Description
Arcader from Thunderkick has a retro theme based on technology. It’s a simple five-reeler with three rows across just 15 Paylines and incorporates modern gaming features while also harking back to the 1980s. If you loved the likes of Space Invaders back in the day, the memories should come flooding in!
Old-school visuals incorporate blocky graphics and pixellated depictions of traditional arcade icons. Plus you’ll be playing to the sounds of an electronic synth backing track – think Kraftwerk or Gary Numan. (What’s more the voiceover is rather synthetic, too.)
Symbols turn on dark columns set against a star-studded night sky, while in the foreground you’ll see what looks like some sort of alien planet.
How to play
Price per spin kick off from a relatively high 30p a spin rising to an eye-watering £1,500 a pop.
Icons, as mentioned, are old-school, and include oranges and lemons, melons, cherries, bells, plums and bars.
Play Arcader in the usual fashion, setting Autoplay if you prefer, or just continue hitting Spin manually to keep those reels turning.
Special features
Special symbols
You’ll find not one but two Scatters in Arcader, as represented by the letters B (large and in green) and M (bordered in pink), and which trigger their own features. Meanwhile, the Wild is a simple W.
Additionally, there’s an expander symbol which, as the name implies, expands to take up all of a reel’s positions to help create a winning combination. Although it matches just one symbol, it always picks the most lucrative one.
Bonus features
Free spins feature
Land three or more of the B symbols to be in line for nine free whirls. Depending on the number of triggering symbols, you’ll also be awarded a multiplier of between 1x and 9x.
What’s more, you’ll have the chance for a Sticky Wild on the middle three reels with every free whirl. This will then stay that way for as long as the round lasts.
Mystery Game
Land a minimum of a hat-trick of the M symbols as your passport to this perk. It’s essentially a picking round, in which a 2x to 6x multiplier also applies for landing four or five triggering icons respectively.
All you have to do is take your pick from the available grid of pixellated icons. Each one reveals a cash reward, and you carry on playing until you hit the red X, when it’s game over.
Jackpot
Arcader doesn’t incorporate a progressive jackpot; as such it’s a game with smaller, more frequent winnings rather than massive prizes.
Return to Player (RTP)
RTP or Return to Player is decent enough here at 96.1%, and you’ll find Arcader’s variance sitting somewhere on the middle of the scale.
Verdict
Arcader is a game which looks and sounds superb, and it’s met with strong approval from industry reviewers.
Thunderkick has pulled off the difficult trick of making the old-fashioned seem fresh here. The pace is nice and brisk, and this slot should have a broad appeal and keep you entertained. You ought to enjoy it, too, if you like to keep your gaming nice and simple.
Try it in demo mode before parting with any of your hard-earned cash. Let us know how you got on.
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