Game in Action
Screenshot of the Fruit Zen Slot
It can’t be denied that Fruit Zen is quite beautiful. It’s a lot less convoluted or crowded than many other Betsoft slots. The fruits hover on the reels and have been beautifully drawn. This is a well-designed 3D fruit machine.
We’re a little baffled at the ocean backdrop, however. The waves are certainly peaceful and are probably intended to give us the Zen feeling of the title. But it also seems like a clash of two themes. Fruits usually don’t float above an ocean.
The flowery wilds are quite lovely, but overall the theme is more geared towards meditation or taking a peaceful nap rather than getting some excitement on the reels going. Boomanji was at least able to entice us with fireworks.
Bonuses
Since Fruit Zen is another Starburst iteration, the game’s mechanics don’t surprise anyone. Here, too, we get 10 paylines that pay from left to right as well as right to left. It’s what keeps things interesting, because wins are more frequent than with an ordinary 10 payline slot.
You also get the expanding wild, which only appears on reels 2, 3 and/or 4. And whenever the wild does appear and consequently expands, it will also result in a free re-spin. Should another wild be added during the free re-spin, it will also expand and both wilds will stick around for a second re-spin. This can happen once for each wild, so three times in total.
Other Slot Machines You Might Enjoy
Summary
Fruit Zen has mostly its gorgeous graphics going for it. Those make it stand out from the crowd of fruit machines. But we wouldn’t have minded for some more exciting gameplay. Whilst Starburst enjoys a huge popularity with the exact same gameplay, the slot is still a lot more exciting. Fruit Zen is simply too calm to reel us in.
Still, if you like the game’s mechanics and have loved Starburst and Boomanji before, Fruit Zen is certainly a variation to try out. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the slot (ocean background aside), it’s simply not very original anymore.
Our rating: