PopRocks

It took me a while to come up with the words to describe PopRocks visually. It feels like an anime cartoon from the 90s got a CGI re-vamp. Bathed in icy blue light the game is electrified by quick movement and pops of color. The theme is undeniably Asian-inspired, but not in a gold coins and lucky symbols sort of way. Instead, players are treated to something altogether more modern.

The game is loaded with impressive 3D graphics and every aspect seems to have been gamified for an amped up player experience. The backdrop is a nondescript tangle of buildings, too blurred out to make up any exact definition. The grid is bracketed by two gold and gem studded pillars, and everything is illuminated by electric turquoise light.

The symbols across the reels are a series of brightly colored, and roughly hewn gem stones. These are accompanied by stylized A, K, Q, J, and 10 symbols that have been crafted to resemble Chinese characters. Thudding away in the background is an interesting soundtrack, the style most closely resembling electro music — a genre that won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

PopRocks comes with three major special features, although how special they really are is up for debate. Yggdrasil is well known for building exciting and innovative features into its games, so I had no reason to expect any different here. Find out what each PopRocks feature is made of.

The bet range is slightly unusual. These days it’s pretty standard for players to be offered the chance to wager up to C$100 per bet, but PopRocks limits this at C$30. This has probably been put in place to limit the fall out from the absolutely massive top prize potential of 72,188 times the bet. However, this does beg the question: why put such a large prize in place if you’re going to limit the type of players it usually attracts? High rollers are drawn to big prizes like moths to a flame, but it’s a tough sell when bets are capped at C$30. Skepticism aside, the game does offer players the opportunity to walk away with up to C$2,165,640 in prizes — so perhaps I’m being overly critical.

But such alluring prizes don’t come cheap. Yggdrasil gave PopRocks a volatility rating of 237, which falls directly into the ‘seriously high’ category. In terms of practical gameplay, that means players will have to put up with bouts of dry spins that can be highly detrimental to your bankroll. If you can afford to wait around until you hit a hot streak, you’ll find yourself boosted along by progressive multipliers and wilds.

The reels can expand, which means that paylines aren’t fixed. Players can access win ways that range between 486 and 3,614. I was surprised by the repeated presence of the number 4 in the game’s math model. It’s deemed a highly unlucky number that symbolizing death in Asian culture. Considering the theme of the slot, it was an odd decision by Yggdrasil.