Sparky and Shortz

The amazing slot designers Play 'n GO are back with a new slot that takes players to the bizarre and futuristic planet of Alpha Labori. A world whose native population has been decimated. The planet's future now rests in the calculating minds of two charmingly named robots – Sparky and Shortz. In addition to being one of the more visually exciting slots Play n GO have made in a while, there are some great features, a properly enticing top win and an RTP that actually looks encouraging high.

Sparky and Shortz Overview

The features in this slot are twofold. The first feature in this game is called the win multiplier feature. It is triggered when players land three or more identical symbols on the same reel. A multiplier value will then appear on Shortz's body, with any wins from the point being boosted by that value. This multiplier can also grow depending on the influence of the boost meter. This will be explained in more detail later on in the review. The other feature is a brilliant free spins bonus which also has some interesting multipliers at play. Features, as mentioned, will be explained in detail later on.

Theme and Symbols

At first glance, you might see nothing more than a generic sci-fi theme here with all the typical cues. These include robots, strange aliens and futuristic technology. However, if you dig into the slot's actual narrative, you will find there is a lot more meaning to the characters on the screen. The basic premise is that Sparky is a repair robot tasked with trying to fix Shortz. Shortz is a much more complex robot that can incubate and save lifeforms. Therefore, if Sparky can fix Shortz, then the planet could be saved and repopulated. This might be a bit much for an online slot game, but at least it's entertaining.

The background for this game is the strange planet of Alpha Labori. The main terrain features are large conical mountains that may be incubating structures or alien trees – we are not sure what they are, but they look perfect for the theme. The background does change when players are taken to the free spins game, though.

When this transition is made, players are taken to a kind of lab environment, where the strange alien creatures are being manipulated and bred to be strong enough to repopulate the planet. The board is perhaps the most interesting visual aspect of this game in that it is made from the world-saving robot Shortz. This robot is huge and contains within it the keys to the survival of the planet (and the many icons that players will try to match). The symbols for this game are split into low-paying, high-paying and special symbols.

The low-paying symbols are the various space rocks in different colours. These include the green and blue rocks, which pay a maximum of 1x the stake. These are followed by the red, purple and gold rocks, paying 1.2x the stake for the top combination. The more valuable symbols, on the other hand, are the aliens in incubator jars. These are the green, blue and red aliens. The most valuable of which is the red one, paying 10x the stake. The specials finally comprise the swirling vortex wild, and the power cell scatter.

Game Play

Sparky and Shortz is played on a 5-reel, 3-row machine with ten fixed pay lines. To win combinations, players must land three or more matching symbols on pay lines moving from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel. The betting range for Sparky and Shortz is 10p to £100 per spin. To adjust their bet levels, players can toggle their stake up and down using the tool located at the bottom left-hand side of the screen.

Further information, including a short tutorial and a display of the paytable, can be found via the menu button in the right-hand corner of the screen. The spin and auto spin buttons are located in the centre of the screen. Volatility for this slot is rated in the very high range. The return to player percentage for Sparky and Shortz is 96.28%, which is above average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 10,000x your stake.

Features

The first feature included in this game is the Win Multiplier feature. This bonus is triggered when three identical icons land on the same reel. When this happens, a random multiplier appears on Shortz's top right shoulder. Any wins that are then registered are boosted by that value.

This value, however, can grow via what is called the boost meter. With every spin, Sparky attempts to activate this meter. If successful, the value of the attached multiplier is boosted by the amount shown on the meter. Multipliers are worth in the range of 2x to 10x. Multiplier reset with every new spin in the base game, however. There is no upper limit to the size of the multiplier.
The other feature in this game is the free spins game. This bonus is triggered by landing the special power cell scatter on reels 1, 3 and 5. This round begins with ten free spins. The boost meter is also active in this round- meaning attached multipliers once again. The special thing about the bonus round is that the multiplier does not reset between spins. They instead remain the same or increase with the boost meter.

You may also retrigger this bonus by landing the appropriate scatters in the correct places again. However, with a retrigger, players are only given five free spins.

Conclusion

This game is one of the highest quality slots to have been created so far this year. It is engaging, visually enticing, and a real joy to play with the animated characters of Sparky and Shortz, adding a fun dimension that few other games offer. A top win of 10,000x the stake is also available here, meaning there is some substance to go with all that style.