Pixel Paws - Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

Pixel Paws Slot Review

With a title like Pixel Paws, you might be expecting this AvatarUX slots game to be animal-themed. Indeed, you will find five common pets across the five reels, and you try to turn them into winning symbols by lining them up across one of 16,807 winning ways. Keep an eye on the loaded reel and its modifiers. There is also a hold and win feature, as our Pixel Paws slot review will explain.

Paws, fins, and talons

What are the most common household pets? Dogs, cats, birds, fish, and mice are the symbols with the highest payout potential in the Pixel Paws slot. They are not exactly realistic depictions, with some rather unusual colours - for example, the dog is purple - but they all have distinct facial expressions to give them extra character.

Pixelated

Another thing that makes those animals and the otherwise generic card symbols distinctive is their pixelated appearance, like a video game from decades ago. Retro slots are pretty popular, appealing to the nostalgia of long-time players and providing a break from super-shiny modern graphics. You can even change the cool blue colour scheme with the help of the equally retro paintbrush without affecting gameplay.

Pixel Paws RTP and Variance

The top RTP of the Pixel Paws slot is 96.01%, although casinos may choose to set it lower. The variance is medium.

How to Play Pixel Paws

Playing is not too different from other slots:

1. Do you have a budget and limits? Have you looked at the timeout and self-exclusion functions? Responsible gambling comes first.


2. If you are going on to play, use the stack of coins buttons to modify your bet. The minimum is 0.10.


3. It is always a good idea to know the rules. Go to the menu and read up on both the base game and Pixel Paws bonus features.


4. Tweak the sound and other settings now. You can’t do anything whilst the reels are spinning.


5. Speaking of which, press the big spin button to start playing.

How to Win at Pixel Paws

The fact that Pixel Paws has five reels, especially with four rows rather than the more common three, suggests a modern video slot format despite the retro look. If this didn’t make it clear, the starting point of 1,024 ways to win, which can grow to 16,807 if the grid expands, is another indicator. You just need matching symbols to run from left to right.

Top Wins

• The animal symbols are higher value than the card symbols, and five matching symbols pay more than three or four.


• The lowest paying of all the symbols is the ten, which is worth up to 0.5x your bet.


• The highest-paying symbol is the cat with its 5x top multiplier.


• Coins work from anywhere, like a scatter symbol, but they are most relevant in the hold and win feature.


• Overall, the maximum win available is 20,000x.

Pixel Paws Bonuses

Broadly speaking, Pixel Paws has the loaded reel bonus and the hold and win bonus. There is no free spins round triggered by a scatter symbol as in many modern slots. Both loaded reel and hold and win come with additional features: grid expansion, multipliers, upgrades, colossal symbols, and more.

Cascades

Let’s talk about the cascades, which are popular in many slots under different names. Almost like a free respin, any winning symbols will be taken away and new ones will cascade into the gaps, presenting an extra chance to find a paying combination.

Loaded Reel

This special reel is visible to the left of the regular reels. The position at the top is known as the trigger zone. Every blank and reward will shift to a new position during the cascades. If one lands in the trigger zone, it activates. The potential rewards include:

• Trigger zone expansion: the trigger zone grows to cover the top two positions.


• Grid expansion: every reel grows up to three extra rows above the current playing grid.


• Multiplier: the displayed win multiplier is applied to any current payout.


• Low pay upgrade: up to five low-value symbols can be transformed into higher-paying options.


• Wilds and colossal wilds: symbols and giant symbols that can substitute for regular symbols appear.

Hold and Win

It takes five coins in the base game to trigger hold and win. You have three lives, which you can reset with more coins. New coins can also trigger cascades. Each coin has a displayed value of between 10 and 100. Colossal coins are worth between 500 and 5,000.

During this feature, only coins, blank spaces, and loaded reel rewards are in play. All coins that land become sticky, to be collected at the end of the feature.

Loaded reel rewards are different during hold and win:

• Coin and colossal coin: extra coin or colossal coin symbols.


• Coin upgrade: increase the value of visible coins.


• Extra lives: up to three additional lives are awarded.


• Collect: a treasure chest collects all coins in view.


• Collect and multiply: a treasure chest collects all coins, and then a win multiplier is applied.


• Grid expansion and trigger zone expansion work as normal.

Max-win 20,000x

Volatility Medium

Top RTP 96.01%

Pixel Paws Review - Summary

An appeal to nostalgia, Pixel Paws relies on retro graphics and style, but its mechanics and features are pretty modern. There is no free spins bonus as in some comparable slots, but the loaded reel and hold and win round both have multiple layers and could impact your total win and mix up your gameplay.

Disclaimer: Pixel Paws trademark / license is owned by Avatar UX. This site is not endorsed by Avatar UX.