Sugar Rush Xmas Review

Sugar Rush Xmas by Pragmatic Play is a slot game that perfectly blends a festive Christmas theme with the engaging mechanics of its popular predecessor, the original “Sugar Rush” slot. Essentially, Sugar Rush Xmas is a reskin; in the online gambling world, the term ‘reskin’ refers to the practice of taking an existing slot game and updating its graphics, sounds, and theme, while keeping the underlying mechanics and gameplay unchanged. This approach allows developers to offer a fresh experience without altering the core elements that players already enjoy.

We’ve seen game developers utilizing this reskin approach with Christmas games for years, and while some players moan about a lack of creativity, it’s a great way of ‘re-making’ a slot – without actually remaking it. When you play Sugar Rush Xmas, you will notice differences – but not many!

In the case of Sugar Rush Xmas, the game has been reimagined to capture the essence of the holiday season. The game’s design is, naturally, cold, snowy, and winter-y – and you’ll be taken to a wintery scene, with landscapes covered in snow, and, of course, Christmas decorations! The symbols, comprising various candies and sweets, are designed with a festive twist, featuring vibrant colors and details that really bring out the warmth and joy of Christmas.

The game’s graphics are bright and cheerful, and while there are differences to the original Sugar Rush slot, there are some notable differences, with all of the game’s symbols clearly designed to resemble the Christmas season. The background music and sound effects further enhance the festive atmosphere, creating an immersive experience that combines the excitement of slot gaming with the festive spirit!

The game’s bonus features include the Tumble mechanic, where winning symbols disappear to make way for new ones, potentially triggering a cascade of win, free spins, where multiplied frames lock in place, and a bonus buy, allowing you to buy direct entry into the main free spins bonus round.

So, whether you’re a fan of festive slots or just looking for a sweet adventure with high stakes, keep reading our Sugar Rush Xmas slot review to find out all about Pragmatic Play’s new Christmas release! Should you play the Sugar rush Xmas slot? Find out today; read this Pragmatic Play slot machine review to see if it’s for you or not!

Sugar Rush Xmas features a unique and engaging layout that differs from traditional slot games. We’ve been seeing grid/cluster games from slot software providers for a while, and it was Play’n Go who largely popularized the concept originally. However, Pragmatic Play has been a major powerhouse in continually redesigning these games, and Sugar Rush Xmas is one of the many titles they now offer to utilize it.

Sugar Rush Xmas is built around a 7X7 grid; that means there are seven rows, and seven reels. However, the game doesn’t act like a conventional slot, as wins are formed from left to right – like in most. Instead, wins are formed by landing clusters of five or more matching symbols which must be touching either horizontally or vertically. The more symbols involved in a cluster, the bigger the win – and we’ll talk more about the specific payouts later in this Sugar Rush Xmas slot review.

The betting options in Sugar Rush Xmas cater to a wide range of players, and you can wager as little as twenty cents per spin; some crypto-focused casinos may also boast a lower minimum bet limit of ten cents. The maximum bet, however, remains consistent; $100. These betting options ensure the game is suited to players on all budgets.

Now, when it comes to RTP, Sugar Rush Xmas actually does a pretty decent job. The game’s default RTP stands at a generous 96.50%. However, you should be aware that the developer offers the game in multiple RTP variations, and it’s also available in a 95.50% and a 94.50% version. You should always try to ensure you are playing the highest RTP version of the game to make sure you are getting the maximum bang for your buck.

The game is also a high variance video slot, which means while wins are less frequent than lower variance games, when they do appear, they are generally worth more money. Now, let’s dive into the game’s stats quickly:

The maximum win is 5,000X – the same as the original, but good nonetheless – and there is a hit frequency of 1 in 2.9. This means that you will hit a winning combination of symbols in the base game roughly one in every three spins. However, this does not mean you will actually win, as the amount could be worth less than your stake – it’s simply an estimate of how often you hit anything in the game.

There is also a free spins hit frequency of one in 323, which gives you an idea of how volatile this game can be. For reference, the hit frequency for the free spins in Big Time Gaming’s Bonanza Megaways was said to be around 1/300.

In Sugar Rush Xmas by Pragmatic Play, the slot symbols are a blend of festive sweets and traditional gummy bears, each offering different payout potentials. The low-value symbols are represented by gummy bears in orange, purple, and red, with payouts ranging from 0.2X to 30X the player’s bet, contingent on the number of winning combinations in a single spin. 

The higher-value symbols include green stars, purple jelly beans, orange hearts, and pink lollipops, offering payouts from 0.4X to 150X, although in our experience, hitting the larger clusters is pretty rare, especially during the base game.

The game’s Scatter symbol, represented by gumball machine rockets, activates the free spins feature. Landing different numbers of these scatters on a single spin – ranging from three to seven – awards a corresponding number of free spins, between 10 and 30. We will talk more about the main free spins bonus round later in this review.

Like many Pragmatic Play games, when a winning symbol explodes, a new one drops down to take its place. This is thanks to the Tumble feature, and whether you’re buying free spins or just playing the base game in the festive version of Sugar Rush, this video slot mechanic can produce some great wins, and, when combined with the festive theme, fits nicely – and helps get you into the Christmas spirit!

