NSYNC Pop

NSYNC Pop: Slot Overview

Developer Play'n GO's affinity with music has been cemented over the years, largely thanks to its high performing range of branded rock and metal-themed slots. Finding out the studio has created a game based on the boy band NSYNC might come as a bit of shock – for many reasons. One being the group essentially broke up way back in 2002. Since then, Justin Timberlake went on to further stardom, while the rest of the group never quite reached the same level of celebrity. Fame is a fickle friend, as Gilderoy Lockhart told Harry. So why are we getting an NSYNC slot now? There could well be an interesting story behind why Play'n GO chose to do so, and we'd love to know what it is. For now, though, the gossip will have to wait as we bustle to the front of the audience to behold NSYNC Pop.

After half expecting to see a game from AvatarUX that merged PopWins with synced reels, it took a few moments to register that this was indeed a game about NSYNC, the band. It's held at a concert amidst a gyrating crowd, all flashing lights and turntables. A version of NSYNC's banging tune 'Pop' blasts over the airwaves, rekindling memories of the group's 90s/00s heyday, but it's stuck on repeat and a track change every so often might have been nice.

We get individual headshots of each of the group's members, though, landing across the game's 5-reel grid. The panel is diamond-shaped, so rows are arranged in a 2-3-4-3-2 formation, providing 144 ways to win. NSYNC Pop is a highly volatile slot, with a max return value of 96.2%, and where bets from 10 p/c to $/€100 may be chosen.

Winning occurs when three to five matching symbols land left to right from the first reel onwards. For the lows, we get clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades, while the high pays are the five members of the group. Landing a five of a kind winning combination is worth 0.6-1 times the bet when made up of card suits, or 6-10x the bet for five premiums. Substituting for all paying symbols and bearing the same value as the top premium is the band shot wild symbol, which does this little flex animation when it is used in a win.

NSYNC Pop: Slot Features

The Pop in the title refers to both the song 'Pop' and a Pop Feature. Pop symbols can land on any spin, and when they hit, they all reveal the same matching symbol, which can be anything except scatters.

Free Spins Go Pop!

Free spins are awarded when 3 or more scatter symbols land in view (additional scatters equals more spins). When free spins are active, an extra row of Pop symbols is added above and below the reel set. Whenever a Pop symbol lands on a reel, it removes the Pop symbol above or below it, revealing a symbol and unlocking its position for the rest of the feature. Another symbol can land in Free Spins called the Wild Pop. When these symbols land, they always reveal a sticky wild symbol. This wild sticks in the position it lands in for the rest of the free spins bonus round. Wild Pops also trigger the Pop symbol above or below it to reveal a symbol and increase the reel size.

Encore Spin

If all Pop symbols on the extra rows are removed, then 2,400 ways to win become available, and an Encore Spin is triggered. For the Encore Spin, only Wilds, Justin, JC, Lance, Joey, or Chris symbols can land. Sticky Wilds remain in place for any Encore Spins.

NSYNC Pop: Slot Verdict

While conducting a bit of online research, we came across an interesting piece of NSYNC lore. Apparently, the group got the name NSYNC, at least in part, by combining the last letter of each member's name - JustiN, ChriS, JoeY, JasoN, and JC. This was before Jason Galasso split. He was replaced by Lance Bass, who was nicknamed 'Lansten' so they could keep the band name. Moving on, music is so subjective that music-themed slots are always going to be split between those who follow the band and those who just don't get it. This is perhaps even more pronounced in NSYNC Pop.

Fanbois and girls should no doubt experience a little frisson of delight as the game transports them back to a time when cargo shorts, wallet chains, and frosted tips were it. Followers of the group should be thrilled then, though others may consider this a sort of pop purgatorial experience. The split is more divisive than in slots like Lordi Reel Monsters or Testament, where even players who don't really dig those bands can still get a kick out of them due to the gameplay.

NSYNC Pop may have a harder time convincing non-fans because the features are about as bland as the stock concert setting. It's not as lifeless as Deadmau5, but there's nowhere near the same level of arena rock enthusiasm present in a game like Kiss Reels of Rock. The limited range of features don't help, as most of the time, it's a simple case of landing mystery symbols. Play'n GO has meshed the whole Pop idea quite well, though, and it can be effective in free spins when Pop symbols are cleared from the extra rows creating more ways to win. Interestingly, clearing all of the Pop symbols to win an Encore Spin proved to be somewhat easier to achieve than was first suspected. Perhaps we just got lucky? When it happens, prepare for an NSYNC overland as low pays are removed from the reels. When the game is really popping, wins of up to 5,000x the bet are possible.

'Ever wonder why this music gets you high?' Hopefully, the music does get you on some sort of high (a natural high, of course) because the rest of NSYNC Pop is more B-side than chart-topping hit. NSYNC Pop never quite regained the heights it reached after the initial shock of seeing the group mellowed. Still, fans should be delighted to see the lads return, and those who remember the group but didn't particularly like their tunes might even enjoy the blast of Nineties/Noughties nostalgia.