Candy Stars (Pragmatic Play) – Review & Demo Play

Candy Stars Slot Review

As a long-time slots punter, I warmed to Candy Stars from Pragmatic Play because it blends a sweets theme with mechanics that feel like a Megaways game without the licence. It runs on 5 reels in a 3-4-4-4-3 layout with 576 ways to win, tumble wins, and a sliding top reel that drives most hits. High volatility pairs with a default RTP of 96.47% and a 5,000x win cap. The top-row wild multipliers are the hook that keeps sessions engaging.

Candy Stars Base Game and Features

Candy Stars is a 5-reel slot with a 3-4-4-4-3 grid and 576 ways. Bets run from 0.20 to 100 per spin. Wins form left to right on adjacent reels and trigger Cascading Reels. Winning symbols pop, fresh ones drop, and the top Sliding Reel shifts left while new symbols slide in from the right. It plays like a mini-megaways take, keeping the screen in motion while you chase chains of hits off the top row.

The Star Wild only appears on the sliding row above reels 2-4. When it helps a win, it sticks for that tumble sequence. In the base game the wild multiplier starts at x1 and steps up by +1 after each cascade it is part of, topping out at x128. If you do reach x128, that value applies to all wins that pass through it until the sequence ends. This is where base game spikes often come from.

Candy Stars Slot Information

The paytable splits into sweets and royals. Lows are J, Q, K and A, worth about 1x to 1.5x your bet for five of a kind. Premiums are blue, green, red and the Purple Sweet, which pays best at up to 7.5x for five. The Star is the Wild and substitutes for pay symbols only, appearing on the Sliding Reel. Diamond Scatters land on reels 1, 3, and 5. Three Scatters are the trigger for the feature.

Candy Stars Symbols and Paytable

Symbol	Quantity	Payout
	5	x7.5
	4	x3
	3	x1
	5	x3
	4	x1.25
	3	x0.5
	5	x2.5
	4	x1
	3	x0.5
	5	x2
	4	x1
	3	x0.25
	5	x1.5
	4	x0.75
	3	x0.25
	5	x1.5
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.25
	5	x1.25
	4	x0.4
	3	x0.15
	5	x1
	4	x0.3
	3	x0.15
	Scatter
	Wild

Candy Stars Free Spins

Land 3 Diamond Scatters on reels 1, 3, and 5 to trigger 8 Free Spins. During the bonus, one Wild is guaranteed on the Sliding Reel each spin. Wild multipliers start at x2 here and double after every cascade they are part of, reaching up to x128. Hitting three Scatters within the same tumbling sequence or in the round adds +5 spins. The setup means you can line up repeated tumbles through a charged wild and build some force.

In my tests the feature did not land often, which matches the quoted average of 1 in 216 spins. When it lands, the doubling step on the wild can climb very fast if the screen keeps paying. You are still capped at 5,000x, but the bonus feels like the most realistic spot to press for that outcome, as the multiplier progression outpaces the base game by a distance. Retriggers help, though they are not common.

Candy Stars Bonus Buy

For players outside the UK, the Bonus Buy offers straight access to Free Spins for 80x your stake. The purchase can start with 3, 4, or 5 Scatters. The RTP on the buy version sits at 96.26% versus the 96.47% default. If you favour a higher hit rate on the feature and do not mind the upfront cost, the buy saves time and puts the guaranteed top-row wild to work from the off.

Candy Stars: Our Verdict

I came in thinking the theme looked plain, but the gameplay grew on me. The sliding row makes the top of the screen the main event, and the sticky wild multiplier gives each spin a clear target. It has the hallmarks of a Megaways experience without actually using that engine. The tumble chains and shifting top reel keep the pace brisk, and the math lets the slot throw out solid hits when the wild hangs around.

Stats are on the familiar Pragmatic Play line: 576 ways to win, high volatility, and a 5,000x cap. The default RTP is 96.47%, but some sites may run lower settings like 95.02% or 94.31%, so I always check the info screen before playing. Sessions can swing, yet the base still throws steady pops from tumbles, with the real push reserved for bonus spins where the multiplier doubles instead of inching up.

It is not the flashiest candy slot, yet I rate it because the wild multiplier system carries real weight. One guaranteed wild per free spin makes the feature reliable, and hitting x128 is not far-fetched when the screen co-operates. In testing it did not pay every time, but it had spells where the tumbles lined up and the top reel did the heavy lifting. If you like sticky multipliers, this one scratches that itch.