Retromania Review Scores
Game title: Retromania
Game description: Retromania is a 5 reel, 9 payline slot that was developed by Endorphina. This slot has an RTP of 96%, is packed with bonus features and contains some glorious graphics and animations. You can win huge prizes with multipliers as well as free spins and a possible 5,000x the stake wins.
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Graphics & Sound
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Gameplay
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Features & Bonuses
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Free Spins
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Thrill Factor
Overall
Pros
- Great Graphics
- Free Spins
- 5,000x the Stake Payouts
Cons
- Average RTP
For a genuine retro-styled slot, look no further than Endorphina’s Retromania. This game has been designed in a unique way, seeking to recreate a past that has been lost in history, through the use of high resolution textures and eye-catching animations. As you can see, the retro culture is alive and well in the gaming industry, offering nostalgic gamblers the pleasure of playing the old-school games, albeit enhanced with a few modern day features. Despite its modest mechanics, Retromania can still be considered a confident and successful release, a genuine blast from the past ready to take over your screens. The most striking aspect is an above average pay-table which is always great to have in a particularly straightforward slot game. A creative bonus feature is introduced to add variety to what can otherwise be considered a somewhat basic regular game. Keep reading to learn more about this online slot.
There is no story to speak of in this game, with symbols simply representing recognizable aspects of popular culture from the ‘80s. The color scheme is not quite as garish as many properties harking back to this time period, with slightly muted shades favored over the more neon tones prevalent in the time of Timmy Mallett and Wham! Whilst the color choices may seem surprising at first, the muted, classy tones employed in the game are pleasing and certainly easier on the eye than the bright colors most associated with the time period. Animations on winning symbols are simple, effective and incredibly smoothly rendered. These animations make it abundantly clear where wins have come from and suit the winning symbols brilliantly. The vinyl record spins in a similar manner to when a DJ employs scratch techniques and the camera flashes, for example.
Table of Contents
Retromania Gameplay
Before starting Retromania there are certain things you can do to set it up under your preferences. You can see the betting amount right below the reels. You can set it from 9 to 90.00 coins per spin. However, the player can also control the coin size. It can be set at 0.05, 0.1, 0.2 or 0.5. Conversely, the maximum bet with a 0.5 coin size is 450.00 coins per spin. The slot has 9 paylines that can be controlled by the Lines button in the bottom left corner. This means that players can set their gameplay anywhere from 1 to 9 paylines. Keep in mind that this slot can be played with bitcoin. However, you can play with regular FIAT currency as well.
Hitting the Spin button will start the Retromania online slot. The button is on the bottom right side, right below the reels. Right next to it, you can see the Auto button which is used to spin the reels automatically. This is a feature often added to slots by game developers. Additionally, this slot title has a turbo button as well. Clicking on it will make the reels spin faster, creating a faster gameplay. The button to control the background sound is on the top-right side of the reels. Right next to it, there is an “i” button. Clicking on it will reveal the gameplay, paylines, and all the bonuses. However, the game options are set diagonally from the background sounds button. You can find them in the bottom left corner.
Symbols
As mentioned above, Retromania makes good use of the style and items that were so common a few decades ago. The rather ugly, bland colors are a direct reference to the time period as well, creating a total package when it comes to the design of the game. There are quite a few animations in the game, mostly occurring whenever there is a win. These animations are brief but interesting enough for the eyes. One thing I did think was a little confusing was the way the win lines were shown on the screen. Using small dotted lines around the winning tiles was difficult to see, considering the color and style of the game. It mostly came down to watching the animations to see which symbols were part of a win. I did like that the total coin win briefly appeared on the screen as well.
Retromania video slot explores retro aesthetics with great success and plenty of authentic, splendid images moving gracefully across the reels. Vinyl records, typewriters, rotary dial phones, portable cassette players, Polaroid cameras and vintage dressed girls all serve as excellent remainders of the olden days.
