Space slots run from Starburst, NetEnt’s 2012 classic with a 500x top win, to its remake Starburst XXXtreme, which can pay 200,000x the stake. In between, Play’n GO’s Reactoonz games fill a 7×7 grid with exploding aliens, and NetEnt’s original Space Wars has the highest return of the eight compared here at 96.75%. The table below lines them up by RTP, with the top win and volatility of each.
From Starburst to Cluster Grids
For years the theme meant a starfield behind five ordinary reels. Starburst made that format famous: ten lines paying both ways, gem symbols and a wild that expands and holds for a re-spin. Its low volatility made it a game people could play for a long time on a small budget, and it still sits in most UK casino lobbies.
Play’n GO took the theme somewhere else with Reactoonz, swapping reels for a 7×7 grid of aliens that explode in clusters and charge meters for extra features. NetEnt followed the same path with Space Wars 2 Powerpoints, a 6×6 cluster game, while BGaming’s Alien Fruits and Foxium’s Astro Legends pay on symbol groups rather than lines.
Eight Space Slots Side by Side
Sorted by RTP. The figure shown is the top setting each studio offers; casinos can choose a lower one, and the information panel inside the game shows which.
| Game | Studio | RTP | Max Win | Volatility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Space Wars | NetEnt | 96.75% | 1,000x | Medium |
| Reactoonz | Play’n GO | 96.51% | 4,570x | High |
| Astro Legends: Lyra and Erion | Foxium (Games Global) | 96.40% | 15,000x | High |
| Starburst XXXtreme | NetEnt | 96.26% | 200,000x | High |
| Reactoonz 2 | Play’n GO | 96.20% | 5,083x | High |
| Starburst | NetEnt | 96.09% | 500x | Low |
| Space Wars 2 Powerpoints | NetEnt | 96.05% | 10,020x | High |
| Alien Fruits | BGaming | 95.97% | 15,000x | High |
The spread is under one point from top to bottom, so here the bigger difference is in how each game pays: Starburst and Space Wars return their money in small, frequent wins, while Starburst XXXtreme saves much of its return for rare multiplier hits. BGaming’s Space XY, often listed with these games, is a crash game rather than a slot, so it is left out.
Reactoonz 2
Play’n GO’s sequel keeps the 7×7 grid, where clusters of five or more matching aliens pay and vanish so new ones can fall in. Two meters run alongside: the Fluctometer, which charges on wins with one marked symbol and drops up to three electric wilds when full, and the Quantumeter, which unlocks Energoon wilds, then the 3×3 Gargantoon, then a 2x multiplier on all wins. The top win is 5,083x. The 96.20% is only the top setting: casinos can also run 94.20%, 91.20%, 87.20% or 84.20%.
Starburst XXXtreme
The remake keeps the expanding Starburst wilds but drops the original’s both-ways pays for nine lines paying left to right. Each wild can carry a random multiplier of up to 150x, and three wilds on the middle reels can combine for 450x, which is where the 200,000x top win comes from. RTP is 96.26%, against 96.09% for the original.
Space Wars 2 Powerpoints
Not a reel game at all: a 6×6 grid where three or more matching symbols in a row or column pay and cascade away. Every win adds Powerpoints, and the meter unlocks blasters that clear whole rows and columns, zappers and bombs. In free spins the grid widens to 8×6 and the meter keeps building, which is where the 10,020x top win sits. RTP is 96.05%, with a 92% version also in circulation.
Reactoonz
The 2017 original returns 96.51%, slightly more than its sequel, with a 4,570x top win. Its Quantum Leap meter charges with each winning cluster and triggers features that remove or change aliens on the grid; a full meter brings the Gargantoon, a 3×3 wild that splits into smaller wilds as the cascade continues.
Space Wars
The highest RTP here at 96.75%. NetEnt’s 2013 game runs five reels and four rows with 40 fixed lines, stacked wilds on reels 2 and 4, and a re-spin after every win in which the winning symbols are cloned onto other positions. Volatility is medium and the top win is 1,000x.
