POPEYE
Popeye online slot produced by Lady Luck Games comes with a default 96.10% RTP and a 5-reel, 3-row playing area featuring 20 pay lines.
Oh, how easy it was to get that main theme tune stuck in your head for days after watching an episode of Popeye! The sailor man possessed not only catchy music but also plenty of gripping action, sometimes borderline absurd, based on a continuous plot of his relationship with his sweetheart Olive Oyl and confrontations with his main adversary – Bluto. But did you know that in the first iterations of the comic back in 1929, the spinach-chuggin’ hero’s strength came not from the green leaves but from rubbing hairs of the head of Bernice the Whiffle Hen? It has been so for nearly 3 years, although by the end of 1932, spinach remained the primary source of his superhuman abilities.
Back to the production at hand, though. Lady Luck Games treats us with a branded slot including all those beloved characters in a pleasant, contemporary comic setting. Creating a game based on such an iconic image is undoubtedly a massive challenge, so let’s pop that can of spinach open and find out if the team managed to pack as much power as Popeye does after munching on his favorite snack.
POPEYE
Popeye online slot produced by Lady Luck Games comes with a default 96.10% RTP and a 5-reel, 3-row playing area featuring 20 pay lines.
Oh, how easy it was to get that main theme tune stuck in your head for days after watching an episode of Popeye! The sailor man possessed not only catchy music but also plenty of gripping action, sometimes borderline absurd, based on a continuous plot of his relationship with his sweetheart Olive Oyl and confrontations with his main adversary – Bluto. But did you know that in the first iterations of the comic back in 1929, the spinach-chuggin’ hero’s strength came not from the green leaves but from rubbing hairs of the head of Bernice the Whiffle Hen? It has been so for nearly 3 years, although by the end of 1932, spinach remained the primary source of his superhuman abilities.
Back to the production at hand, though. Lady Luck Games treats us with a branded slot including all those beloved characters in a pleasant, contemporary comic setting. Creating a game based on such an iconic image is undoubtedly a massive challenge, so let’s pop that can of spinach open and find out if the team managed to pack as much power as Popeye does after munching on his favorite snack.
7.3/10
SLOT DETAILS
Provider:
LADY LUCK
Layout:
5x3
Theme:
CARTOON
Pays:
20 PAY LINES
RTP:
96.10%
Bets:
0.10/100
SLOT FEATURES
Wild:
Jackpot:
Re-Spins:
Bonus Buy:
Multipliers:
Super Bet:
Popeye by Lady Luck Games - Online Slot Review
We arrive at the scene situated in a classic 1930s port, wooden buildings towering around and the main protagonist puffing his chest, gazing provocatively at his life-long enemy. Olive Oyl shows off her charm on the balcony above, pondering which man is worthy of her heart, while a cooky, trumpeting, and strumming soundtrack sets a relatively carefree tone to the setting. The cartoon atmosphere is accurately replicated with a sleek art direction and subtle idle animations breathing life into the scenery.
Glancing deeper into the main view, we find a grid populated with clean symbols depicting rope-wrapped royals as low-value icons and four main characters protruding from their wooden frames as premium images. All other elements in sight carry a strong nautical vibe, from special multiplier symbols appearing as a boat's helm to UI buttons sitting on circular lifebuoys hung on wooden poles. Overall, it looks like the designers studied the cartoon's art with utmost attention to detail and managed to properly recreate the feel in a slot machine setting.
PLAY FOR REAL
How To Win On Popeye Slot - Features & Mechanics
Forming base wins happens by matching at least 3 symbols on the 5x3 grid on any of the 20 pay lines. Qualifying combinations must start from the leftmost reel and continue along the adjacent columns. The bet selection allows for picking a stake between 0.10 and 100 EUR or an equivalent in other currencies. Regular symbols hierarchy divides the paytable into 2 groups: 4 low-paying royals and 4 high-paying character images. The lesser group awards prizes between 0.3 and 2.40 times the bet, while the premiums grant from 0.70 to 30 times. The highest standard 1-line hit can be achieved through aligning 5 Wilds on a pay line, which pays 100 times the bet. It's a medium volatility slot offering a relatively high hit frequency with a max win potential of 5,100x.
