Shifting Seas

Shifting Seas

The Shifting Seas online slot from Thunderkick is based on a shifting reels gameplay style and a high sea motif. A variety of bonus features and extras are tied into the atypical, asymmetrical layout and a tremendous aesthetic appeal that’s on par with the best in the industry.

Rating: 89% | Made By Thunderkick | Reviewed On

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An Introduction to the Shifting Seas Slot

If you’re the type of player who wants to go on an adventure out on the high sea, then the Shifting Seas video slot is the right pick. This game is all about a gorgeous seafaring experience along with some great game mechanics directly inspired by the same concept.

Shifting Seas Main Screen
Shifting Seas Main Screen

Thunderkick did a tremendous job tying together the theme with the gameplay elements in a way that makes sense.

When you first look at this game, the presentation is what will absolutely catch your eye first. It looks so good that it’s difficult for it not to. The hazy background scene of an island surrounded by the ocean in the background is the perfect backdrop. Additionally, you’ll see a variety of highly detailed symbols on the board in a tremendous animated style. It’s the kind of thing that sets it apart from the various other pirate-style slots out there. In this way, it reminds us a bit of the presentation of the Smugglers Gold slot as well.

Even though the graphics are so good, we think the gameplay is what stands out more than anything. That’s because of the atypical shifting mechanic that works in this game. Additionally, how it pairs up with the asymmetrical format is really interesting. Along with that, you’ll have a handful of features that fit into the overall swing of things and that give a good variety of ways to win. Overall, it all comes together particularly well.

Betting and Layout

We’re pretty sure that one of the first things that will stand out to players is the atypical layout. It’s set up so that it always has more symbols on the left-hand side than the right-hand side. Additionally, this plays into some of the features, as we’ll get into down below.

However, don’t feel the need to be alarmed or intimidated. This game is really straightforward to learn how to play, and we’ll show you in the following.

  • In this slot, you’ll have six reels of actual to contend with. The far left reels start with four symbols each, the middle three with three symbols each and the far right with two symbols each.
  • Those numbers can actually change as the game goes on thanks to the features. However, you’ll always have the “all ways” style of assigning wins at play regardless.
  • This works by giving wins for matching symbols on consecutive reels. Additionally, those combinations have to start at the far-left, but the positions of the symbols on the consecutive reels don’t actually matter.
  • Players will find an ultra-low minimum bet size of just €0.10 per spin. This means pretty much everyone will find a bet size that fits their preferences here.
  • Higher stakes players are also welcomed with maximum bet sizes of €100 per turn. Note that some casinos may limit this to a lower value in occasional cases.

Other Information

As it turns out, this is a slot that has a volatility level in the medium-high range overall. This higher than average volatility primarily comes from the feature set, which packs a tremendous amount of value. However, the hit-rate of the regular game mode is pretty reasonable, which does help some with the swings. In any case, the swings will also be a little more severe than average simply because it follows the volatility.

With the number of ways to win changing on many spins, a traditional line-based payout setup isn’t so useful. Thunderkick did the smart thing here and made all wins based on the total bet. That means if you have something like a 10x win with a €2 wager, your total prize is €20. No complicated mental math is involved with multiplying coins by coins per line by coin sizes and so on. We’re glad for that, and we think it’s what’s best for players.

Gameplay and Features for the Shifting Seas Video Slot

The name of the Shifting Seas online slot actually captures what most of the gameplay is about. A set of features based around shifting reel motifs is the order of the day. While the theme is similar to something like Jewel Sea Pirate Riches, the fact of the matter is that that gameplay of this slot is different than virtually any other deep sea, treasure hunting or pirate-based title out there.

Shifting Seas Wild Reel Feature
Shifting Seas Wild Reel Feature

Thunderkick was apparently focused on making the play style stand out. We think they very much achieved that. Additionally, we’ll show you everything you need to know about these atypical game mechanics in the following.

Wild Symbol Wins

Before we get into the shifting mechanics, we want to point out the functionality of the wilds first. The first thing to know is that they offer up some pretty solid wins as follows:

  • Six of a Kind – 5x
  • Five of a Kind – 2.5x
  • Four of a Kind – 2x
  • Three of a Kind – 1x

However, it’s worth noting that these wilds show up in more than one way. They’re able to appear on the board as usual with other symbols. You should note they also have multiple features that drag more of them onto the reels along different lines.

