Playtech Upgradium Video Slot Review

It might sound like the latest addition to the Periodic Table but Upgradium is in fact a 5 reel, 25 payline video slot from Playtech. This straightforward, crystal-themed game comes with wilds that boost payouts by 1 level and respins with symbol upgrades. Stakes start at 25p, rising to £250 per spin.

Playtech has kept things simple in Upgradium – a crystal cave forms the backdrop to the reels which are made up of 10 different gemstone symbols. The best of the standard gems is the orange, pointy crystal which pays 20 times your bet if you land 5 on the same payline.

They’re joined by a wild that replaces all other symbols and offers payouts of up to 40 times your bet per line. The wild is also central to 1 of the 2 features on offer in Upgradium. Land a wild in a winning combination and the payout is boosted to the next symbol. For example, land a 5 of a kind combination featuring the green pointy crystal and a wild and rather than the normal 12 times your bet you’d get 16 times your bet. This is called the Upgrading Wild feature.

Symbol upgrades are also central to the second extra on offer in Upgradium, the Crystallization Respins feature – in the central position of the middle reel, you’ll see a translucent pink Hot Spot. Hope to see the orange pointy symbol land in this box as it triggers the features. All of the symbols are upgraded by 1 and a respin is awarded.

The number of Hot Spots increases too – in fact, all positions on reels 2, 3 and 4 turn into Hot Spots. Land the pointy orange crystal on 1 of these Hot Spots and the process is repeated. You’ll get another symbol upgrade and another respin. That Hot Spot is then removed. These upgrades and respins continue until there’s a spin where the orange crystal misses the Hot Spots and everything reverts to normal.

The wild upgrades and the Crystallization Respins are the only extras on offer in Upgradium. You can expect to see both land at regular intervals though which keeps the action ticking over nicely. There’s nothing too extravagant on offer in Upgradium. The design and features are both rather simple but work well enough.

This won’t be a video slot for players who like interactivity and plenty of bonus features and extras. If you’re looking for a game where you can just sit back and hit autoplay then Upgradium should do the trick. I recommend you try some other Playtech offerings with The X-Files and Gladiator Road to Rome good games to play.