Solar Eclipse: Northern Winds Slot Review

Solar Eclipse: Northern Winds Slot Overview

Solar Eclipse: Northern Winds is a casino slot from Playtech where you play the game as an Inuit hunting seals, wolves, and polar bears. At any time, a Solar Eclipse can occur, awarding prizes ranging from 20X up to 500X. The Inuit are a group of indigenous people traditionally inhabiting the Arctic, subarctic region of North America, and Greenland, with a total population of about 155,000. This game presents a wide set of features, including Wild Symbols, Free Games, and Jackpots, so put on some warm clothes, and let’s find out what Solar Eclipse: Northern Winds has to offer!

Solar Eclipse: Northern Winds is a video slot from Playtech with 5 reels, 3 rows, and 25 paylines. Players can choose between a Min.bet of 0.05 and a Max.bet of 500. The game has been created with 3 different RTPs and with a below-average RTP of 95.51% by default, but operators can also choose to use one of the lower ones of either 94.01% or 91.98%. This game offers a hit frequency of 29.42% and medium/high volatility. Solar Eclipse: Northern Winds has a max win of 774X the bet + progressive Jackpots, and the max win hit frequency averages 1 in 1,000,000,000 spins.

This slot game adventure has some fun features to help you pursue and land the big wins. The features of Solar Eclipse: Northern Winds are Wild Symbol, Free Games, Solar Eclipse, and Jackpot Bonus.

Solar Eclipse: Northern Winds Slot Information

The game’s design is based on an arctic theme with ice and dark blue water in the background. Symbols like wolfs, seals, and polar bear symbols fill the reels during the spins. Fun fact: polar bears are excellent swimmers who can hold their breath for over two minutes in ice-cold water. The reels of this game are positioned in the center-left of the screen, with Solar Eclipse Jackpots displayed above them. You’ll find the Spin button on the right side, and all remaining buttons, including the Bet Size button, are on the screen's lower edge. You can play Solar Eclipse: Northern Winds on all mobile devices, desktops, and notepads. You create a winning combination by landing 3 or more of the same symbol types on adjacent reels starting at the leftmost reel. 

The lower-paying symbols 10, J, Q, K, and A. Landing 5 of the same symbol type pays 2X. The higher-paying symbols are a wolf, seal, polar bear, and female hunter. Landing 5 of the same symbol type pays between 4X and 12X. 

The game’s Wild Symbols has the design of a Sun and an Eclipse, and the Moon Symbol is a blue moon that only appears on reels 1 and 2, carrying individual cash values of up to 10X. Landing 1 or more Moon Symbols on each reel will trigger the Solar Eclipse feature. The Scatter Symbol is an image of an Iceberg, and creating a win with 3, 4, or 5 of this symbol type will trigger the Free Games and have a direct payout of 2X, 3X, or 5X, respectively. Let’s find out what kind of features this game has to offer!

Solar Eclipse: Northern Winds Slot Features

What is the max win in the slot of Solar Eclipse: Northern Winds?

The max win is 774X the bet. 

What features are available in the slot of Solar Eclipse: Northern Winds?

The features of this slot game are Wild Symbol, Free Games, Solar Eclipse Feature, and Jackpot Bonus.

Wild Symbol

This game has two Wild Symbols: the Sun and the Eclipse. Both Wild Symbols substitute all symbols except Scatter and Moon Symbols. The Wild Symbols help you create winning combinations during the spins. The Wild Symbols play a big part during the Solar Eclipse feature, which you can read more about in the next section!

Solar Eclipse feature

This feature can be triggered by landing 1 or more of the Moon, Sun Wild Symbol, or Eclipse Wild Symbol on separate reels during the Base Game and Free Games feature.

Sun Wild Symbol = If this symbol type triggers the feature, it transforms into a Moon Symbol and reveals a cash prize of 1X, 2X, 5X, or 10X. 

