Overview
Critter Pop from AvatarUX launches players into a quirky cosmic adventure, where charming animal characters embark on an intergalactic journey amidst swirling gases, distant planets, and shimmering stars. This visually engaging slot is a shining example of AvatarUX's innovative PopWins™ range, offering a dynamic gameplay experience. It features a 5-reel setup that brilliantly starts at 3 rows but can expand up to an impressive 7 rows high, ultimately unlocking a staggering 65,536 ways to win. This high-octane slot, marked by High volatility and a sensational 20,000x Max Win potential, perfectly blends whimsical aesthetics with exhilarating big win opportunities, making it a compelling choice for players seeking unique themes and powerful mechanics.
Gameplay & Features
As well as the key PopWins mechanic, other extras players can look forward to in Critter Pop include a free spins bonus round with a bunch of possible reel modifiers, and the Base Game Unlock.
• PopWins
•
Each symbol in awinning waypops from the board and isreplacedby two new symbols, increasing ways and reel height. If a new win is formed by this process, PopWins triggers again and continues to do so as long as wins appear. In the base game, reels can expandup to 6 positions highwhere there are effectively15,553 ways to win, or8 highin free spins where65,536 waysbecome active (both ways). When reels are at their maximum height, popped symbols are replaced by one symbol only.
• Base Game Unlock
•
In the base game, when reels are fully expanded to6 symbols high, players win2 free spinson the expanded reel-set as part of the Base Game Unlock feature.
• Free Spins
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Landing3, 4, or 5 scatter symbolsin the base game triggers free spin mode, with2,048, 6,250, or 15,552 starting ways, on a5x4,5x5, or5x6 grid, respectively. Before free spins begin, aRewards Reelssequence is played first. One spin takes place where it is possible to winextra free spins, ahigher starting win multiplier,greater win multiplier increments,random 2x2 symbols,random 3x3 symbols,random wild symbols,tiger symbol multipliers, andmammoth symbol multipliers. Once this spin has occurred, whatever was won from the Rewards Reels iscarried over to free spins. During the free spins round, reels do not resetto their starting size; instead, they drop down to thelowest reel height achievedon the current spin. For example, if the reels reach 7-7-7-7-8 high, the reels drop to 7-7-7-7-7. Should all reels reach8 symbols high, then+2 free spinsare awarded, and+x2 to the multiplier, plus, thegrid stays at that height for the rest of the feature. The win multiplier either begins at x1 or higher depending on what was won from the Rewards Reels spin. Itincreasesafter eachwinning cascadeand does not reset between free spins.
• Buy Bonus
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If available, hitting the Buy Bonus button gives playersthree ways of buying free spins. They cost125xfor the Buy Bonus,250xfor the Buy Bonus Plus, or500xfor the Buy Bonus Max, which have starting ways to win of2,048,6,260, or15,552, respectively. Theoretically, the more expensive bonus buys offer better rewards going into free spins
Final Thoughts
Critter Pop's animals in space idea might seem odd at first, but when you think about it, animals really helped tee up human space flight. Let's take a moment to honour the bravery of critters like Laika, Belka and Strelka, who paved the way for the Russian Cosmonauts that followed them. And who can forget critters like Ham, the chimpanzee on the American side, who, after viewing some of the footage, doesn't look like he enjoyed his suborbital flight all that much. Lest we forget, these animals had no choice. They were rammed onto rockets and blasted into the sky to see what would happen. RIP, you brave wanderers of the firmament.
Players do have a choice about firing up Critter Pop or not, though, so let's have a look at why they may or may not want to. Following on from the theme, Critter Pop doesn't have the slick harmony recent releases likeMonkeyPop,RagingPop, orCherryPop Deluxehad. The strange mix of critters and space is more experimental, which may excite or repel players in equal measure. After playing it for a while, the juxtaposition of character and setting did dwindle in significance, making it easier to concentrate on the gameplay.
Outside the bonus round, this meant standard runs of popping winning symbols, growing reels, and ways, perhaps triggering the two free spins feature when the grid maxes out. The Base Game Unlock is unlikely to happen super frequently, so the main game might come across as a bit cyclical. The bonus round is where the PopWins innovation occurs due to the modifier bestowing ability of the Rewards Reels spin. Get lucky and wins as high as20,000x the betare possible.
Critter Pop is a solid PopWins slot with a slightly unusual theme combo. It might not be the nonpareil of PopWins gaming, but fans of this style should be satisfied, and bonus buyers might be tempted by the potential modifiers provided by the Rewards Reel.