Wild & Multipliers
Wilds may drop on any reel, receiving the multiplier displayed directly above the respective column. All multipliers start by default at x2 at the beginning of every game round and can be further enhanced with Multiplier Increase symbols by +1, +2, or +5. If a Wild appears on the same spin, the increase is applied before adding the multiplier to the Wild. Their values are additive during win evaluation.
Popeye Bonus Game
Coin symbol is available on all reels. Every time it lands, it has a chance to flip and create a copy of itself above or below its initial position. Landing 5 Coins in view during a spin triggers the bonus. Activating symbols are transferred to a new 5x3 grid where only Coins, Multiplier Increase, or blanks can land in individual cells. Players are awarded 3 respins, which reset to the original amount with every hit on the board. Filling up an entire column with Coins grants their collective prize multiplied by the value above the reel and removes them from the grid. The bonus finishes and pays out all remaining Coins in view after playing 3 consecutive respins without landing any prizes.
Popeye Free Spins
Scoring 3 Free spin symbols on reels 1, 3, and 5 activates the bonus. Before it begins, a Spin The Bottle mini-game determines the starting amount of free spins between 10, 12, or 15. During the bonus, multipliers above the columns do not reset between spins and can be increased indefinitely as long as free spins continue. Additionally, the Bonus Game can be triggered in the meantime. Any further multiplier increases happening there will be maintained upon returning to free spins.
The game offers 3 options to access the features instantly for a fixed buy-in of 35x for 10 free spins, 60x for 15 free spins, and 20x for the bonus game.
Popeye On Mobile
The game is offered on all mobile devices in the latest HTML5 technology, ensuring a dynamic and hassle-free online gambling experience. The slot can be played on any tablet or smartphone, whether with an iOS or Android operating system. You can meet the merry cast of this classic retro cartoon wherever you are, enjoying the game in landscape or portrait variants on any portable device. Both modes present a clean and intuitive screen estate arrangement.
Final Thoughts
When evaluating a branded slot, we always wonder if it's easier or more challenging to design a game based on existing intellectual property. On the one hand, everything is already created and needs to be copied into a new framework, so it might seem the creative process is much more limited than with a new game. On the other, creators need to adhere to strict rules in order to maintain the standards and adapt the audiovisual package to a different environment. In any case, Lady Luck Games has done a proper job of recreating the atmosphere from the mighty sailor's adventures. As mentioned before, the setting, the characters, symbols, and sounds fit together very well, producing a comfortable feeling.
Mechanically, even though a relatively straightforward game after a thorough review, Popeye may strike as slightly confusing on first contact. The multiplier increase symbols drop very often, and equally frequently, they have no effect on the grid. The individual columns' multipliers grow for a moment just to be reset on the next spin if you don't hit any Wilds. Coin symbols also commonly drop, flip, and bring no results. Perhaps it's not so much a case of bad mechanics rather than playing unnecessary animations where players aren't benefiting from the situation. Such effects as adding the multiplier to the Wild should be prominent only when the symbol can contribute to a win. Showing a juicy x5 fly toward the spinach can on the 5th reel when there's clearly not a single sequence reaching that far feels utterly redundant and, in time, frustrating.
Looking objectively at the mechanics, they're obviously far from a peak of innovation, although not every game is created with such a goal in mind. We especially appreciated the progressive multiplier mechanism in free spins, which can be significantly boosted by jumping to the coins bonus and back while securing some additional cash in the meantime. Hence, Popeye can be described as a quality execution of a classic IP in audiovisual terms, mixed with familiar slot features relying on multipliers and a hold&win format.
