Secrets of Christmas Slot Review: RTP Details & Key Features
It’s once again the time of year to revel in festive cheer and NetEnt’s Secrets of Christmas is sure to get you in the joyous spirit. This 5-reel, 3-row, 25-payline online slot features all that you love about Christmas, whilst offering wins worth over 1,400x your stake on each spin.
You’ll discover a streamlined set of features that will increase your chances of winning during the base game, but the key focus here is the free spins bonus where new mechanics and multipliers await.
So, irrespective of whether you’ve been naughty or nice, continue reading our Secrets of Christmas slot review to discover what special gifts lie in store with this festive slot!
Secrets of Christmas Features
Despite NetEnt opting for a relatively streamlined approach to this slot’s gameplay, there are several features that can help you land those larger payouts. The base game itself acts more as a gateway to the free spins bonus, but sizeable wins are still possible thanks to wild substitutions.
Wild Symbol
Wild symbols can appear on any reel in both the base game and during free spins. These substitute for all regular paytable symbols, except the Scatter, to improve your chances of winning.
Scatter Symbol
Scatter symbols are key to gaining entry to the main free spins mode. Land 3 or more during a single spin to trigger the feature and earn 10 free spins. However, each additional Scatter that lands awards an additional pick within the bonus game – the more picks you earn, the more free spins modifiers you’ll receive, as outlined below:
- 3 Scatters: 10 free spins + 3 bonus picks
- 4 Scatters: 10 free spins + 4 bonus picks
- 5 Scatters: 10 free spins + 5 bonus picks
Secrets of Christmas Free Spins and Bonus
The free spins bonus is where Secrets of Christmas truly begins to shine. Upon a successful trigger, you’ll activate a 2-part bonus that offers a myriad of special enhancements that can combine to deliver huge wins.
Upon landing 3 or more Scatters, you’ll enter the Free Spins Bonus Pick game. Here you’ll choose from 20 Christmas gifts to reveal several enhancements used during free spins. The number of picks you receive is equal to the number of Scatter symbols that activate the feature. Each gift you select will reveal one of the following:
- Free spins: 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 additional free spins are added to your initial 10 free spins.
- Multipliers: Additional x1 or x2 multipliers are added to the initial x1 free spins multiplier.
- Wild reels: Wild reels cover reels 2 and/or 4 for the duration of the feature.
- Additional wilds: Candle and/or Bell symbols are transformed into additional Wild symbols for the duration of free spins.
After the Bonus Pick Game concludes, free spins will begin, utilising all of your chosen enhancements. Of course, some feature combinations are better than others – Wild Reels with Transformed Wilds and Multipliers immediately come to mind. However, anything you pick will only serve to improve the game’s payout potential during free spins.
It’s important to note that you cannot retrigger the feature as no Scatter symbols are present during free spins.
Secrets of Christmas Theme and Symbols
Unsurprisingly, Secrets of Christmas is one of NetEnt’s seasonally-themed online slots focused on the festive period, and what an aesthetically pleasing wonderland it is. The decoratively adorned reels sit in front of a snow-covered background, whilst cheerful audio and bells jingle all the while. Trigger the free spins feature and the game transitions to a cosy fireplace setting, where Christmas trees, decorations and plenty of gifts are just waiting to be opened.
Symbol-wise, NetEnt has continued in the thematic vein. Festively lit 10-A royals symbols denote low-value payouts, whilst Christmas stockings, milk and cookies, gingerbread houses, candles and bells pave the way for much larger wins.
Secrets of Christmas RTP and Volatility
Another cheerful aspect of this NetEnt slot is its math model. The 96.72% RTP sits comfortably above the average for an online slot, so, theoretically, you should see solid returns.
The other key factor to the overall gameplay is the medium volatility, which should net you consistent payouts as you hunt for the free spins bonus.
How To Play Secrets of Christmas
Secrets of Christmas is a straightforward slot to play. It utilises a familiar 5-reel, 3-row and 25 payline structure that serves up wins whenever 3 or more matching symbols land on a payline.
To begin, simply select your preferred stake from between the €0.25 minimum bet and the €125 maximum bet and hit spin. You’ll find all of the necessary functions located beneath the reels and the game’s rules can be found by opening the collapsible information panel in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.
Slotsia’s Review
On the whole, Secrets of Christmas is a solid addition to NetEnt’s portfolio. Granted, it may not include the usual range of innovative features we’ve come to expect from this top casino game provider, but it achieves what it sets out to do – offer uncomplicated gameplay and an enjoyable free spins bonus.
Speaking of said bonus, the inclusion of the bonus pick feature gives the slot decent replay value. Finding the perfect combination of special features and free spins, albeit difficult, is something you’ll strive to achieve and when you do, you’ll be in store for a fantastic bonus.
Great RTP – 96.72%
Medium variance gameplay
Engaging free spins bonus
Relatively low maximum win
