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 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 cos we can do something, should we?
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.
Players get the experimentation going by picking a stake of 10 c 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.
Five unsanitary-looking items make up Oops’ low pay symbols – a shoe, a glove, a sandwich, underpants, and a syringe, while its high pays are 4 unusual character symbols. Winning combinations of 6 OAK in length pay 0.5x to 1x the 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.
Oops: Slot Features
Brewing in Oops’ feature lab are base game only flu-like features, a multi-mutation level free spins round, bonus boosters, bonus buys, highlight reels, and loot boxes.
Flu Like Features
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 – a random number of columns (1 to 6) are filled with slimy mystery reveal symbols.
- Cough – 3 to 20 random positions on the grid are covered in mucous mystery reveal symbols.
- Congestion – a cluster of gooey mystery reveal symbols (4 to 16) covers part of the gaming area.
Pandemic Free Spins
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.
Feature Buys
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 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.
Oops: Slot Verdict
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 crossed Oops is simply a rib-tickling look at scientific ineptitude rather than a premonition of the future.
It’s also a thoroughly entertaining slot and a solid continuation of Shady Lady’s strong launch into the gambling market, following on from Devil’s Finger and Brainwashed. Whilst the game is built around mystery symbols, which are a common feature and often feel included as an afterthought, the way Virus symbols spread and split builds anticipation since they are capable of linking a lot of matching symbols with a lot of ways to win. Collecting Mutation symbols to upgrade mutation levels increases the suspense, helping to make Oops’ bonus round an exciting proposal. There are hints of Nolimit City here, and the action is quite simple, easy to follow, fun to do so, not to mention able to hit 20,000x in free spins or 12,000x in the base game.
With Oops, Shady Lady continues to cement a reputation for choosing edgy, original subject matter, presenting it in a whirlwind of humour and seriousness while peppering it throughout with exciting gameplay. Due to the continued inventiveness on display in a slot like Oops, Shady Lady is fast joining a select group of online slot makers that evoke a sense of curious excitement as to what exactly the team might do next.
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