Popeye

Popeye: Slot Overview

Stockholm-based outfit Lady Luck Games isn't a studio we regularly cross paths with. There was Spinjoy Society Megaways a while back, which cropped up on the radar in part due to the association with Big Time Gaming's popular grid mechanic. Now we get... Popeye, because, c'mon, it's Popeye! The dude's been chugging spinach for decades, getting all strong because of it, battling Bluto, and saving his main squeeze Olive Oyl. Unsurprisingly, given the cartoon's popularity, Popeye from Lady Luck Games isn't the first branded online slot to feature the Sailor Man. Still, he's not someone you come across every other day on the reels, so the thought of doing so did raise a high level of curiosity.

The first impressions were warm and only cemented the curiosity further. Lady Luck Games has created a rather handsome world for Popeye the Sailor Man to inhabit and show what he can do in an online gambling environment. The gaming panel finds itself dockside, near the water, in a rather charmingly quaint wood-heavy port town. If you've seen old-school Popeye animated cartoons, Popeye the slot might bring back some of those Saturday morning/after school watching the telly feels. In short, Popeye's got a swell look, which fans of the massive forearmed sailor should easily be down with. The music's kinda naff, though, when compared to the classic Popeye tune, that is.

To get the spinach flowing, willing participants can pick a stake of 10 p/c to $/€100 per paid game round. It's fairly safe to say that Popeye is exactly a big ol' beast of a game, possessing fairly basic features and a medium volatile math model. With a theoretical return value of 96.1% (lower models are available), Popeye is played on a 5-reel, 3-row matrix with 20 fixed paylines for landing winning combinations across.

For symbols, Popeye's got J to A rope-lined card royals as its low pays, and for highs, we find J. Wellington Wimpy about to chow down on his favourite food, Bluto, Olive Oyl, and Popeye the Sailor Man, lifting a massive barbell – with one hand! Hitting a 5-symbol winning combination pays out 1.8 to 2.4 times the bet for the low-pay symbols and 6 to 30 times the bet for the highs. Wild cans of spinach land on all five reels as well. Wilds replace any other pay symbols to help complete winning lines and are worth 100x the bet for a 5 wild winning line.

Popeye: Slot Features

Pop this can open and out pours features such as reel multipliers, free spins, a coin-led bonus game, and a gamble feature.

Reel Multipliers

Each reel in Popeye has a multiplier associated with it. The value is clearly labelled at the top of the reel. Multiplier symbols increase the reel multiplier when they land, and wilds gain the multiplier when they land. Reel multipliers start at x2, and the values reset between paid spins.

Bonus Game

When coin symbols land, there is a chance in the base game they flip to create a new coin. When 5 or more coins are in view in the base game or in free spins, the bonus game is triggered. For the bonus game, players are awarded 3 spins. Whenever a new symbol lands, the spin count goes back to 3. If a reel gets filled with coins, the coins are removed, and their values are awarded – after being multiplied by the reel multiplier. At the end of the round, when spins end, all coins in view award their values without any multiplier being applied.

Free Spins

Landing 3 free spins symbols on reels 1, 3, and 5 triggers the free spins round. A bottle spins to award 10, 12, or 15 free spins. In free spins, coins always flip. That's about the only difference between the free spins round and the base game.

Gamble & Bonus Buy

After a spin, and when any triggered features are complete, players are able to gamble their winnings. Choosing the right colour of a card doubles the value while picking the right suit quadruples the amount. Lastly, should you prefer to buy a feature, Popeye offers 3 choices. These are 10 free spins, 15 free spins, or the bonus game for 35x, 60x, or 20x the bet, respectively.

Popeye: Slot Verdict

It's hard to believe that at the time of writing, the Popeye the Sailor Man character was nearly pushing 100. Well, not far from hitting the century mark, at least. Over that time, the guy has entertained a lot of people, so there must be a few Popeye fans out there keen to see the spinach gobbler have a spin on the reels. Whilst Popeye is synonymous with being over the top – massive muscles, massive strength, and rib-tickling antics, Popeye the slot is in some ways a little underwhelming.

In terms of winning potential, Popeye's not bad, though, tipping the scales at over 5,000x the bet on all RTP models. It's got a neat look, too, capturing plenty of the animated cartoon series' spirit. In this regard, players who enjoyed their time in front of the box watching Popeye bulk up, rescue Olive Oyl and foil Bluto should get a kick or two out of playing Popeye the slot. It's too bad the purely gaming elements are a little weak. Reel multipliers are fine, but it's kinda odd that a multiplier symbol and a wild symbol have to land on the same reel at the same time to make use of a boosted reel multiplier. The coin bonus round isn't the most exciting, either. Sure, decent wins are technically possible, but when putting the theme to the side for a moment, what's left feels a bit thin.

Add it all up, and Popeye, the slot is, at least, from an online slot perspective, a little on the limited side. There is definitely a chance of having a few smiles, though; maybe experience a frisson of warm fuzzies if you had fun watching Popeye and pals get up to all sorts of shenanigans on the telly. Once getting over the nostalgia kick, though, if you're in the mood for something with a bit of grunt, then Popeye's features might have benefited from doing the online slot equivalent of chugging a few tins of spinach.