Moon Symbol = If this symbol type triggers the feature, it can reveal a cash prize of 1X, 2X, 5X, or 10X or a Mini, Minor, or Lunar Bonus awarding 20X, 50X, or 500X the bet, respectively.

Eclipse Wild Symbol = If 3 Eclipse Wild Symbols are in view when triggering the Solar Eclipse, the progressive Solar Jackpot displayed above the reels is awarded. If 1 or 2 Eclipse Symbols are in view, it will award the Jackpot Bonus feature.

All prizes shown on the reels are paid out after all Sun Wild Symbols have revealed their prize.

Free Games 

This feature can be triggered by landing 3 or more Scatter Symbols anywhere on the reels, awarding 8 Free Games. Depending on whether you land 3, 4, or 5 Scatter Symbols award you a direct payout of 2X, 3X, or 5X, respectively. You can retrigger the feature by landing 3 or more Scatter Symbols, granting 8 additional Free Games.

During the spins, all Wild Symbols are held in position until the Solar Eclipse feature is triggered and then removed from the reels after the feature is activated. Reels 3, 4, and 5 can be randomly replaced with a special reel containing only Wild Symbols and Scatter Symbols.

Jackpot Bonus

This feature can be triggered by landing 1 or 2 Eclipse Wild Symbols during the Solar Eclipse Feature. You are presented with a blue grid where only row 2 is active. Above the reels, a ball machine is positioned, which contains blue and sun balls.

During the feature, 1 draw is awarded from the ball machine, and each Blue ball will reveal a number of 10, 15, 20, 30, or 50, and each Sun ball will reveal a number of 60, 70, 100, 200, or 300. The objective is to get the highest accumulated number possible across row 2, and this number will determine the score and award a prize according to the meter on the right side. The possible prizes are:

Solar Jackpot = Awards the Progressive Jackpot that starts at €10,000; the current value of the Jackpot is displayed on the meter on the right side of the screen.

Minor Bonus = 50X the bet.

Mini Bonus = 20X the bet.

You return to the Base Game when the prizes are paid out and the feature ends.

Solar Eclipse: Northern Winds Slot Conclusion

Are you wearing your winter coat? Good, because this game provides a freezing experience among the Inuit, polar bears, and chubby seals. Don’t bother packing your favorite Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops because we are hunting for big wins in the Arctic. So, does this game offer big wins? Well, the max win of 774X certainly doesn’t create a potential for exciting gameplay, but just like we’ve seen in previous games such as Solar Eclipse: Jaguar’s Liar, it’s all about the Progressive Jackpot, attracting players seeking significant opportunities for massive hits. 

When we started testing this game, it sure felt familiar to Solar Eclipse: Jaguar’s Liar, sharing identical features, Jackpots, and cash prize values. The most significant difference between the games is the stats; both offer below RTPs, and very low max wins. When it comes to games containing Jackpots, players shouldn’t focus too much on the regular stats because this game still has the potential for a major Solar Jackpot win with a starting value of €10,000. 

Regarding the design, this game is similar to previous releases from Playtech, such as Oink Oink Oink or Panda Blitz, which are decently designed games where the main focus lies in the features. Just like Solar Eclipse: Jaguar’s Liar, this game is packed with features such as Wild Symbols, Free Games, and Solar Eclipse. Something is always happening to keep you on your toes, and our favorite feature is the Jackpot Bonus, offering a game show vibe with prizes up to 50X and a chance to scoop up the Solar Jackpot. With that said, we wish the provider had designed the Jackpot Bonus after this game’s particular arctic theme, creating a better interplay between the features. 

How do we summarize this game? Playtech has created this game after the same structure as previous releases in this game series with solid features and decent win potential. Still, we wish the provider would add something new to make this experience more unique. 

Solar Eclipse: Northern Winds is a slot with an Arctic theme offering an action-packed game featuring the Solar Jackpot Bonus!