Shimmering Woods Slot Review

Game Information for Shimmering Woods

Shimmering Woods is a gem filled slot from Play'n GO, released on 25.03.2021 and built around a clever ways to win engine. You spin on 5 reels with 3 to 6 rows, where the layout can shift from 243 paylines up to 7776 paylines thanks to splitting symbols. Bets start at 0.20 and go up to 100 per spin, so I can treat it as a casual session or push it harder when I am hunting bigger wins.

The game has a default RTP of 96.20% and high volatility, which fits the ambitious maximum win of 25000x the bet. The action takes place deep in green nature, in a very harmonious clearing full of glittering gems. With the bright colours, smooth animations and fantastic artwork around the reels, it feels like a classic Play'n GO production that focuses on clean visuals and punchy spins rather than complicated storytelling.

Max win, RTP and Information for the slot Shimmering Woods

From a numbers point of view, Shimmering Woods sits in that sweet spot I look for when I want high risk gaming. The 96.20% RTP is solid for a modern video slot, but what really stands out is the 25000x maximum win. Combining that ceiling with the high volatility means sessions can be very swingy, with stretches of quiet spins followed by bursts where the win multiplier, splitting symbols and expanding paylines line up in style.

The Splitting symbol feature helps to increase the number of paylines in Shimmering Woods

Out on the reels of Shimmering Woods you get a mix of classic card icons and shiny gems. The lower paying symbols are 10, J, Q, K and A, which keep the small hits ticking over during the cascades. The premium side is made up of red, blue and green gems, with the shimmering diamond as the top payer at 3x the bet for five of a kind. The wild symbol shows a large W and pays the same as the diamond while substituting in wins.

Above the reels you can see which icons have become splitting symbols for that spin, and this is where the game opens up. At the start of every round one random symbol is chosen as the splitter. When that symbol lands it breaks into two parts on the same position, increasing the height of that reel and the number of ways. When several split at once, the grid can climb to 6 rows high and 7776 paylines, which feels very satisfying when premiums line up.

Symbols and Paytable

Symbol	Quantity	Payout
	Wild
	5	x3
	4	x1.5
	3	x1
	5	x3
	4	x1.5
	3	x1
	5	x2
	4	x1
	3	x0.7
	5	x1.5
	4	x0.75
	3	x0.5
	5	x1
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.3
	5	x0.4
	4	x0.2
	3	x0.15
	5	x0.4
	4	x0.2
	3	x0.15
	5	x0.4
	4	x0.2
	3	x0.15
	5	x0.3
	4	x0.15
	3	x0.1
	5	x0.3
	4	x0.15
	3	x0.1
	Scatter

You can succeed in taking part in a crazy big max win in Shimmering Woods

The road to that crazy big 25000x potential in Shimmering Woods runs through its set of features: Splitting symbol, cascading feature, win multiplier, Shimmer feature and free spins. After every winning combination, all symbols in that win disappear from the reels. New symbols then rain down to fill the gaps, and if another win appears the process repeats. Each cascade nudges a global win multiplier up by 1, starting from 1x, and when no more wins land it resets.

To trigger free spins you need 3 scatter symbols in the base game, landing only on reels 1, 3 and 5. The scatter is a gem in a lovely blend of red and purple, and once it shows up the Shimmer feature kicks in first. During this, the scatters themselves can split, so you might end up with 3, 4, 5 or 6 scatter symbols on the reels, and that total decides how many free spins and extra splitting symbols you begin with.

If you start the bonus with 3 scatters you get 10 free spins and 1 extra splitting symbol, 4 scatters give 13 spins and 2 extras, 5 scatters award 16 spins and 3 extras, while 6 scatters mean 19 free spins and 4 extra splitting symbols. Inside the feature you can climb up to 10 splitting symbols in play. Landing 3, 4, 5 or 6 scatters again brings 3, 6, 9 or 12 extra free spins plus more splitting symbols, which is where the slot can really explode.

The free spins feature allows you to have multiple splitting symbols in Shimmering Woods

For me, Shimmering Woods feels like far more than a quiet stroll to pick mushrooms in the forest. The base game already has plenty of interest from splitting symbols, cascading wins and that climbing win multiplier, and once several splitting icons are active the 7776 paylines really come alive. Add a big set of free spins, lots of retrigger potential and a 25000x max win, and you have a gem packed high volatility slot I keep coming back to when I want serious thrills.

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