Shifting Wins and Avalanches

Two different mechanics kick in after each and every win on the game board. The first is the Shifting Wins feature. This takes the far-right reel off of the board and moves all reels one position to the right. Additionally, the first reel is full of a completely new set of symbols at this point. Players will notice that this increases the size of some of the reels on the board. In turn, this increases the number of ways to win, which makes the resulting opportunities for payouts more rewarding.

We also want to point out that the Boost Shift feature can activate at random to make this happen at the beginning of a spin. The only difference is that the new reel is a copy of what was previously the far-left reel to make it much easier to get winning combinations.

The second mechanic of note that comes after a win is the Avalanche feature. Many players will be familiar with this concept, but it’s pretty straightforward. All symbols that were a part of the win or wins that trigger the mechanic disappear. This makes way for new symbols to fall into those empty spaces from up above. From there, players are given another chance to hit even more winning combinations.

With both of these acting together, you can actually have this pair of mechanics hit over and over again from the same paid spin. Thunderkick didn’t limit the number of times in a row that this can happen. As a result, if you get on a string of good spins, you can rack up plenty of payouts in a row.

Symbol Rush and Wild Surge Features

The Symbol Rush feature is much like a traditional mystery symbol feature. This is a special mechanic much like the special mechanics found in the Epic Treasure online slot, but it just functions differently.

The bottom line is that between four and eight symbols can randomly be turned into the same individual matching symbol. However, it’s different than a traditional mystery symbol mechanic because no mystery symbol is required.

A variation of this can also happen with wilds called the Wild Surge feature. Instead of turning into four to eight matching regular symbols, you can have one to three symbols turn into wilds. With the “all ways” approach to payouts in effect, you can see how this can turn into major wins quickly.

Shifting Seas Bonus Game
Shifting Seas Bonus Game

Shifting Seas Free Spins

If a bonus symbol gets pushed off of the right-hand side of the board with the shifting mechanics, you’ll trigger a set of eight free spins. Four more can be added to the total by shifting another bonus feature off of the board in the same way.

During these free spins, you can trigger a wild reel at random on the first reel at any time as a part of a shift mechanic. It has a multiplier attached to it, which increases each time it shifts itself. Additionally, it will add one free spin when it appears.

No maximum number of free spins is put on this feature per time it triggers.

How to Win at Shifting Seas

We feel that the most important thing for players to remember about the Shifting Seas video slot is that it does have a volatility higher than average. This can be tricky to remember in the middle of playing because the hit-rate is so solid. However, a really straightforward adjustment is available to smooth things out a bit.

Dropping your bet size slightly can smooth out the volatility if you want to take that option. With that said, it’s completely optional, and you’re under no obligation to do so. It will also not increase your return to player percentage.

Shifting Seas Payouts
Shifting Seas Payouts

Payout Structure for the Shifting Seas Online Slot

The red chest with gold and a giant gem gets 5x for six of a kind. Additionally, the purple lady pirate earns 1.8x for six while the green lady pirate gets you 1.4x. From there, the violet male pirate is worth 1.2x with 1x for six of the blue parrot.

For the card rank symbols, the golden A is worth 0.8x for six, and both the silver K and bronze Q get you 0.7x for six of a kind combinations. However, the J, 10 and 9 symbols all have the same win of 0.5x for six.

Overview

What we love about the Shifting Seas slot is how much Thunderkick went out of their way to make the gameplay atypical. As a result, it’s full of action and ways to get extra payouts or several pays in the same spin. Additionally, the shifting concept fits the theme very well, which is super impressive and immersive.

FAQ

Which online casinos have Shifting Seas?

Use the list of Shifting Seas casinos to see all online casinos that have Shifting Seas. We filter the casino top list to only show Shifting Seas casinos that accept players from your location.

What is the Return to Player (RTP) for Shifting Seas?

The Shifting Seas RTP is 96.15%. An RTP of 96.15% puts Shifting Seas among slots with an average Return to Players. To be a high RTP slot it would have to be 98% or more.