Retromania Features and Bonuses
As with most Endorphina slots, Retromania shies away from having too many features cluttering up the gameplay experience. In actuality, there are only three notable ones.
- Pays Both Ways: Wins are counted from left to right and vice versa.
- Wilds: Wilds substitute all other normal symbols in the game. Only the Scatter Symbol can’t be represented by a Wild.
- Bonus Game: Get 3 or more Bonus Symbols to activate the Bonus Game. More symbols award more spins. The goal is to match symbols on the Bonus Reels and Bonus Roulette to get a win.
Most of the game is centered around the base game. I thought this was perfect for players that enjoy a simple, classic slot experience where the main thing to do is watch the reels spin and see the different wins. Considering the low volatility and pays both ways mechanic, this happened frequently enough to stay interesting.
Wild Feature
Even though the slot takes the retro route, the developers added a standard modern day feature in the form of a Wild symbol. It is represented as the Vintage Girl and functions as a replacement for all regular symbols whenever it lands on the reels. This way, the Wild helps players to form more winning combinations and even pays up to 2000 coins.
Retromania Gamble Feature
Like many other casino games, this one also has a Gamble feature. Here, you will get one card shown, and 4 more flipped over face down. You need to choose one of the remaining four cards. If the card you choose is highest than the dealer’s, you win, if the dealer’s card is higher than yours, you will lose and will be taken back to the base game. If the card is the same as the dealer’s you will repeat the round. You can choose to collect your winnings after each high card chosen. In Retromania, you can double your winning up to 10 times. However, once you get it wrong, the round is over and you lose your initial win. Endorphina as a developer often add gamble features to their slots. You can read more about such features on their website.
Thrill Factor
There is one more feature that the Retromania slot has and we have to mention it. It’s a feature which acts as a bonus round, separate from the regular gameplay which is why we consider it the Thrill factor. It’s a free spins feature which is favorite among players. However, this free spins feature comes with something extra that players love. We are talking about a special feature that involves multipliers and more. We will explain this in proper detail right below.
Free Spins Feature
The Bonus Game is activated when the player has 3 or more Bonus Symbols on the screen. 3 Bonus symbols grant the player 1 try, 4 symbols equal 2 tries and 5 symbols get the player 3 tries. Then the game switches to this Bonus Game which shows a 3-reel, 1-row playing field surrounded by a roulette square of sorts. The roulette square is filled with multiples of the symbols in the game.
Technically, the player has an infinite amount of spins unless the marker on the roulette square ends up on one of the 4 corners with a black cross. When the marker ends there, it redacts 1 try. When the player has no more tries, the bonus game ends. The goal is to get the marker to end up on a symbol that matches the symbols on the reels. Each symbol has its own payout value, and the more often a symbol appears on the reel, the bigger the win. Once the player runs out of tries, they are awarded the total coin win. I thought the Bonus Game was the most interesting part of this slot and I wished there were more games that used this concept all the time. It was more fun to watch than the normal reels spin, but other players might think the reverse!
Conclusion
Retromania is an excellent effort by developer Endorphina to incorporate nostalgia into a slot without making it too obvious. The game feels like a museum of sorts, simply showing the different items without making things too audacious or annoying. Instead, they are fun images and quick animations that facilitate some good but profoundly simple gameplay. I think the biggest downside to the slot is the poor sound-design which barely makes use of the setting or the time period it is based on. There is hardly any music and even when it is there, it’s only for a second. Considering the excellent work the team has put into the design of the game, it’s a shame they didn’t round out the experience.
Players who are looking for a simple but competent slot with an original setting will probably get some enjoyment out of Retromania. The max. win of 5,000x your bet is also very respectable. I would have liked to have seen the game make more use of the bonus game but as it stands, it’s a fun game to spend half an hour on.
Play the Retromania slot on our Bitcoin Casino.
Please, also read our review on Endorphina’s Mongol Treasures Slot.