Retro Sweets Slot Review
Embark on a nostalgic journey with the latest offering from Push Gaming – Retro Sweets, the first release of 2024 that promises to be a delightful treat.
Building on the success of their previous game Retro Tapes, Retro Sweets takes players back in time once more for a throwback. This much-anticipated follow-up captures the essence of its predecessor and presents it to players in a new and sweeter way.
Push Gaming has ‘spiced up’ the classic bonus game with new features, but will it be so different from Retro Tapes in the end?
Join us in our Retro Sweets slot review to find out.
Retro Sweets Base Game and Features
Retro Sweets is a 6×9 Video Slot with a Cluster Pays mechanic. Winning combinations are formed when 5 or more of the same symbol types land Horizontally or Vertically to each other.
The minimum bet available here is £.€0.10 per spin and the maximum bet available is £.€100 per spin, with multiple options in between the two. Retro Sweets has a theoretical RTP of 96.49% and a max win cap of 10,000x.
The highest-paying symbol here is the Red Sweet, followed by the Orange and Pink Sweets. Low-paying symbols fall to Green. Blue, and Purple Sweet symbols.
Each time a win forms, all winning symbols will be removed from play, making room for new symbols to drop in from above via a Cascade Feature. This continues until no more wins form on the grid.
Push Bet
Before you can begin spinning, you will be given the option to activate 1 of 2 Push Bet Features from the following.
- 1 Scatter – Activating 1 Scatter Push Bet will increase your current bet by 100%. This option guarantees 1 Wild Candy symbol to land with every spin.
- 2 Scatters – Activating 2 Scatters Push Bet will increase your current bet by 300%. This option guarantees 2 Wild Candy symbols to land with every spin.
Wild Candy Symbol
Wild Candy symbols are special Wilds that act as Scatters, substituting for all other symbols except Sweet Collector, Instant Prize Multiplier, and Wild Multiplier symbols.
Each Wild Candy symbol that lands will have a Multiplier value of x1 associated with it. When the Wild Candy is part of 1 or more cluster wins, it will increase its Multiplier by +x1. With the next spin, the Wild Candy symbol will disappear off the grid.
Wild Multiplier Symbol
The Wild Multiplier symbol can appear in both the base game and Free Spins round. Wild Multiplier symbols will land with a Multiplier value of x1, x2, x3, or x5 attached to them.
Once in view, the Wild Multiplier symbol will distribute its value to all present Wild Candy symbols on the grid. After distribution, it will transform into an Instant Prize symbol of a random value.
Instant Prize Symbols
Instant Prize symbols are special Bronze, Silver, and Gold Coins that can land at random on the reels. When they land, they come hand in hand with a random Instant Prize value between 1x and 1,000x your bet. Instant Prize symbols need to land in a cluster of 5 or more for their values to pay out.
Instant Prize Multiplier Symbol
The Instant Prize Multiplier symbol is available in both the base game and Free Spins round. When in view, Instant Prize Multiplier symbols will display a random Multiplier value of x2, x5, or x10 that is applied to all Instant Prize symbols in view.
After this, the Instant Prize Multiplier symbol will transform into a regular Instant Prize symbol of a random value.
Sweet Collector Feature
The Sweet Collector symbol will pick random paying symbols of a particular type (between 4 and 9) and attract them around its position, creating a new cluster win. This symbol can draw in Instant Prize symbols if there are at least 4 of them in view to create a cluster.
The Sweet Collector symbol can also attract Wild Candy symbols, along with regular paying symbols and Instant Prizes. Once a cluster is created, the Sweet Collector symbol will transform into the same paying symbol or an Instant Prize with a random value.
Cluster Link
Cluster Links trigger instant wins when a specified number of Instant Prize symbols cluster together on the grid. Chain clusters with enhancements to build bigger value wins.
Retro Sweets Free Spins
Landing 3, 4, 5, or 6 Wild Candy symbols across the grid in the base game triggers the Free Spins round, awarding 6, 8, 10, and 12 Free Spins respectively. Once active, the Wild Candy symbols and Instant Prizes from the base game will be carried over to Free Spins, sticking to the same grid position.
During Free Spins, each empty grid position will spin through in hopes of landing one of the following symbols.
- Wild Candy Symbols
- Wild Multiplier Symbols
- Instant Prize Symbols
- Sweet Collector Symbols
- Instant Prize Multiplier Symbols
- Extra Spins
- Blanks
Each Instant Prize symbol that lands will remain fixed in its current position throughout Free Spins. All Instant Prize clusters are evaluated at the end of the round.
Landing Extra Spins will award an additional +1 or +2 Free Spins. Once awarded, this symbol will transform into an Instant Prize symbol with a random value.
The Sweet Collector symbol will pick a random number of non-clustering symbols from the grid and attract them to its position. The Sweet Collector symbol can also attract Instant Prize and Wild Candy symbols. Blank symbols have no value and do not stick to the grid.
Retro Sweets Bonus Buy
Those within Bonus Buy territory will be able to participate in 2 Bonus Buy options as follows.
- Free Spins – 120x your bet (RTP 96.30%)
- Super Free Spins – Possibility of landing up to 6 Wild Candy symbols and a guaranteed Wild Multiplier symbol of a random value for 400x your bet (RTP 96.25%).
Retro Sweets: Our Verdict
Retro Sweets is once again a testament to Push Gaming’s commitment to refinement, but is it really dramatically different to Retro Tapes? Not really, and at the same time yes.
The game carries forward the beloved theme and core mechanics, but it introduces some subtle yet impactful enhancements. Key among these improvements are the Instant Prize Multiplier Symbols and the Sweet Collector, which stands out as an improved version of the magnet in Retro Tapes. The Sweet Collector collects Wild Symbols, which is a feature that was absent in its predecessor.
Despite these improvements, Retro Sweets maintains a win potential of 10,000x, the same as Retro Tapes. It’s by no means a small figure, but it would have properly bolstered Retro Sweets’ appeal if it was higher.
Ultimately, Retro Sweets is more of a subtle evolution than a complete revolution. It builds on the solid foundations laid by Retro Tapes, but to some, it may be too similar. Neither Retro Sweets nor the previous game stands out as a competitor to Jammin’ Jars in our eyes, but we can see the appeal.