HippoPop

When someone mentions the Hong Kong-based Avatar UX, the first thing that comes to an avid player’s mind is their now-popular PopWins mechanic, which is why the devs have kept incorporating it more into their games!

Published on Yggdrasil’s YGS Masters program, here comes HippoPop, a 5-reeled online slot machine with up to 65536 pay lines, paying BOTH ways and a maximum potential prize of 48150x the stake!

Theme and Symbols

As you might have gotten used to so far, each of the games from the series comes with innovative and creative themes, and HippoPop is not any different!

The game lets you experience the jungle wilderness featuring high-quality graphics and colorful visuals boasting leafy green vegetation and variously colored jungle flowers standing in the background.

More importantly, you will be welcomed by animals influenced by Oaxacan art, designed in glowing eyes and futuristic details, so, across the dark backdrop of the reels, you will see standard playing card symbols from J to A, as well as…

...a fish, a parrot, a frog in a sculpted glass, a zebra, a tiger, and a flamingo, while the hippo is the main, top-paying symbol.

To add to the enchanting atmosphere, there is a tropical-style soundtrack, perfectly complementing the theme.

Betting Options and Other Functions

The first thing to mention when it comes to gameplay is that wins are paid BOTH ways, while you will play the game across 5x3 reels.

The base game offers 485 ways to win; however, it’s possible to expand the playing field through its special features up to impressive 65536 ways to win! 

Before you join these beautiful animals, you need to set your bets ranging from 0.20 to 40 credits per spin, while the game boasts high volatility and a decent RTP percentage of 96.1%.

Another perk is the game’s maximum win, standing at 48150x your total stake per spin!

The paytable starts with the low-end playing card symbols from J to A, and they are followed by a collection of crystal-like wild animals, the most rewarding of which is the gold hippo who pays 1x, 2x, or 4x stake for 3, 4, or 5 in combination.

Interestingly, there are no Wild and Scatter symbols, so you will need to rely on the PopWins engine to win the biggest prizes. 

Special Features

HippoPop boasts three bonus features, with the Free Spins being the main one!

But, let’s start from the beginning!

Thanks to the PopWins feature, each time you land a winning combo with at least three matching symbols, those symbols will be removed from the reels, and each of them will be replaced by two new symbols!

Pops are repeated as long as new winners come along, but here’s the kicker!

The rows start to increase, reaching up to 6 symbols high during the base game and eight during the special round!

Now, when a reel in the base game reaches the full 6-symbol height, you will activate the Base Game Unlock Multiplier feature, where the multiplier will start rising by x1 until there are no more winning combos!

But wait, there’s more!

After you reach the full height, you will also trigger the Free Spins feature, and the Win Multiplier will be then applied to all wins during the bonus round!

But, to determine the number of extra spins, you will need first to spin the Bonus Wheel that guarantees you always to get 5 free spins, while the first reel shows 0 to 4 extra free spins!

Should you manage to win additional spins, you’ll spin on another wheel that shows 0 to 5 extra free spins!

Once you start spinning the extra spins, your ‘pop’ wins can increase the size of the reels up to a maximum of 8 rows, in which case you will be using 65536 ways to win!

When you fully unlock a reel, 2 extra free spins will be added to your total, which means 10 more free spins can be won. 

Now, pay attention to the main sensation during these bonus spins – the Hippo Symbol!

The value of the Hippo will increase depending on how many rows you have on all the reels. So, if all reels have 6, 7, or 8 rows, the value of the hippo symbol increases by x2, x3, and x4, respectively, for the remaining spins!

Verdict

If you are a fan of the PopWins mechanic, you will probably love this game, although you might not like the fact that it brings nothing new to the table, except for its fantastic theme!

AvatarUX game devs definitely enriched their slot portfolio, and, with plenty of action thanks to the game's Free Spins and PopWins features, as well as a maximum win potential standing at 48140x bet, it is undoubtedly worth trying this online slot out!