Balloonies Slot Review

Theme and Storyline

Give this online slot a spin, and you’ll see it’s all about fun and getting a different visual experience compared with some other modern slots. Especially among IGT games, this one uses a distinctive theme and visuals, featuring balloon animal symbols that will bring you back to your childhood.

However, this game is not child’s play, as you can see from the payout potential of it. The theme is rounded up with animated, almost cartoonish elements and symbol design which adds up to the unique gaming experience. 

Don’t just take our word for it – try the free Balloonies slot game demo and you’ll easily see it for yourself. Among the main symbols, you’ll see elephant, giraffe, and monkey balloon animals, with the blue one being the highest-paying premium. That’s the beauty of it – everywhere you look, you’ll see bright colors and elements worthy of your favorite childhood animated show.

Graphics, Sounds, and Animations

The visuals are the strongest suit of this slot, and it’s not just because they are sharp and modern-looking. In fact, the whole appeal of this game is in its cartoonish design, followed by a goofy tune that intensifies as you reach the bonus round or hit big wins.

Due to the quality of the visual aspect, you could say that it’s on par with IGT’s land-based slot machines. As you play this one, you’ll notice special animations taking place whenever a winning combination is formed.

It triggers a sequence of spinning where winning symbols disappear and they simply pop like burst balloons whenever that happens. What we especially liked when playing the Balloonies slot demo game was the appeal of the visuals for beginners. Namely, the grid is clean without any complex animations that would leave you confused, so it’s rather easy to catch up with the game’s rules and gameplay.

Gameplay and Features 

The Balloonies slot has straightforward gameplay, but there are several features worth mentioning here. First, we have to point out the «Floating Reels» feature, which is more or less a cascading gameplay aspect. However, it’s a bit different from regular cascades in this game, keeping in mind that the symbols roll in from the bottom of the grid and go towards the top.

So, instead of them falling down from the top of the grid, they do the opposite and create the effect of balloons in the sky. Pretty cool design idea, right? Don’t worry, the provider had plenty of those in store, and you can see it from the moment you hit your first winning combo.

Instead of just moving on with the next spin, the «Floating Reels» feature initiates the cascades, so winning symbols disappear from the grid. They burst like balloons, and whenever that happens, new ones are flown into the grid to take their place.

As you play Balloonies slot machine, you will also notice symbols that resemble burst balloons. These are the wilds that act as a substitution for every other symbol to rack up your winning combinations. Along with the floating reels and wilds, the game has a few more tricks up its sleeve. 

You’ll also notice the star symbol randomly showing up on the middle reels, and when it does, it awards a multiplier in value from x2 to x5. The multiplier win is applied to the total win amount after the cascading action.

Bonus Rounds and Free Spins

As the main dish among the Balloonies slot special features, we’ve got the free spins bonus round. To trigger it, you’ll need to land three red balloon symbols on the grid all at the same time and on the same spin. Don’t worry, it’s not as hard as it seems, thanks to all those cascading symbols.

It’s way easier to trigger the bonus when new spaces for scatter symbols open up so frequently due to the cascades. So, if you get lucky, you could theoretically hit five or more winning hits, all in one hand. That leaves more room for the scatters to fall into, and when they do, you’ll be presented with the choice of three different balloons.

Simply choose one of them, and you’ll get free spins ranging from 4 of them to 14 FS. Things get heated up when you trigger the bonus, considering that the entire pace of the game changes. You’ll spot a bit of a darker background and intense sound effects which only hint at the game’s payout potential. 

During the bonus, you’ll see more star symbols with higher multiplier values, as well as more cascading opportunities. Plus, there are no bonus symbols on the grid, which is not such a great thing considering you can’t re-trigger. But, it does ensure easier cascades since a scatter symbol can’t take up the grid space.

Betting and Payouts

Another appealing factor regarding this slot is the betting range which is suitable for all players. Depending on your casino and currency, you can bet from 20 coins per spin, to 600 coins per spin, and here’s what the payouts look like for a five-of-a-kind hit of various symbols:

• Five-of-a-kind of Queens – x20 of your bet per line
• Five-of-a-kind of Kings – x20 of your bet per line
• Five-of-a-kind of Aces – x25 of your bet per line
• Five-of-a-kind of Giraffe – x150 of your bet per line
• Five-of-a-kind of Elephant – x200 of your bet per line
• Five-of-a-kind of Monkey – x250 of your bet per line 
• Five-of-a-kind of Blue Balloon – x500 of your bet per line

The thing with the payouts is – they are also dependent on the casino where you are playing the online slot. So, it’s best to try the free Balloonies slot game first, and then check the payouts in real money mode and compare the two.

RTP and Variance

When it comes to the Balloonies slot RTP, it’s at the 96.23% level, which is slightly above the industry’s average. On the other hand, the variance is on the medium level, so that’s a perfect blend for those who aren’t trying to play it overly risky. But, that also affects the limited payout potential of the game.

To bring you accurate details, our team tried to find the numbers indicating the hit frequency of the game. Since we couldn’t find official information anywhere, we’ve decided to take things into our own hands and play Balloonies slot machine for real money and in the free play mode.

The result was somewhat expected since we made tons of spins, and while our balance hadn’t gone through major ups and downs, we didn’t hit any massive wins either. That’s the compromise you’ll have to be willing to take to play medium volatility slots. 

To get an idea of how the game works regarding the return and volatility, it’s best to play the Balconies slot demo game and you’ll be able to witness it firsthand. IGT did a great job of using the same software for the demo game mode as they’ve done for the real money play. The bottom line is – since it’s free, why wouldn’t you give it a few spins and test the game?

Jackpots and Limits

Jackpot hunters won’t be thrilled to hear that this game has no progressives or fixed prizes. However, it does have a specified win cap of up to 25,000,000 coins, so that’s worth exploring further. The maximum win limit isn’t that high either, coming capped at x500 of your bet per line.

However, that’s merely a suggestion of the game’s payout potential. Cascading mechanics surely help you anticipate bigger wins, while those star multipliers that we’ve mentioned further increase your wins. It’s also possible to land two-star multipliers on the same spin, in which case their multiplier values are added together.

You just need to land a premium connection on an active pay line, and if you hit two multipliers, your per-line win could go well beyond that x500 limit. In theory, it’s possible to get up to x25 from a combination of two multipliers. 

The maximum limit per line can be achieved mainly in the bonus round, but there’s one catch. The bonus is limited to those 25,000,000 coins that we’ve mentioned before. So, if you hit that value before the bonus ends, you won’t get to see the remaining spins play out. 

Conclusion

Well, that settles our adventure through the Balloonies slot review, so hopefully you’ve had fun or learned something along the way. In our humble opinion, it’s the best option to go with a free Balloonies slot game since that gives you the best chance of figuring out how the volatility and return work.

Overall, we give it a great grade because of an innovative approach that raises the bar when it comes to cascading games. Plus, you can enjoy the floating reels feature in style while grabbing multiplier prizes, and accumulating some massive hits.