Next, let’s dive into the game’s bonuses and features. Sugar Rush Xmas is packed with exciting bonuses that enhance the gameplay and increase your chances of winning big. Below, we’ll explore these bonuses and features in detail, revealing how they contribute to the overall gaming experience and what you can expect when spinning the reels of this festive slot.

Now, before you play the Sugar Rush xmas slot, you should be aware that Pragmatic Play hasn’t included any new bonuses and features in the new Sugar Rush Xmas slot. Like the original Sugar Rush, the Sugar Rush Xmas slot contains just one main bonus round. While any winning symbol multipliers can produce big wins (and the Sugar Rush Xmas symbols can actually drop in some big base game wins too), don’t expect too much from Sugar Rush Xmas; as we mentioned, it is just a reskin of the original Sugar Rush.

Also, one other thing to note: if you play the Sugar rush Xmas slot at one of our recommended online casinos, the bonus buy option (which we’ll be discussing shortly) may not be available, depending on the country you play the Sugar Rush Xmas slot from. This is usually due to regulatory issues and licensing.

Tumble Mechanic & Multiplier Spots

The game employs a cluster-win mechanism, where wins are formed by landing identical symbols in clusters of five or more. Winning combinations are followed by a tumble feature, with winning symbols removed and replaced by new ones, potentially leading to consecutive wins. Each win in a cluster contributes to increasing multipliers, starting at 2X and potentially going up to 128X, significantly enhancing the payout.

Each successful tumble within the same spin increases the chances of consecutive wins. The process continues until no new winning combinations are formed, maximizing the potential for rewards from a single bet. This feature not only enhances the entertainment value of the game but also increases the potential for accumulating larger wins, especially when combined with the game’s multiplier spots feature. 

As each winning cluster leaves behind a multiplier spot, you never know exactly when or how a specific spin will end – and while this is pretty much exactly the same as the one found in the original Sugar Rush game, when you play Sugar Rush Xmas, you’ll notice that the tumbles and multiplier frame growths’ sounds are different!

Free Spins

Like most video slots today, the slot machine uses a free spins bonus round as the ‘highlight’ – and this is triggered by landing three or more scatter symbols. The number of free spins you receive is dependent on the number of scatter symbols you landed; you’ll receive either 10, 12, 15, 20, or 30 free spins for landing 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 scatters, respectively.

During the free spins bonus round, the game’s mechanics get even more interesting. The multipliers, part of the Tumble feature, don’t reset between spins as they do in the base game. Instead, they remain and can increase with each subsequent win on the same spot. This means that the longer the Free Spins round lasts, the higher the potential multipliers, and with each multiplier frame able to reach a multiplier of 128X, you can quickly begin to see how the game’s maximum win potential of 5,000X can be achieved.

Note: According to Pragmatic Play, the game’s developed, the maximum win frequently is one in 2,340,000!

Now, like the original game, it’s also possible to re-trigger the free spins bonus round by landing additional scatter symbols.  A re-trigger occurs in exactly the same way the main bonus is triggered in the first place, with between three and seven scatter symbols required to award a further 10 to 30 free spins.

Bonus Buy

One of the things we’ve seen quite a lot in recent years is the inclusion of a bonus buy mechanic in many new slots. While some players have legitimate concerns about the ethics of such mechanics, it’s clear that for a lot of players these are very important parts of a game. In fact, many slots are now designed in a way that they can only really be played using a bonus buy mechanic.

The Bonus Buy feature in Sugar Rush Xmas offers players a shortcut to the main free spins bonus round, and you can instantly trigger the bonus round for a cost of 100X your base game stake. Once you pay the 100X, the reels spin – and you then are guaranteed to land at least three of the scatter symbols anywhere in view on the reels. However, unlike some online slots, it’s also possible to land more than the three necessary scatter symbols – something we were happy to see.

In the end, Sugar Rush Xmas is an enjoyable yet unremarkable slot from Pragmatic Play. As essentially a reskinned version of the popular Sugar Rush game with a festive makeover, it brings little innovation to the table – and this is something so desperately needed, especially in today’s ultra-competitive online gambling market.

The switch to a Christmas theme is nicely done through vibrant graphics and symbols like candy canes and gingerbread men, but the gameplay itself remains identical to the original game, and this something that – while we understand Pragmatic Play’s motives – isn’t going to appeal to most players in the long run.

Like the original, Sugar Rush Xmas utilizes Pragmatic’s tumbling reels and multiplier frame mechanics within a 7×7 grid format. These features work together to deliver some volatility and big win potential, especially during the free spins round where multipliers lock in place and stack up to deliver big win potential. Of course, with a maximum win of 5,000X, Sugar Rush Xmas will appeal to many players wanting a bonus buy slot with big win potential – although it’s not the biggest maximum win, especially in today’s iGaming market.

However, at the end of the day, Sugar Rush Xmas’s lack of new ideas makes it hard to get too excited over. As a well-made clone of an already successful title, it will likely attract some players, especially around Christmas. How long after this Xmas it’s successful for, however, remains to be seen – and here at Casinomeister, we’d put our money on the original Sugar Rush maintaining its popularity over the new Xmas release.

However, if you enjoyed the original Sugar Rush slot and want something a little Christmas-y to enjoy this year, Sugar Rush Xmas is still a solid game to check out. The 5,000X win potential makes it suitable for those wanting big win potential in the bonus, and the inclusion of the bonus buy mechanic means impatient players can enjoy the slot too!