SunTide

SunTide is set to a sunset over the ocean. In the background image, the sun is just sinking below the horizon. The sky is lit a yellow gold colour. That is as far as the theme goes. The rest of the pokie, like the reels and symbols are generic. They could be from any game and have no relevance to the theme.

Developer

SunTide was developed by Microgaming, a massive contributor of online game, to the industry. They created the first online casino in 1994, and since then have released over 600 games. They are based in the Isle of Man.

Microgaming have been launching games frequently in early 2016 and the majority of them have been good. They develop a good game, as far as features and gameplay are concerned. Their titles, can be let down by their aesthetics, thing like the graphics and animation, fall short of what other developers are doing.

Design

This pokie has a simple design, but not simple in a good way. The design is functional and players will find it simple to operate in that respect. It is unfortunately ugly. It has a square boxy look about it with drawn on paylines and those ugly coloured boxes down the side.

This pokie looks antiquated and like, Microgaming has not tried hard enough. The reels are white, separated by a thin strip of blue, and the symbols are generic fruit symbols, except for a few that trigger special features. The panel is at the bottom of the interface, under the reel, and it houses all the games controls. It is easy enough to use, and is a common Microgaming panel which some player will already have used.

How to play

SunTide has a disappointing 9 paylines. Having so few paylines works in some games, but it depends on the features and RTP. SunTide accommodates Bets from between 9p to £22.50 a spin. It is not a complicated game. The reels are spun with the spin button, and all the information about bet, paylines and symbol values, are found by clicking the plays tab, on the right of the screen.

Special Features

The base game has an expanding wild symbol. The gold coin will only land on the middle reel. When it does, it will expand to cover the entire reel and substitute any symbol except a scatter. This is the games only, in game feature. It makes some wins, but in a game with only 9 payline which is only three reels high instead of the conventional four, it is not that good a feature.

There is also a free spins feature. It is unlocked by landing three scatter symbols, anywhere on the reels. The scatter symbols are hard to miss as they have scatter written on them. The player is given 15 free spins. In the free spins feature, the Wild Symbol will expand, on the three middle reels. This makes it quite a lucrative feature, as wins are more frequent. The feature can be retriggered giving the player a potential 30 free spins.

Maximum Payout

The highest possible win in the base game is an impressive 1,222 x stake. In the free spins feature SunTide is giving away a whopping 3,333x stake.

Summary

SunTide, is a mediocre game. It is not a bad game, it just isn’t a good one. The player will enjoy the free spins game mode, as it is a fast-paced lucrative feature. The expanding wilds help make a win occasionally, but they are a bit useless confined to the third reel. This game will be available soon, if players want to play it, but they should not lose too much sleep over it.