Retro Sweets

Retro Sweets: Slot Overview

For whatever reason, rose-tinted glasses, romanticising youth (or another explanation), certain things from the past continue to exert a grip on the present, with fashion and music being two examples. In the spirit of combining old and new, developer Push Gaming has taken a retro angle once again for Retro Sweets, a slot that follows on from another past-looking slot, Retro Tapes. These are two slots that might be past-looking in terms of fashion or technology but are wholly up-to-date in terms of gameplay and features.

A pastel-coloured diner is the setting for Retro Sweets. A ghetto blaster sits on the table at the booth on the left while a couple of sweet-laden tables rest to the right, meaning players get a more immersive atmosphere to explore compared to Retro Tape's somewhat plain universe background. Sweets might not have the same retro credentials as ribbon wound audio tapes, but Retro Sweets has the same sort of cutey Jammin' Jars, innocuous look and feel about it that's easy to dig. However, this is a Push Gaming slot, so Retro Sweets certainly is not all hugs and Herman cakes.

Indeed, Retro Sweets is a highly volatile slot, with a default RTP of 96.49%, though lower models are available depending on the market. A cluster paying slot, Retro Sweets is played on a sizable 6-reel, 9-row gaming grid, producing a win when matching symbols land connected to each other in horizontal and/or vertical directions. Stakes of 10 c to $/€100 per spin may be placed, plus Retro Sweets has Push Bet and bonus buy add-ons to switch up the way the game may be approached.

So, tapes are out, and sweets are in, and the pay table is covered in them. The regular pay symbols are made up of 6 wrapped sweets in various colours, awarding 0.1 to 1 times the bet for a 5 symbol cluster or 5 to 500x bet for a 17+ sized winning cluster. Wild Candy symbols help create wins by substituting for any symbol except Sweet Collector symbols, Instant Prize Multiplier symbols, or Wild Multiplier symbols. Wild Candy symbols land with an x1 multiplier that increases by +1 when part of one or more cluster wins. Wilds are not removed by the cascade feature when used in a win, either, but only spin off when there are no more cluster wins. The cascade mechanic removes symbols involved in cluster wins from the reels and drops symbols from above down to close the gaps. If a new winning cluster appears after the drop, another cascade effect triggers.

Retro Sweets: Slot Features

Joining cascading wins in Retro Sweets are a Wild Multiplier symbol, Instant Prize symbols, Instant Prize Multiplier symbols, a Sweet Collector feature, Cluster Links, free spins, and bonus buys.

Wild Multiplier Symbol

Wild Multiplier symbols may land in free spins or in the base game with a value of x1, x2, x3, or x5. When one hits, it distributes its multiplier value to all Wild Candy symbols in view, then transforms into an Instant Prize symbol.

Instant Prize Symbols

Instant Prize symbols are bet multipliers landing with values of 1x to 1,000x. When an Instant Prize symbol lands in a cluster of at least 5 Instant Prize symbols, it pays out a win.

Instant Prize Multiplier Symbol

The Instant Prize Multiplier symbol is available in free spins and the base game, landing with a value of x2, x5, or x10. When one of these symbols lands, it multiplies all Instant Prize symbols in view, then transforms into an Instant Prize symbol.

Sweet Collector Feature

The Sweet Collector symbol selects a random pay symbol of one type from the reels and drags them to its position, creating a cluster win. It can even draw in Instant Prize symbols if there are at least 4 of them in view to create a winning cluster. The number of symbols that can be drawn in is 4 to 9, and Wild Candy symbols can be attracted as well as pay symbols or Instant Prizes. After a cluster is created, the Sweet Collector symbol transforms into a pay symbol or an Instant Prize symbol.

Cluster Link

Cluster Links trigger instant wins when a certain number of Instant Prizes cluster together on the grid. Clusters may chain together along with enhancements to build wins.

Free Spins

When 3, 4, 5, or 6 Wild Candy symbols are in view on the reels, then players win 6, 8, 10, or 12 free spins, respectively. Once triggered, Wild Candy symbols and Instant Prize symbols from the base game stick in position as they are carried over to the free spins round. During the round, each empty position spins through to land one of these:

• Blank symbol - does not stick.
• Extra Spin symbol - awards 1 or 2 free spins then transforms into an Instant Prize symbol.
• Instant Prize Multiplier symbol - sticks to the reels.
• Sweet Collector symbol - picks a random number of non-clustering symbols and attracts them to its position. It can attract Instant Prize symbols and Wild Candy symbols.
• Instant Prize symbols.
• Wild Multiplier symbols.
• Wild Candy symbol - awards +2 free spins.

Each Instant Prize symbol that lands remains in its position till the round ends. At the end, all Instant Prize symbol clusters are evaluated.

Push Bet

The Push Bet has two options. One costs 2x the bet for a game round, guaranteeing 1 Wild Candy symbol (96.05% RTP), while the other is 4x the bet for a game round, guaranteeing 2 Wild Candy Symbols (RTP 96.31%).

Bonus Buy

From the bonus buy menu, players can get a normal free spins feature triggered by up to 6 Wild Candy symbols for 120x the bet (96.3% RTP) or super free spins triggered by up to 6 Wild Candy symbols and a Wild Multiplier symbol for 400x the bet (96.25% RTP).

Retro Sweets: Slot Verdict

If anyone knows how to make playable cluster pays slots, it's Push Gaming, and they've gone and made another smart release in the form of Retro Sweets. It's a case of picking up where the previous game left off and doing some new and neat things with what was already a winning formula. Some of the new parts are closer to tweaks than major overhauls, but it's hard to deny most, if not all, of them, are positive changes, helping to make Retro Slots another compelling cluster pays slot full of the sort of frustrations and delights Push Gaming is well adept at churning together.

Just to recap, one new component this time around is the addition of Instant Prize Multiplier symbols. This add-on can potentially make one of the biggest impacts on Retro Sweets since it is able to increase Instant Prize symbol values in view. Since the free spins round is all about creating clusters of Instant Prize symbols, the higher their values, the better. As such, Instant Prize Multiplier symbols could turn out to be super useful there. The Sweet Collector, aka the Magnet in Retro Tapes, has increased abilities, too, since it is able to now drag in Wild Candy symbols, amongst other things. Again, the tweaks spill through to the bonus round since the Sweet Collector can attract non-clustered Instant Prize symbols rather than just those in a set area. Of course, the Push Bet has pushed its way in as well, giving players a wider number of ways of tackling the game.

All of this sweet new stuff hasn't translated into greater winning potential, though, surprisingly, as Retro Sweets remains steady at 10,000 times the bet max. This is not the end of the world by any means, but a bigger figure might have sweetened the deal on what is a classy clustering-up retro trip.