Slurpy

Slurpy: Slot Overview

If you should never judge a book by its cover, perhaps the same advice applies to slots and their titles. It's hard not to at times though, as some titles give a clear indication of what to expect from the game that follows. In the case of Slurpy from ELK Studios, the title doesn't initially give away a lot of information. What exactly is being slurped, and who is doing the slurping? After giving the game a few spins, okay, the title will make a lot of sense. Without trying to reveal too much at the start, let's say Slurpy involves a lot of symbol-collecting action, grid expansion, feature symbols, and two bonus rounds - regular as well as super.

Slurpy looks as though it is held in a kitchen, a Japanese-inspired one as evidenced by a bonsai tree, maybe a sushi kitchen that turns out delicate little morsels of food? The setting is open to interpretation to an extent. Slurpy lacks the visual pop often accompanying an ELK Studios slot, but everything is harmoniously laid out, and the tunes are nothing but joyous.

Time to see how Slurpy plays, and for starters, its active area begins each base game spin by dropping symbols into a 5x5 space, with a collector, otherwise known as a Slurpie, standing at the top. Each paid spin will cost you 20 c to $/€100, and there are five choices from the X-iter to potentially hurry things along. A highly volatile math model runs the show, spitting out an RTP of 94% whether betting on individual spins as normal or when using the X-iter feature buy options.

Slurpy does not have paylines or ways; it is not a regular cluster pays slot or a scatter pays machine. Instead, pay symbols possess values that are awarded when the Slurpie character at the top collects them. The smallest collection grouping is 1 to 3 matching symbols, which pays 0.05 times the bet, while the largest is a 40+ sized group of collected symbols paying 200 times the bet.

Slurpy: Slot Features

Slurpy has 6 collectors (known as Slurpies), each one colour linked to corresponding pay symbols. Pay symbols that are connected to their collector with a cleared path to the top row create a win. All connected symbols of the same type pay out then are removed from the reels. Clearing all pay symbols expands the grid in 3 levels. The first level is 5x5, the next level is 6x6, and the last is 7x7. Removing all symbols at the top level increases the global multiplier by +5. The global multiplier multiplies every win.

The game starts with 1 Slurpie in view, collecting all matching pay symbols with a cleared path to the top. If a win occurs and no more winning symbols have a cleared path to the top, then a new collector is added. The grid refills and the new collector collects any matching pay symbols with a cleared path to the top row. When no more winning symbols can be collected, and a win has happened since the newest collector appeared, the leftmost collector is removed, and a new collector is added. This continues till the collectors cannot collect any more symbols.

Second Chance

If the collectors in view do not match the pay symbols, and one of the other collectors could collect all remaining pay symbols on the reels, the second chance feature triggers. The leftmost collector is removed, adding a new collector.

Feature Symbols

All feature symbols, Coins, and bonus symbols trigger when there is a clear path to the top row.

• Coin - pays the value displayed times the bet.
• Multiplier - adds its value to the global multiplier.
• Level Up - expands the grid up to 7x7.
• Extra Slurpie - adds an additional Slurpie. Three collectors at the same time is the limit.
• Super Straw - collects all pay symbols matching the Slurpie who uses the super straw, when the matching symbols do not have a clear path to the top row.
• Long Straw - collects one cluster of matching pay symbols not connected to the top row.
• Wild Symbol - links any symbols it is connected to.
• Double Symbol - can connect two different pay symbols.

Bonus Game

Collecting 3 scatter symbols triggers 5 free drops. The number of Slurpies, the grid size, and the global multiplier remain when entering the bonus round and between free drops. The bonus starts with a new set of symbols on the grid. If one of the triggering scatters is a super scatter, the super bonus is awarded. In the super bonus, players get 3 Slurpies and a 7x7 grid. One new collected scatter symbol adds +2 free drops.

X-iter

Slurpy's X-iter menu has these bonus buy choices:

• Bonus Hunt - 3x the bet, each game round has more than triple the chance of triggering the bonus game.
• Extra Collector - 10x the bet buys a game round with 3 collectors.
• Coin Drop - 25x the bet buys a game round, guaranteeing Coins on the reels.
• Bonus Game - 100x the bet.
• Super Bonus Game - 500x the bet.

Slurpy: Slot Verdict

Perhaps when drawing the Battle of Nitropolis series to a close, culminating in the release of Nitropolis 5, ELK Studios was done making wild, gritty, high-octane slots and needed a breather. Since then, we've had Squeeze and now Slurpy, two cheerfully bubbly, about as anti-Nitropolis slots get in just about all regards. It was odd loading up the last two ELK Studios games and not getting that same adrenal tickle as if you've just reached the top of a roller coaster ride and it's about to drop at high speed down the steep side. Slurpy exuded a calm, almost zen atmosphere at first, but hit spin, and it's able to be oddly entertaining.

The game is definitely unique, no arguments there, and like a cascading slot, lengthy rolls can ensue when the right-coloured Slurpies keep sliding in from the side at the top of the reels to clear symbols out of the way. You've also got a list of feature symbols augmenting play, from Coin wins to reel expansions, the win multiplier and more. Slurpy's flow is similar to a cluster-paying cascade game, but here, only clusters that can reach the top of the grid to be slurped are awarded. It's odd, but Slurpy sort of works in a never been seen before quite like this type of way, sharing shelf space alongside other ELK Studios experiments such as Jeff & Scully, Sumo Sumo, and Night Trax.

In other words, Slurpy is worth having a try, if for nothing else than to experience reel-bound activity you're unlikely to have seen anywhere else. At 5,000x max win, Slurpy steps down a notch or two from the massive winning potential machines we've become accustomed to receiving from ELK Studios, but this doesn't prevent the game from being one to demo if you're feeling adventurous. There was something strangely soothing about the slurping, bleeping, upbeat 8-bit tuned personality Slurpy presents to the world, like a Eurovision act that knows it's not going to win but is having fun in the spotlight anyway.