Mystery Drop

Mystery Drop: Slot Overview

Living up to the 'If you can't be bothered to beat 'em, copy 'em' attitude prevalent in the industry is Mystery Drop from developer Stakelogic. Mystery Drop is a game that replaces winning symbols with two new ones, thereby increasing reels and ways, climaxing in free spins where a growing win multiplier is used. It sounds very much like a new Avatar UX game, yet Stakelogic has added a couple of unique flourishes, so Mystery Drop isn't completely the same. However, most of the time, it's hard to tell the difference.

Any fan of the PopWins series will soon realise that there is a strong resemblance here to CherryPop, arguably the most successful in Avatar UX's range to date. Both games are covered in classic slot symbols, use a blurred nondescript background, and treat your ears to low key EDM. Even the layout is uncannily similar where a ways-to-win counter sits to the right of a 5x3 game grid, with a starting value of 486, reaching as high as 15,552 when maxed out during the base game. Mystery Drop is such an obvious knock off you kind of just go with it, such as the state of disbelief it induces.

Not everything is the same, Stakelogic has added a few of their own touches, and one of them is the Super Stake feature. This is an optional bet enhancer that doubles the stake to randomly trigger the bonus game on non-winning base game spins. It may also award extra free spins during the bonus game. To minimise exposure from such a high potential game, base stakes max out at $/€5 per spin, dropping to 20 p/c at the lower end of the spectrum. Matching the big win figure is a highly volatile math model, generating a default theoretical return value of 95.59%.

Thirteen pay symbols appear on the table, divided into 9-A card ranks, then superseded by cherries, lemons, plums, grapes, bells, stars, and sevens as the premiums. Values for the higher value symbols are 2.5 to 8 times the stake when a five of a kind combination lands. Wilds are not used in the game, but it's possible mystery symbols appear in free spins. When they do, they all reveal the same pay symbol type.

Mystery Drop: Slot Features

Mystery Drop comes equipped with several features, such as a PopWins style win mechanism, a Gamble Drop, free spins + growing multiplier, and a standard gamble feature.

Winning combinations in Mystery Drop form when at least three matching symbols land on adjacent reels from the leftmost or rightmost side. When wins hit, the symbols pop from the board and are replaced by two new ones, increasing the reel height and ways to win. Like cascading features, this can lead to repeat wins from single spins. In the base game, the reels max out at 6 positions high, providing 15,552 ways. When no new wins appear in the base game, the grid resets to its normal 3-row height.

When all reels reach 6 rows high in the base game, 5 free spins are awarded. Before the bonus game starts, players can gamble their free spins to win more. The gamble takes place on a Pachinko style board where a ball drops from top to bottom. If it lands on a number, that amount of free spins is added to the total. If it lands on an 'X', you lose the free spins and go back to the base game.

In free spins, the grid doubles to a starting height of 6 rows, which can expand up to 9 via the win mechanism. At full capacity, 118,098 ways to win are active. As well as the grid change and mystery symbols mentioned earlier, free spins also use a win multiplier. It starts on x2, increases by +1 for every win and +4 if all reels reach a size of 9. From then on, it increments by +3. If the Super Stake is switched on, then scatters can appear in free spins too - landing 3 scatters in view during the feature awards +5 free spins.

Following each win, a gamble feature triggers. Players can collect or gamble their winnings by picking the correct colour or suit of a face-down card. Getting it right doubles or quads the win; getting it wrong loses it all. The gamble feature can be disabled completely if unneeded.

Last on the feature list is the Buy Bonus button. If available, players can click this and shell out 150x the base bet to enter the bonus game with 5 free spins. From here, you can take advantage of the Gamble Drop first if you so choose.

Mystery Drop: Slot Verdict

Stakelogic's has popped off all manner of innovations as they've grown over the years, but they've also had no problem copying other studios' work either. We got a taste of the shamelessness in Mayan Rush – a Valley of the Gods doppelganger, now we've got Mystery Drop, which is the spitting image of CherryPop. It almost seems as if some dev jumped ship from Avatar UX and brought their technical knowledge to Stakelogic. It's weird how close the two games are.

Yet, there are a few differences lurking in the wings. One is the Super Stake which did trigger bonus games occasionally from dead base game spins. Free spins triggered this way did tend to produce minimal results for some reason, though no doubt an unfortunate coincidence. The Gamble Drop is a new feature to approach with a dose of caution. It essentially functions the same as a prize wheel in that you either win or you lose. However, there is something about the way the ball teeters on an edge before falling onto an 'X' which can be extra infuriating. On the other hand, winning additional spins can significantly change the outcome of a bonus round, so it's a tough call.

Interestingly, Mystery Drop's stake range is more limited than CherryPop's, and the bonus buy costs twice as much, but the max win is similar in both cases – at 50,000x the bet. Does this mean Mystery Drop is more likely to produce epic wins, or it's just pricier? Impossible to say since the applicable frequency stats aren't provided. RTP is, however, and Mystery Drop's figure is lower than CherryPop's, so something to keep in mind when trying to choose either game.

Despite the nuances, it remains a mystery why someone would pick Mystery Drop over CherryPop, or any number of PopWins powered games. Avatar UX' game has the higher RTP, slightly larger max win, its bonus buy costs 50% less, and there's the fact they came up with the idea first. That leaves Super Stake, which provides extra options, and players can always test their nerve on the Pachinko style Gamble Drop. Still, a few peripheral changes don't stop Mystery Drop coming across as a piece of PopWins flattery.