PapayaPop

PapayaPop Review

PapayaPop Reviewed by Casinogamesonnet.com

Papaya Pop is the latest slot in Avatar UX’s PopWins collection. Released through Yggdrasil’s Masters program, Papaya Pop is a lavish fruit slot that revolves around the Art Deco period.

Avatar UX has already released a PopWins fruit game in Cherry Pop. As you’ll find out below, though, Papaya Pop certainly looks and feels different.

Gameplay and Atmosphere

CherryPop plays out on a 5x3 grid with 243 ways to win by default. Winning combinations happen when 3+ matching symbols land in adjacent reels.

Unlike with many slots, wins can form starting in the first reel (left to right) and last reel (right to left).

That said, there are actually 486 ways by default based on the both-ways-pay format. As explained later, the number of ways can increase up to 7,776 (or 15,552) in the base game and 118,098 ways (or 236,196) in the bonus.

This slot offers a glossy look at the Roaring Twenties. The background features golden palm leaves and what looks a purple stage or nightclub entrance in the background.

We’ve reviewed plenty of Art Deco and fruit slots before. However, PapayaPop is the first to successfully combine both themes into an attractive atmosphere.

Papaya Pop Max Win and Payouts

Low-paying symbols include royals (A-9) with an Art Deco flair. High pays include a dragon fruit, durian, fig, mangosteen, melon, pineapple, and golden papaya.

The latter pays the most among this group, offering 15x your stake for five symbols. You can win up to 10,542x the stake with features involved.

RTP, Volatility & Betting Options

You can bet between €0.20 and €40 per spin. This range creates jackpots starting at €2,108 (0.2 x 10,542) and going up to €421,680 (40 x 10,542).

The PapayaPop RTP is 96.0%, which is right in line with the industry average. Volatility is high due to a large maximum win and multiple features. Hit frequency is 22%, which sees you win just over 1 in 5 spins on average.

Papaya Pop Features

As with other games in this series, PapayaPop’s main feature is the PopWins mechanic. This slot also offers free spins with a multiplier and Gamble Wheel.

PopWins & Expanding Grid

Symbols from winning combinations pop and vanish. New icons fall into the empty spaces and allow for more potential wins.

An extra row is added following a PopWin. During the base game, the reels can extend up to six rows (5x6 grid) and allow for 7,776 ways (or 15,552).

Unlimited Free Spins & Gamble Wheel

You trigger unlimited free spins when maxing out the reels at 6 rows during base play. All bonus payouts are subject to a 2x multiplier by default.

Prior to free spins beginning, you can spin a Gamble Wheel to boost the multiplier to 3x or 4x and starting ways to 6,250x. Do note, however, that you could potentially lose the free spins by opting to spin the Gamble Wheel.

This bonus offers unlimited free spins. You begin with 3 lives and lose a life following any non-winning spin.

The bonus ends when you have no more lives left. However, all winning rounds reset the counter to 3.

Each reel can increase to 9 rows (instead of just 6) during free spins. If every reel reaches the maximum height, then you’ll enjoy 59,049 ways (or 118,098).

Following a free spin, the reels will begin at the max height they’ve reached so far for the next spin. If the reels grow to 7 rows high, for example, they’ll remain at least 7 rows high until the bonus ends.

Win Multiplier During Unlimited Free Spins

As explained before, the free spins multiplier begins at 2x by default. You can increase it to 3x or 4x through the Gamble Wheel.

Regardless of the starting value, the win multiplier rises by +1 following each spin. This increase happens no matter if you win or not.

The multiplier begins increasing by +2 after every spin once the 5 reels reach max height. No limit exists on how high the win multiplier can grow.

Bonus Buy

You can pay 75x the stake to initiate the feature buy option. Upon doing so, the reels will automatically reach the max base-game height (6 rows) and trigger the bonus.

Just like when unlocking free spins naturally, you can spin the Gamble Wheel to increase the starting ways and win multiplier.

Of course, you could always wait on triggering free games the natural way. The PapayaPop bonus triggers on 1 out of every 197 spins on average.

How Does This Game Compare to Other PopWins Slots?

PapayaPop doesn’t change the PopWins mechanic in any way. Therefore, you may feel like you’re playing a reskin to some effect.

Furthermore, the win potential (10,542x) is the lowest to date for a PopWins game. By comparison, PopRocks (72,188x), CherryPop (56,386x), BountyPop (55,000x), HippoPop (48,150x), and TikiPop (32,000x) all pay considerably more.

Even WildPops (17,707x), which was previously the lowest paying, offers a larger maximum win than PapayaPop.

Papaya does shine, though, in terms of theme and graphics. It’s definitely one of the best-looking slots in the PopWins series.

Final Thoughts on Papaya Pop Slot

If you’re expecting something wildly different with PapayaPop in comparison to other PopWins games, then don’t. This slot is essentially more of the same—only with a clever theme behind it.

Nevertheless, we find PapayaPop an enjoyable game to play. The combination of Art Deco and exotic fruits is something new to us.

However, the core gameplay and features follow the PopWins collection without advancing anything. It’s as if Avatar UX came up with an interesting theme and stuffed it into a familiar PopWins format.

Assuming you’ve played any game in this series, then you’re not getting anything different mechanically from PapayaPop.

This slot does, however, have its charms. The 10,542x maximum win—although the lowest for the series—is large compared to the average slot. Additionally, the graphics and overall atmosphere are pleasing too.

This being said, you might still consider playing this game for the graphics, theme, and solid win potential.

Release Date

PapayaPop was released on September 6 2021.