AstroPop Slot Overview
AstroPop is a casino slot from Avatar UX that takes players to the stars to visit a futuristic society mixing all kinds of species from the universe. Despite their varying natural features, cultural differences, and goals, they all contribute to developing new ways of delivering wins on the reels. Their latest invention includes the MultiPop mechanism, where multipliers grow on the individual cells of the grid with every consecutive win. You may recognize this setup from previous releases like Kitty POPpins or JuicyPop. In addition to the multiplier boosting powers in each position, it will be possible to overcharge them and make Wilds rain down the board to keep the sequence going. The game's potential culminates during the free spins round, where the grid grows by an additional row, to allow packing even more multipliers that may combine to award the max win of 10,000x the bet.
AstroPop is a video slot from Avatar UX with 5 reels, 4 rows, and 1,024 ways to win, which increase to 3,125 during free spins.. Players can choose their stake from a range of options, starting from a Min.bet of 0.10 up to a Max.bet of 300. The game offers a default RTP of 96.03%, although two lower variants of 93.99% and 90.51% are also available for operators. Players will experience high volatility, with a max win capped at 10,000x the bet. The expected base hit frequency is 28.56%.
While the interstellar community is hard at work developing new ways of scoring wins, let's take a look at the features they have already come up with. The features of AstroPop are MultiPop, Wild Throw, Bonus Game, and Feature Buy.
AstroPop Slot Information
A glorious space city spans the game's background, with towers so high that their tops are lost somewhere among the clouds. Spire-like structures shoot out from the ground, surrounding a massive square populated by masses of galactic travelers. A sublime orchestral soundtrack encompasses the setting, further amplifying the might of this majestic settlement. The latest piece of alien technology floats in the middle, encased in a hi-tech, polished frame. Its surface houses a range of symbols that will award payouts whenever at least 3 matching ones align on adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost or the rightmost one. The gates of the city are open to all the players who can access it from any desktop, smartphone, or tablet.
In the paytable, we'll see symbols split into three distinct groups. Among the low-value ones, we recognize royal letters from playing cards: Q, K, and A, awarding 0.4x the bet for a 5-of-a-kind hit. In the mid-value section, there are images representing items, like a grenade, a knife, and a cube with a nuclear sign, paying 0.5x the bet for matching 5 on a winning way. High-paying symbols come in the form of five different inhabitants of the space city that bring rewards ranging from 1x to 1.5x the bet for a complete way. Wilds appear as a round-shaped robot that substitutes for other regular symbols, while Scatters take the form of a blue orb with the word "BONUS" written across.
AstroPop Slot Features
What is the max win in the slot AstroPop?
You can win up to 10,000x the bet.
What features are available in the slot AstroPop?
The features are MultiPop, Wild Throw, Bonus Game, and Feature Buy.
MultiPop
Every symbol included in a winning combination pops, disappears from the grid, and increases its position multiplier. Basic increment grows the value by +1x, while the Improved increment awards a +2x increase. Cells can randomly get upgraded to the Improved status after winning symbols are removed from them. Additionally, multipliers of x2, x3, or x4 can be randomly distributed on the grid at the beginning of a spin.
Wild Throw
Whenever a cell achieves or surpasses the multiplier value of x5, a random number of Wild symbols will be placed in random positions of the grid.
Bonus Game
Achieving 3, 4, or 5 Scatters during the same base game spin awards 5, 8, or 12 free spins, respectively. Before the round begins, players can try their luck on the Gamble Wheel, where a higher number of initial spins can be won (up to a maximum of 14), but with the risk of losing the bonus altogether. During the game, the grid expands to 5x5 and 3,125 ways to win, and new Starred Cells can appear on the board. Creating a win in such a position awards an additional free spin.
Feature Buy
For those who prefer to jump straight into the more thrilling parts of the game, there's the Xpress menu offering several options for enhanced spins and triggering features instantly.
1.5x = Ante Bet with doubled chance of triggering the bonus.
20x = Wild Spin with at least one x5 multiplier cell and Wild Throw trigger guaranteed.
60x = Gamble Wheel with the possibility to win up to 14 free spins.
60x = Guaranteed Bonus Game with 5 free spins.
250x = Guaranteed Bonus Game with 12 free spins and a higher feature trigger frequency.
AstroPop Slot Conclusion
At the beginning of its journey, Avatar UX came up with the PopWins mechanics, which arguably put the studio on the iGaming map. While not massively revolutionary and based on already-existing features, it provided a different enough way of playing to attract players. As years went by, that win evaluation system appeared in over 30 games, sometimes accompanied by some more ambitious additions, and other times simply recycled with new visuals. AstroPop is an example of the latter approach, but centered around the less-utilized by the provider MultiPop setup. It's a kind of spin-off from the original PopWins, relying on increasing multipliers in individual cells (Sugar Rush by Pragmatic Play, anyone?) rather than growing the grid size with consecutive wins. Compared to the last game that included such an approach, JuicyPop, there's not much that has changed. While the classic casino and fruit theme came with an Unlock Mode that spawned Random Wilds once all positions of the grid received multipliers, AstroPop does the same when any single cell has grown its value to x5 or beyond. Otherwise, it's pretty much the same experience with minimal twists to the multiplier increase methods.
Visually, AstroPop comes across as quite immersive thanks to the backdrop featuring a massive open space of a galactic city and cool symbols depicting aliens and some helmet-clad space badasses. However, the feeling quickly fizzles out once you see there's not much more on offer here in terms of additional effects and win celebrations. It's all good-looking and functional, but misses some unique spark that a capable theme like this could contain.
AstroPop follows the beaten path of MultiPop mechanics, adding little more than the last game with this setup from the studio's portfolio.
