Launched in September 2016, Nova 7 takes us to far-away reaches of space, to gaze up at the stars from a barren meteorite. With five reels and twenty five paylines, the game starts off relatively simple, but as you play more of it, you discover the standard setup hides the chances for massive wins, which come from the slot’s Wild. The soundtrack is very capable at conveying the vastness of space and an echo of loneliness as you sit around on an asteroid.
The game features 5 reels and 25 variable paylines, meaning that you can activate only one, or all twenty five active at the same time, depending on how much you are willing to spend. Apart from being able to change how many paylines you have active, you can also set the speed of the slot, a standard option in all RTG games. And if you feel a bit lazy, make use of the Autoplay feature and let the reels spin while you soak in the gorgeous graphics.
Nova 7 relies on the largest wins coming from bonus features, but thanks to the standard reel setup, it feels welcoming to newer players as well. You can play it for as little as $0.01 if you set all your options to lowest, or if you’re determined to get the jackpot, the maximum wager Nova 7 offers is $125. To get the largest win in the game, you need to line up several Wilds, which offers x38,073 times your wager. In plain numbers, that’s a cosy $4,759,125 if you were playing with the max wager. Truly a win that will launch you into another universe.
The variation in the slot’s symbols is far from perfect. Though they are all uniquely designed for Nova 7, they only comprise of different coloured atom symbols and planets. Wilds and Scatters also share the same look, with Wilds being red, while Scatters being a blue number seven, with the backdrop of a sun behind the number. Scatters pay anywhere they land, and depending on how many are on the reels, you can get a multiplier. If you have five Scatters appear, that gives you an x77 multiplier for your spins. Wilds come in layers in this game, because they can keep upgrading and getting bigger and bigger. If Wilds appear on reels two and four, they can solar flare and spread across that entire reel.
Wilds can also come on reel three and do a Nova, where they multiply the win by x7. And then you can get a Super Nova on top of that, where the symbol will spread across the entire reel. Finally, Wilds can Hyper Nova. If Wilds on reels two and four solar flare, they have an option to Hyper Nova, which spreads them on reels one and five, respectively.
But Nova 7 is not done yet. Scatters can also trigger their own set of bonuses, which are confusingly named similar to the special features mentioned above. Three Scatters will be enough to trigger the Nova 7 bonus. It grants you seven free games, and it can upgrade into a Super Nova 7. Super Nova 7 activates the Nova 7 feature and multiplies all wins by x7. Then that bonus feature can upgrade into a Hyper Nova 7. Hyper Nova 7 triggers all bonuses before it, and adds a re-spin if you get any Wilds on reel three. And to top it off, the Hyper Nova Extreme triggers all the bonuses before it, and guarantees for the Wild to expand if it is on reel three.
The game comes with a mobile version, but it is sadly not as visually impressive as the desktop version of the slot. Aside from that, it plays functionally the same, with small adjustments for the touch interface.