strange about these animals. Buffalo and bison themes have been a constant favorite in the iGaming scene for as long as many can remember. This is presumably because of the symbolism buffalo once held in Native American culture, as the animal was a sign of strength and a cornerstone of nature, believed to provide more than just food. But, kinda like how Book of Dead, released in 2016, popularised the way for “Book of” games, and Gates of Olympus opened the door for a plethora of new Greek mythology-themed games. Buffalo slot games became popularised with the release of Buffalo in 2008 by Aristocrat, a defining game-changer for the entire industry. So with that slot history lesson out of the way, back to Celestial Buffalo, which comes with a small twist on the typical theme, with each animal painted in shamanistic patterns, and the entire game being set during a thunderstorm. As you spin away and collect wins through the Cascades, you’ll be collecting symbols in the Symbol Collect Meter at the top of the playing grid, which will increase in up to 5 levels. Each level gives you an additional bonus, such as More Stacked Symbols, Countdown Wilds, Respins, and more, to help you on your hunt for the max win of 10,000X the bet.
Join the pack on the prairie as you level up through the Symbol Collection Meter, adding new features and bonus games to your spins. If you want to test the game for yourself, then check out the Celestial Buffalo demo.
Theme, Gameplay & Payouts
Celestial Buffalo is a video slot from Relax Gaming with 6 Reels, 4 / 5 Rows, and uses Ways mechanics to create wins, needing a minimum of 3 or more matching symbols on consecutive reels to form a win, starting from the leftmost reel. You can choose between making a Min.bet of 0.2 and a Max.bet of 100. Celestial Buffalo comes with an average RTP of 96.1% and high volatility, where wins can feel like a rollercoaster with its ups and downs, and you might just hit the peak and land the max win of 10,000X the bet.
As previously mentioned, the game is set out on the prairie during some pretty bad weather, and the playing grid is built into one of the red rocks, of which you can see many more in the background, tall as mountains. As you spin, subtle magical effects will come across the reels as you level up, trigger features, and create winning combinations. You can play the game on most desktops, notepads, and mobiles.
The lower-paying symbols are J, Q, K, and A. Creating a win with 6 of the same symbols will pay out 0.5X to 0.6X the bet. The higher-paying symbols are the horse, snake, eagle, fox, and buffalo. Landing a win with 6 of the same symbols pays out 0.8X to 4X the bet. You’ll also find Special Symbols in the form of Scatters, Countdown Wilds, and Respin Wilds, but more on those in the next section.
Special Features & Mechanics
What is the max win in the slot Celestial Buffalo?
You can win up to 10,000X the bet.
What features are available in the slot Cleestial Buffalo?
The features are Wild Symbols, Cascades Symbol Collection Meter, Respins, Free Spins, and Feature Buy.
Wild Symbols
There are two different Wild Symbols that can land on the reels, but both come with the possibilities of helping you create additional winning combinations by being able to substitute for all paying symbols, except Scatter Symbols.
Cascades
After landing a winning combination, the winning symbols will be removed from the playing grid, allowing new symbols to fall in from above. These new symbols then have the chance of creating new wins, and the Cascades continue until no more winning combinations have been made, thus ending the spin.
Symbol Collection Meter
By landing winning combinations, the winning symbols are added to the Symbol Collection Meter, which is then converted into levels, up to a maximum of 5. For each level, additional bonuses and features are unlocked, and they are as follows:
Level 1 = Unlocks More Stacked Symbols, giving the symbols a higher chance of landing in big stacks.
Level 2 = Unlocks Countdown Wilds, giving Wild Symbols a counter ranging from 1-4, representing how many wins they can be part of before being destroyed.
Level 3 = Unlocks the Sure Win. If a spin does not generate a win, the Sure Win can randomly trigger to change the position of certain symbols to guarantee a win.
Level 4 = Unlocks the Respins, which can be triggered by the new Respin Wild Symbol.
Level 5 = Unlocks an additional row and Scatter Symbols, which can trigger the Free Spins feature.
Respins
The Respins feature can only be triggered after the Symbol Collection Meter has hit level 4 and is triggered by a special Respin Wild Symbol being part of a winning combination. Winning symbols will remain in place while all other symbols are removed during the Respin, replaced with new ones, and if new wins are made, the Respins will continue, increasing the Total Win Multiplier by +1X for each Respin.
Free Spins
The Free Spins feature is awarded by landing 4, 5, or 6 Scatter Symbols, awarding 8, 10, or 15 spins, respectively. The bonus game is played with a Multiplier ladder starting at 2X up to 6X, and if a Respin occurs, its Multiplier is added to the Free Spins ladder, and an additional award of +3 spins. When the Free Spins feature ends, you will be returned to the base game at a random stage.
Feature Buy
You can instantly enter the Free Spins bonus game by using the Feature Buy for a price based on the current bet.
60X = Triggers the Free Spins feature.
Final Thoughts on Celestial Buffalo
As mentioned before, buffalo and bison-themed games aren’t exactly new and have been a staple in the slot industry for nearly two decades. Back in the day, and to some extent even today, we didn’t really see much innovation with the theme, as most of them just tried to copy the setting and even the gameplay of the original Buffalo release. However, Relax Gaming has decided to develop an interesting release, which, yes, is based on a very standard theme, but they at least tried to deliver something different about it, and we would argue it hit the nail on the head. Visually, the game looks great, from the subtle magical effects to the many beautiful symbols, and we especially like the thunderstorm setting, with the small detail of rain falling. But it’s not just all about visuals or themes, as it also comes down to gameplay, so let us move over to that section, and we can talk about the game’s features.
We can quickly run through the stats, as they aren’t anything substantial, with an average RTP of 96.1% and a solid max win of 10,000X the bet. When we first started the game and saw the level progression system, we were a bit unsure what to think, as many games fall into the trap of feeling rather incomplete at low levels and taking ages to really see the full potential of what they have to offer. But, Celestial Buffalo, while of course not perfect, didn’t really feel that way, as we quickly started levelling up and the amount between levels didn’t feel all too bad. However, while we were levelling up, the payouts might not have been the best, as even for being a Cascade-centric game, the paytable isn’t all that great, and the stats are mostly just average. This could be offset by the many additional bonuses you might get, as even the first level-up bonus, the More Stacked Symbols, is a great way to make your payouts at least a bit bigger. On top of this, we have Countdown Wilds to help form more wins, Sure Wins to randomly guarantee a win, Respins with Multipliers, and a larger 6x5 playing grid. All in all, the Game Collection feature, while we were a bit wary of it at first, actually felt pretty good to play with, and we rarely felt like we were stuck playing an incomplete game for too long. Then there is the Free Spins feature, which, while fun, mostly just brings Multipliers up to 6X, which definitely helps the paytable but maybe isn’t the most exciting. With that said, you now know what game you’re looking at, and it is one that was a happy surprise to stumble upon.
Celestial Buffalo is a slot with a Symbol Collection Meter level-up system and plenty of ways to help you keep the Cascades going.
