HippoPop (AvatarUX) – Review & Demo Play

HippoPop PopWins: Slot Overview

AvatarUX add another PopWins slot here, and HippoPop carries a bold look. Influences swing from Oaxacan art to Alebrijes-style animals, yet the cast is African. The palette is neon, the animations tight, and the whole thing feels tidy rather than busy. The studio hasn’t gone wild on new mechanics; it sticks to the PopWins core and spends the effort on polish. That suits me fine when I want fast, readable spins without wading through feature clutter.

Each spin starts on 5 reels and 3 rows with 243 ways to win, paying both ways from the edges. Wins pop into two symbols and grow the reels, up to 6 high in base play. Free spins can push reels to 8 high, giving up to 65,536 ways. Stakes run from 20 p/c to $/€40. The return is 96.1%, and the model is highly volatile. Regular hits land at a theoretical 20.50% rate, so I expect streaks.

Symbols and Paytable in HippoPop

Symbols fall into neat groups. J to A are the lows, then fish, birds, and frogs as the mids. Premiums are zebras, cats, and flamingos, with the hippo sitting at the top tier. Payouts on the upper sets run around 2–4x the stake for five of a kind. Because wins pay both ways, five-long lines effectively double those listed values. There are no wilds or scatters here; the game leans on PopWins to widen the grid and create the telling chains.

HippoPop Symbols and Paytable

Symbol	Quantity	Payout
	Scatter
	5	x4
	4	x2
	3	x1
	5	x2
	4	x1
	3	x0.4
	5	x2
	4	x1
	3	x0.4
	5	x2
	4	x1
	3	x0.4
	5	x1.5
	4	x0.8
	3	x0.3
	5	x1.5
	4	x0.8
	3	x0.3
	5	x1.5
	4	x0.8
	3	x0.3
	5	x1
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.2
	5	x1
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.2
	5	x1
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.2
	5	x1
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.2

HippoPop PopWins: Slot Features

When all five reels reach 6 rows during base play, a win multiplier to the left starts stepping up on each subsequent hit. That same state also sets off the bonus game. The grid begins every spin at 5x3, and the PopWins replacement repeats until no further wins land, then the layout drops back. I like the flow here, grow the reels, build the ways, nudge the multiplier, then try to convert it into the feature with a last push.

Free spins start at 5, but you can gamble on a wheel for up to 12, with the risk of losing the lot. The win multiplier from the trigger carries into free spins. During the bonus, each hit adds +1 to the multiplier and it does not reset between spins. Reels can stretch to 8 rows, and they only shrink back to the shortest height in view. That keeps pressure on the metre while you hunt for big sets.

Maxed reels at 8 rows hand you 65,536 ways and they stay that tall for the rest of the round. Hitting all reels at 6, 7, or 8 rows adds +2 free spins, while hippos pay x2, x3, or x4 on top of their base. Where allowed, a bonus buy at 85x the stake grants 5 spins and a starting multiplier of x2–x4. The gamble can improve that to as many as 9 spins and up to x10 at the start.

RTP, Volatility and Max Win in HippoPop

HippoPop runs at 96.10% RTP and a super high volatility profile. In practice that means long dry patches and sharp bursts, with base game wins coming in at about 20.50% on paper. The bonus tends to surface roughly once every 240 spins. I keep stakes steady in the 20 p/c to $/€40 window and let the maths breathe. The both-ways engine gives small top-ups while you chase height, but the real weight sits in the feature.

Potential is rated up to 20,000 times the bet, which lines up with the numbers on the win screen. Yggdrasil list a €1,926,000 ceiling, so stakes and caps do the rest. With ways swelling to 65,536 and a multiplier that can climb without a reset, the build can snowball fast once the grid is tall. I’ve had bonuses where the metre ticks every spin, and a single hippo string at max height does the heavy lifting.

HippoPop PopWins: Slot Verdict

HippoPop doesn’t try to change the PopWins formula; it sharpens it. For me it’s a case of growing the rows, nudging the multiplier, and waiting for the right board to appear. The tweak that upgrades hippo pays at 6, 7, and 8 adds welcome bite. It feels like one of the more straightforward entries, yet it’s slick and pacey. If you enjoy building towards one hefty bonus, this one sits nicely in the rotation.