Starburst
Five reels, ten lines paying both ways, and a wild that lands on reels 2, 3 or 4, fills the reel and holds it for a re-spin, up to three times in a row. Low volatility, 96.09% and a 500x top win: modest numbers, but the steadiest ride in the theme.
Reels, Clusters and Grids
Three ways of paying sit under the same starry skin. Line games (Starburst, Starburst XXXtreme, Space Wars) pay matching symbols along fixed lines, and their features change single reels. Cluster games (both Reactoonz, Space Wars 2 Powerpoints, Astro Legends) pay groups of touching symbols, then cascade new ones into the gaps, so one spin can chain several wins. Scatter-pays games such as Alien Fruits pay eight or more matching symbols anywhere on a 6×5 grid.
The cluster and scatter games feel spikier: many spins return a little, and the big results come from long cascades or a meter that finally fills.
Fantasy, Horror and Adventure Next Door
On mechanics, the Reactoonz games would fit just as well among fantasy slots; only the aliens mark them as space. Horror slots share the alien imagery but lean darker and, as a group, more volatile. Adventure slots swap the cosmos for explorers and temples, usually on cascading reels.
Steady Spins or Big Swings
Low: Starburst, the one genuinely gentle game in the theme.
Medium: Space Wars, where the re-spin after every win keeps a session ticking along.
High: everything else here: both Reactoonz games, Starburst XXXtreme, Space Wars 2 Powerpoints, Astro Legends and Alien Fruits. Expect long runs of small or no wins, with the return concentrated in features and multipliers.
Bonus Buys and Paid Features
GB versions carry none. Space Wars 2 Powerpoints (8, 12 or 16 free spins) and Alien Fruits sell a bonus buy in other markets, but in Britain the free spins come only from the reels.
Recent Launches in the Theme
NetEnt has taken Space Wars onto the Megaways engine with Space Wars XXXtreme Megaways, at 96.16%. BGaming followed Alien Fruits with Alien Fruits 2: 97.17%, high volatility and a 5,000x top win. Play’n GO spun the Reactoonz Gargantoon into a game of its own, Gargantoonz, at 96.2% with a 7,000x top win.
Demo Play Versus Paid Play
Demos are the easiest way to learn the Reactoonz meters or the Powerpoints blasters before spending anything. A demo on your own casino’s site matches its paid game; a demo elsewhere usually runs the studio’s top setting. That matters most on Reactoonz 2, whose five versions run from 96.20% down to 84.20% and look identical, so check the information panel once you switch to real money.
What Each Point of RTP Costs
Assume a quick 600 spins an hour. The average hourly cost is the total staked times the share the game keeps, which is 100% minus its RTP.
At a £5 stake, the limit for players aged 25 and over, an hour of Reactoonz 2 at 96.20% costs about £114 on average. At its 94.20% version the same hour costs about £174, and at 91.20% about £264. At the £2 limit for 18-to-24-year-olds the first two become about £46 and £70. Each point of RTP is worth roughly £30 an hour at the higher stake.
On a high-volatility game like Starburst XXXtreme the real result of any single session can sit far from these averages in either direction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of the eight here, Space Wars at 96.75%, then Reactoonz at 96.51% and Astro Legends at 96.40%. Alien Fruits 2, a newer game, lists 97.17%.
Starburst XXXtreme, at 200,000x the stake, thanks to multiplier wilds of up to 150x each.
Mostly. Starburst is low and Space Wars medium, but the other six compared here are high.
No. GB versions carry none; features such as free spins trigger only through play.
Staying in Control on Space Slots
Most games here are high volatility, so a budget can run out long before a feature lands. Fix a spend and a stop time before you start, and use the deposit limits and reality checks your casino offers.
To shut out every UK-licensed gambling site at once, register with GamStop for six months, one year or five years. For confidential help, GamCare runs the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, free and open 24 hours, with live chat as well.
