Oops: Slot Overview
If the thought of viruses, genetic mutations, or sickness in general makes you want to flee the germ-ridden world to live in a bubble, it might be best to look away now. Software provider Shady Lady has delved hawkplay into the world of scientific research to explore what happens when viral DNA runs amok and has come up with the aptly titled online slot Oops. Inspired by the pandemic that is technically ‘over’ yet still lingers in the collective consciousness, this is a humorous take on science, human error, and the age-old question of just because we can do something, should we?
A Humorous Take on Scientific Mishaps
Deep in the bowels of the earth lies a governmental research centre run by a team of scientists—one of whom, rather amusingly, bears a striking resemblance to Anders Tegnell, Sweden’s former state epidemiologist—who, unfortunately, through sheer ineptitude, have lost control of their experiments and spawned a suspicious slimy substance. Adding to their woes, the slime has infected a group of lab mice, which have escaped and triggered a worldwide global panic. Oops plays this out in a humorous slapstick manner, but really, the fact this could conceivably happen means the game tickles a deep-seated existential dread that humanity’s days could be numbered, and we have no one else but ourselves to blame.
Game Basics: How to Play Oops
Players get the experimentation going by picking a stake of 10c to $/€100, while bonus buys, boosters, and more are optional extras. Hitting play spins a 6×4 gaming area with 4,096 ways to win by default but going up to a possible 262,144 should the splitting feature in free spins reach full capacity. When regular betting, the RTP comes in at 96.28%, and Shady Lady has rated the volatility as 10 out of 10. A perfect blend of excitement and risk, which can be further enhanced when playing at hawkplay.
Pay Symbols: The Unsanitary World of Oops
Five unsanitary-looking items make up Oops’ low pay symbols—a shoe, a glove, a sandwich, underpants, and a syringe. Meanwhile, its high pays are 4 unusual character symbols. Winning combinations of 6 OAK in length pay 0.5x to 1x the hawkplay bet for the items or 1.5x to 3x the bet for the character symbols. Wild symbols must have mutated out of existence because there aren’t any to be found while playing Oops.
Features That Bring the Germs to Life
In the base game, 1 of 3 flu-like features may randomly trigger on any spin. Only one may trigger per round. After appearing, all mystery symbols they produce reveal matching symbols:
Fever Feature
A random number of columns (1 to 6) are filled with slimy mystery reveal symbols, adding a layer of unpredictability to each spin. A real treat for players at hawkplay, where the surprises keep coming!
Cough Feature
3 to 20 random positions on the grid are covered in mucous mystery reveal symbols. These can lead to big wins, as the grid begins to fill up with potential matches.
Congestion Feature
A cluster of gooey mystery reveal symbols (4 to 16) covers part of the gaming area, intensifying the drama and increasing your chances of a big win.
Pandemic Free Spins: Mutation Madness
Landing 3 or more Lab Rat scatters triggers the Pandemic free spins round. Three scatters award 6 free spins, plus 1 free spin is awarded for each additional triggering scatter. During free spins, Virus symbols may appear and either split or spread. A Virus can spread left, right, up, or down as long as the adjacent position does not already contain a Virus symbol. Splitting creates 2 copies of the Virus on the current position. After spreading, viruses transform into matching regular symbols.
There are 5 mutation levels, which are upgraded by collecting 3 Mutation symbols. The number of Virus actions depends on the mutation level. At level 1, a single action is made; at level 2, 2 actions are made, and so on. When a mutation level is upgraded, +3 spins are awarded, adding an exciting dimension to free spins at hawkplay.
Feature Buys: Boost Your Chances
Bonus Boost increases the bet by 1.5x to increase the chance of triggering features. The Big Bonus Bet ups the stake by 5x to increase the feature triggering chances even further. By paying 89x, players can guarantee a free spins trigger on the next spin. Highlight Reels, meanwhile, lets players buy a batch of spins and play out the 3 highest-paying results. Spins are presented in ascending win order. The top 3 results of 100, 300, or 500 spins cost 75x, 190x, or 292x the bet, respectively. Lastly, opting for the Loot Box feature awards a random prize from 9 Enhanced Bonuses across Bronze, Silver, and Gold tiers. A Rare Loot Box, Epic Loot Box, or Legendary Loot Box costs 188x, 347x, or 574x the bet, respectively.
The End of the World? Not Quite
Dive down the rabbit hole, and you may start wondering why humanity hasn’t already had its own extinction-level oops moment and been entirely wiped out by a lab-brewed virus. We trust our governments know what they are doing, or if not, we generally assume the scientists and people in white coats have a handle on things at least. After all, people are living longer, healthier lives than ever due in part to modern medicine, and the assumption is this will only get better as time passes. But what if we’re wrong? Well, Oops provides a possible answer to this question, and it is actually a little bit frightening. Fortunately, all the slimy virus stuff is done in jest (right?), so fingers hawkplay crossed Oops is simply a rib-tickling look at scientific ineptitude rather than a premonition of the future.
