Retro Galaxy Slot Machine – Free Play & Review

It’s a science fiction themed game, but with a heavy mix of retro graphics thrown in. There are plenty of neon-style graphics around, with the pink Royals being symbols of low value, while icons with stars, 7s, Bar logos or lightning bolts show up in the better paying positions. Not that interesting for a fan of the genre, but well designed despite the classic roots.

Developer

Retro Galaxy is the result of a collaboration between Microgaming and Half Pixel Studios. The smaller company developed it, as an exclusive title for Microgaming’s collection. It’s a type of deal that we’ve seen a lot of times recently, and it has brought quite a few decent titles to the giant’s collection. This is the first game designed by Half Pixel, and so far they’re looking like a decent new developer.

How To Play It

Your wagers are going to range between $0.20 and $20. You make the total bet selection directly from a given list, no other option to customize offered.

You will find here a slot with 5×3 reels, with wins forming when matching symbols appear on consecutive reels, left to right. 243 ways to win/potential combinations are available.

Special Features

A big part of the game, the Rolling Reels get to trigger every single time you form a winning combination. The usual mechanic is used, with winning symbols taken away, others brought in to replace them, and this can go on for as long as new wins keep forming.

At the same time, a multiplier will go up each time you get the Rolling Reels to trigger. From the 1x that you start with, you then go to 2x, 3x and 5x during the rolls which follow.

Shown only on the reels 2, 3, 4 and 5, the wild symbol is available in its role as a substitute, but no regular rewards may come of it, since it will not form combinations by itself.

Free spins are also used, up to 20 rounds offered if enough scatter symbols show up (3 to 5 needed). Besides the prize of up to 100x the stake, the game also improves on the Multiplier Trail feature.

Initial wins are doubled in value now (2x multiplier), while the next ones go up by 1x. The maximum multiplier is 15x, for the free spins. The biggest advantage here, is that once the multiplier goes up, it will not reset back to the original value, like it does in the base game. Reaching a 15x boost to wins is actually a possibility.

Maximum Payouts

I like the potential of the game, as we can expect Retro Galaxy to deliver wins of up to 7,300x the stake ($146,000), under the right conditions.

The game has high volatility though, and yet it manages to maintain a high hit frequency. About 1 in every 3 spins is a winner, so you don’t get bored easily. RTP is also acceptable, at the 96.05% we’ve seen mentioned for it.

Summary

It’s not always easy to find good games with high volatility in Microgaming’s collection, so I did enjoy Retro Galaxy and its offer. I’m not much of a fan of the classic vibe, its overused in slot machines, but it does better here since its mixed with a bit of space in the background. Overall, a decent game, with all the usual features that you should be used to already, from rolling reels to multipliers.