Galaxy Goddess Slots
In recent years, Aristocrat has made a habit out of creating new themes for their games, then releasing multiple games with variations on that theme. It’s a great way to increase their content: if people like one of these titles, chances are that they’ll enjoy them all, and the slots are usually different enough that playing each one truly feels like a new game, even if they’re similar graphically and thematically.
One of the latest examples of this is Galaxy Goddess. These games were first released in 2015, in two distinct variants: Austrina and Carina. Each of these titles features similar special features, but there is just enough that separates them to treat these two as distinct games.
Cool Carina
First, let’s take a quick look at the Carina version, which has a sky-blue backdrop and an overall “cool” color scheme that is relaxing and visually appealing. This machine uses a six-reel, 60-line format, and the basic goal is exactly what you’d expect: you want to match symbols across your paylines to win prizes. You’ll be looking for things like gems, harps, gods and the Galaxy Goddess herself to score wins on each spin you play.
A lot of the special features here are based around making stacks of the right symbols in the right places. For instance, find the game logo – which acts as a wild substitute – covering all of the second and fifth reels, and you’ll see it expand to cover all of the first five reels – automatically completing a huge number of big wins.
You can also earn your way into a free spins round by once again filling those two key columns completely with the free games symbol. Once this occurs, you’ll be able to choose from eight “galaxies” in order to find out how many spins you’ll receive; the typical range is between nine and 24, offering up a wide range of possibilities.
Stack those reels with Carina herself, and you’ll get a free respin of the other four, offering you yet another chance to lock in a big prize. Finally, filling columns two and five with galaxy symbols will allow you to enter the progressive jackpot bonus, where you’ll have a shot to win the minor, major, or grand prizes.
Galactic Green
If you play Austrina’s machine, then you’ll be treated to a jade-green version of the graphics package, one that is much more striking and intense than what we described above. However, most of the other parts of the machine are actually quite similar (with the exception that your high-paying goddess will look quite a bit different). The format is exactly the same, and once again the “max stacks” feature places huge emphasis on the second and fifth reels.
The biggest difference between the two machines comes in their free spins bonuses. While the first version offers a randomly picked number of games, this one offers players the choice between five variants. In each case, you’ll get one symbol heavily stacked on all the reels. If you want Austrina, you’ll have to settle for just 10 free plays; however, less valuable options can also be picked, offering up as many as 18 spins instead.
An Intergalactic Adventure
The Galaxy Goddess machines are very similar to each other, but that doesn’t mean that players won’t be able to pick a favorite between them. Much as with the Coyote Queen machines, we enjoyed the version that allowed the player to make choices in the special feature, rather than leaving the results to chance: anything that lets the user have some input is always a plus.
But no matter which of these games you prefer, you’ll find that they are a solid addition to any collection. What stood out for us wasn’t just the number of different bonus features, but the way they all fit together in a connected way in terms of gameplay: you’ll always know exactly where to look if you’re hoping to trigger one of the special features.
