Cue the music and follow Erik on his way to the final of the reel talent show on the slot from Spearhead Studios, formerly GiG Gaming. The four judges will scrutinize every tone of his singing performance to award a free spins round with collectables and symbol upgrades that can lead to wins of up to 4,000 times your bet.
Slot Details
Popstar is a video slot with five reels, four rows and 1,024 ways to win. Pays are awarded for adjacent symbols from left to right only. You can join the show from 0.20 to 10 credits per spin. The RTP of this medium variance game is set at a generous 96.70%.
Graphics and Visuals
Popstar has a talent show theme as we know them from TV. The set-up with four judges – Tony Tantrum, Spicy B, Fortuna and B.Reel – reminds us of the countless seasons of the “… Got Talent” contests where singing prodigies and wannabees perform on stage in front of the jury and live audiences to be crowned the next winner of the show. On the Popstar slot that honour falls to a guy with a 3-day beard called Erik, who is at the same time the top-paying symbol. The frameless reels are set on a show stage with spotlights beaming around and pay symbols in neon colours while the judges’ table and a cheering crowd can be seen in the front. A catchy pop tune played in a nonstop loop is the expected audio.
Pay Symbols
Open the game to find at the low end the usual card royals from 9 through to A with pays for a 5OAK ranging from 1x to 3x your stake. They are followed at the high end by the four judges, in ascending order B.Reel, Fortuna, Spicy B and Tony Tantrum. Hit five across the reels to win 5x your bet. Erik, the talent show winner, is the top symbol, awarding 25x your bet when five land on the reels. There is also a wild symbol that performs the usual substitution duties. A golden microphone is the scatter symbol.
The Popstar Free Spins Feature
Hit three, four or five golden microphones anywhere on the reels in one spin to trigger the feature. The game will randomly select the initial number of free spins based on the amount of triggering scatters. During the feature, two to five scatters award an additional 2 to 12 free spins, no limits.
- Three scatter trigger: 6, 7 or 8 free spins
- Four scatter trigger: 9, 10 or 11 free spins
- Five scatter trigger: 12, 13 or 14 free spins
Before the start of the free spins, the four judges appear as an icon on the side of the game window. Each has a counter with six golden tickets. Every time a judge appears marked with a ticket on a free spin, it will be added to the collection. Once six are collected, the respective symbol is upgraded to Erik symbols, plus, two extra spins are awarded for each completed character.
The big money moment comes when you manage to have all four characters upgraded to Erik symbols as you will have only the card royals and the top-paying symbol on the reels. The maximum win expected from the free spins peaks at 4,000 times your bet.
Final Verdict
After their lacklustre Fruit Slot, Spearhead Studios upped their game and actually came up with a playable slot that has a decent win potential. While similarities to existing slots such as Pink Elephants from Thunderkick are apparent, it is a nice addition to anyone’s favourite list.