Football Star Deluxe
Football Star Deluxe Slot Review (Microgaming/Stormcraft)
Microgaming’s sports classic returns as the Football Star Deluxe slot by Stormcraft Studios.
They’ve revamped the game to 88 pay-lines and 96.88% RTP. The maximum win is now also bigger at 3,200x bet, which is 1,100x more than the original game. At the same time, they’ve kept the things that worked, like the Rolling Reels, Striking Wild, Super Stacked Growing Wilds and Free Spins. And it’s made by the same team who created the first Football Star and made blockbuster hits like Immortal Romance and Thunderstruck.
Football Star Deluxe is available from 28 May 2020. You can play it for free or real money at recommended slot sites like Volt Casino.
Play Football Star Deluxe at Licensed Slot Site
Recommended Microgaming casino
Free spins as part of the welcome bonus can be played on either: Wild Wild West, Finn and the Swirly Spin, Spinsane, Aloha, Starburst or Joker Pro. Min deposit: €/$/£20. Skrill and Neteller deposits don’t qualify. Wagering requirement: 40x bonus within 30 days (non-sticky bonus). Game weighting applies. New 18+ customers only. Play responsibly. Full T&C.
Game overview
Editor's verdict
Simple as it is, Football Star and the rest of the Microgaming slots from this genre have been one of my favourites thanks to a great combo of Super Stacked Wilds and Rolling Reels. I also appreciate that Stormcraft Studios have increased the maximum win and lifted the RTP way up there to almost 97%! Although it will take quite a few shots at the bonus to get any decent wins, Football Star Deluxe ticks many boxes for what it takes to be a great slot for casual football and slot players alike.
Rolling Reels
The deluxe version of the game is played with 18, 38, 68 or 88 pay-lines instead of 243 Ways like before. Depending on how many lines you play, you can bet from 0.18 to 44 credits per spin.
The Rolling Reels feature, which appears in many Microgaming slots, means that the winning symbols are explosive. So each time you win, the symbols will disappear while the empty spots get filled with existing and new icons from above. This creates new winning opportunities, especially when there are super stacked Wild symbols on reels 2-5!
In addition to the Wilds, there are 9 regular stackable symbols that pay for 3-5 of a kind. These have a max value of around 6.7x bet.
Striking Wild
This is a feature which appears randomly in the base game.
When activated, football players will strike a ball into the reels and turn reel 2, 3 or 4 wild for a guaranteed win. Moreover, that wild reel will stay wild for all subsequent rolls.
Free Spins Bonus
Get 3 or more Scatters to win 12 Free Spins. Get 5 Scatters and you’ll also get a nice boost of 250x.
What’s different in the bonus is that it’s played with Growing Wilds and a Multiplier Trail. The multiplier increases with each consecutive roll in Free Spins:
- Roll 1 – 2x multiplier
- Roll 2 – 3x multiplier
- Roll 3 – 4x multiplier
- Roll 4 – 5x multiplier
- Roll 5 – 8x multiplier.
On a non-win, the multiplier will reset. What will not reset is the Growing Wilds. These are the same super stacked wilds on reels 2-5, but with each spin, their stack will grow by 1 Wild. So at the end of the feature, there will be 12 more Wilds in each stack, which makes the ending of the feature hopefully more rewarding as a result.
👍 Tip: The Free Spins bonus triggers frequently, every 50-100 spins on average. The most that I got from the bonuses was just over 100x bet. The average win tend to be around 50x.
Conclusion
Final Verdict
Football Star is one of Microgaming’s most underrated games in my opinion. And now it’s better than before in several important ways. It’s got a higher payout and better return to player, which fans of the 2014 release might appreciate in the first place. However, there are some concerns too.
One of the things that are weird about it is the unusual betting ranges and the above-average minimum bet, which may pose issues for low rollers (unless they choose to play less lines). And despite the high RTP and Super Stacked Wilds, which have worked very well for me in the past, I rarely won over 50x bet in the Deluxe Free Spins while testing the game. Bad luck?
Despite that, I still believe it is a decent game if you’re looking for a more simple and casual video slot. If you want the same game but with high variance then check out the hockey-themed Break Away Deluxe, which I like even more and is otherwise identical.
Good luck!
Free spins as part of the welcome bonus can be played on either: Wild Wild West, Finn and the Swirly Spin, Spinsane, Aloha, Starburst or Joker Pro. Min deposit: €/$/£20. Skrill and Neteller deposits don’t qualify. Wagering requirement: 40x bonus within 30 days (non-sticky bonus). Game weighting applies. New 18+ customers only. Play responsibly. Full T&C.
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