AvatarUX is moving forward with yet another installment in their PopWins mechanic series, and this time they’ve really gone to town with the visual presentation. The asian animal theme is livened up by watercolor artwork of a quality you seldom see in online slots, and this alone makes MonkeyPop a worthwhile experience. Featurewise, it’s not quite as unique perhaps, as the PopWins mechanic is still at the core of everything.
Each win expands the number of rows of the involved reels, as well as the number of win ways, and a maxed out grid also awards 2 free spins with a starting multiplier up to x3. There is also a bonus round to look forward to, and the Reward Reel awards the number of spins, the starting multiplier, the multiplier growth rate and the starting default win ways up front. The10,744x potentialis solid, and it seems more realistic than the higher max win from the earlier releases.
The6 premium monkey symbolspay between 1 and 2.5 x your stake for 5 of a kind wins, and theWild symbolsteps in for all regular pay symbols to help complete wins. ThePopWins mechanicremoves winning symbols, and replaces them with 2 new symbols. This expands the grid with extra rows, andup to 33,614 win ways are possible. The PopWins keep doing their thing as long as you keep winning, and the grid resets between base game spins.
The grid maxes out at 7 rows in height, and if this happens you trigger theBase Game Unlock feature. A random amount of low value symbols are then removed, and you get2 free spins. The free spins start with amultiplier of x1, x2 or x3, and the multiplier increases by +1 or +2 for each spin.
The Bonus Round triggers when you land3+ bonus scattersanywhere in the same PopWins sequence, and it starts with aReward Reel spin. This pre-bonus spin awards the following:
The grid never resets in the bonus round, but it does drop to the lowest reel height between PopWin sequences. You win+2 extra spinsif you manage to max out the grid with 7 rows on all reels, and this alsoremoves a random amount of low value symbolsfor the rest of the feature. Bonus scatter symbols are collected, andcollecting 3 scatters upgrades a random premium symbol with a multiplier of x5. If selected again, the multiplier increases to x10.
The Bonus Round triggers organically once every 298 spins on average, but impatient players can take advantage of theBonus Buy option(not available in the UK). You can buy3 tiers of the bonus roundthis way, and the price you pay is100x, 250x or 500x your stake, respectively.
You get to see some wins in the base game, before we purchase the bonus round at 1:50 into the 3:28-minute highlights video. We got 5 free spins, 2,048 starting win ways, a x1 starting multiplier that grows by +1. You can see for yourself how we fared by hitting the play button below.
We really like the watercolor visuals in MonkeyPop, and this makes the game stick out from pretty much any other release out there. We still have an issue with the game pace though, at least in the base game. The annoying pause between hitting the spin button until the reels actually spin is still a problem, and the spin button takes a while to get “active” again after each spin. This is an easy fix that will improve the gameplay experience.
The PopWins mechanic is something we’re quite used to by now, and the new symbols are added with a satisfying speed. Maxing out the grid gives you a sort of light version of the bonus round, and it’s a decent teaser while you wait for the real thing. The Reward Reel adds unpredictability, and the scatter collect system is an appreciated addition as well. Even though the10,744x potentialis lower than earlier PopWin releases, MonkeyPop is among the best installments so far.
Pros
Cons
HippoPop- comes with pretty stylish visuals as well, but not quite in the same league as the game at hand. The progressive multiplier increases via the PopWins mechanic, and it’s carried over into the bonus round where it never resets. Up to 65,536 win ways are possible, and you can win up to 48,150x your stake.
LolliPop- is a candy-themed installment in the AvatarUX PopWins series, and each win increases the size of the grid as usual. It also triggers the StickyPop Respins feature, which comes with a multiplier unlock system. The streak respins bonus round is all about the cash scatter upgrades, and you can win up to 13,000x your stake.
PiggyPop- comes with a default grid of 6×4 reels with 8,192 win ways. The grid can expand with up to 8 rows per reel, and this gives you 524,288 ways to win. You get unlimited free spins in the bonus round, as the spin tally resets to 3 per win, and you can win up to 10,690x your stake.
AvatarUX is launching a new addition to their PopWins mechanic series called MonkeyPop. The game stands out with its high-quality watercolor artwork, which is rarely seen in online slots. While the features may not be entirely unique, the core mechanic of PopWins remains, expanding the reels and win ways with each win. The game also offers a bonus round and a Reward Reel that reveals the number of spins, starting multiplier, multiplier growth rate, and starting default win ways upfront. The game has a solid potential of 10,744x and features premium monkey symbols that pay between 1 and 2.5 times the stake for 5 of a kind wins. The Wild symbol helps complete wins by substituting for regular pay symbols. The PopWins mechanic removes winning symbols and replaces them with 2 new symbols, expanding the grid up to 33,614 win ways. The grid maxes out at 7 rows in height, triggering the Base Game Unlock feature if reached. In the bonus round, the grid doesn’t reset, but drops to the lowest reel height between PopWin sequences. Extra spins are awarded for maxing out the grid, and low-value symbols are removed. Bonus scatters are collected, and collecting 3 upgrades a random premium symbol with a multiplier. The Bonus Round triggers naturally or can be bought with different price tiers. Overall, MonkeyPop is one of the best installments in the PopWins series, offering unique visuals and exciting gameplay. Other games in the series include HippoPop, LolliPop, and PiggyPop, each with their own distinct themes and features.