Pirots 4

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last couple of years, it doesn’t take a top online slots connoisseur to recognise one of online casino’s most quirky flocks when you see it…

The gang is, of course, ELK Studios‘ infamous feathered foursome, hatching into our lives back in 2023 as the innovative and charming “Pirots” burst onto our screens, possessing a fresh take on collector-style pay ways, alongside grid expansions, symbol upgrades and a whole host of swashbuckling action.

So captivating was this format, since then players have been introduced to no fewer than 3 sequels, crazy to think in such a short space of time, as immersive gameplay has transported us back to the land that time forgot in “Pirots 2“, the gun-slinging streets of the old Wild West in “Pirots 3“, and “Pirots X” even saw a complete revamp as a cluster-pays model took centre stage.

Pirots 4 Base Game Play

Well, strap yourselves in folks, quite literally in fact, as our plunderous quartet are back, leaving the treasures of our home planet behind for the mysteries within the far reaches of the universe, as “Pirots 4” blasts onto our casinos with that CollectR mechanic back firing on all cylinders.

If you thought for a second that we’ve surely seen it all by now, you are clearly mistaken, as the 6 reel 6 row game grid plays host to numerous fresh features, from corner bombs and additional Coin Collect bonus games to full-on Alien Invasions, as well as all of those typical, trademark stamps of Pirot predecessors gone by.

Core gameplay takes place in the middle of a far-flung galaxy, with swirls of blue and white gas hazing over the twinkling stars that fill the skies.

Asteroids litter the entire scene and, for reasons unbeknownst to anyone, a bowling ball drifts around nonchalantly in the top left corner…the quirks of ELK, eh!?

Whilst adaptations may have been made to the action, beneath the surface, much remains more familiar with the studio, once again, opting for a high volatility math model alongside a 94% RTP and 10,000x bet max win potential.

With so much to check out, let’s blast off straight into the gameplay, as we dive into all of those rules and features in more detail…

Birds Collect all Adjacent Same-Coloured Gems, Wild Symbols and Feature Symbols

Pirots 4 Base Game and Features

By way of the CollectR mechanic, win spins are achieved when any of the 4 bird characters drop alongside adjacent symbols of the same respective colour, moving across the game grid horizontally and vertically to collect until no further collections are possible.

4 coloured Gems make up the game’s pay symbols, each corresponding to the characters and able to upgrade to higher levels of pay.

Beginning in their most basic form, Gems are worth between 0.05x to 0.1x bet, able to reach between 7.5x to 30x bet when at the highest level of upgrade.

Wild symbols are also included and substitute for any coloured Gem symbol.

A bird’s initial movement may also be activated if collecting an adjacent Coin symbol or Feature symbol.

Once the birds have collected all they can, remaining symbols drop to the bottom-most positions available, allowing fresh symbols to fall into the reels to fill the gaps.

A game round continues as long as at least one bird can continue to make collections of symbols.

Fill the Collect Meter for Feature Drop Rewards Including Upgrades, Back Holes and Alien Invasions

Collection Meter

Above the game grid sits the Collection Meter which keeps track of all collected Gem and Wild symbols during a round.

Each Gem or Wild symbol collected increases the meter and, when filled, adds one pending feature symbol release.

A maximum of 3 pending feature releases may be stored at any one time, with all pending features released simultaneously.

Corner Bombs

Each game round begins with a Bomb positioned in every corner of the game grid.

Each Bomb is assigned a bird character’s colour, with their positions randomised every spin.

During a round, whenever a bird collects a symbol overlaying a Corner Bomb, the Bomb detonates when no further collections can be made.

Upon detonating, all birds are removed from the grid as well as all Gems within a 3×3 blast zone from the Bomb.

Additionally, the explosion removes the corresponding corner piece of “Space Station” from the grid, increasing the size of the game area up to a maximum of 8×8.

The Space Station is made up of 4 individual sections, acting as a tunnel when at least one section has been removed.

Birds are able to travel through the tunnel when a Gem can be collected both at the entrance and exit positions.

Additionally, each tunnel section is able to reveal up to 2 feature symbols which are collected as a bird passes through.

Once the game grid has been expanded to its maximum size and Space Station sections have been removed, the corners of the grid become Space Portals which birds can teleport through if collectable symbols sit on 2 or more Space Portal positions.

Detonate Corner Bombs to Expand the Game Grid and Form Tunnels Around the Reels

Switcheroo and Power Clash

When 2 bird symbols are positioned adjacent to one another, they have the random chance to perform a “Switcheroo” when no further symbols can be collected.

The Switcheroo allows the birds to switch positions either horizontally or vertically.

Similarly, there is also a random chance that the birds perform a “Space Switcheroo“.

Upon triggering, one of the adjacent birds is moved to the edge of the game grid or to the next symbol it can collect in its trajectory.

Whenever 3 or more birds are positioned directly adjacent from one another, and no further collections can be made, the feature triggers.

All 3 birds merge into one grid position and all Gems within a 5×5 area around the position are removed from play.

The birds then all fly away, either horizontally, vertically or diagonally from the clash position, collecting or activating Corner Bombs, Alien Invasion, Black Hole, Coin, Bonus and Super Bonus symbols within their path.

Gems are also removed when in the path of a flying bird, however do not count towards increasing the Collection Meter.

Feature Symbols

An array of feature symbols are included during game play, with a feature release occurring before Corner Bombs explode, during the first drop during the Free Spins bonus round or once no further bird collections are possible.

When a feature release activates, random Gem symbols are converted into and of the following, random feature symbols…

• Scatter – 3 collected scatter symbols triggers the Bonus round.
• Super Scatter – a Super scatter collected alongside 2 regular scatters upgrades the bonus round to the Super Bonus.
• Wild – substitutes for any coloured Gem symbol.
• Coin – pays out its displayed value as an instant win when collected.
• Upgrade – all gems of the same colour as the collecting bird are upgraded in value by up to 3 stages.
• Upgrade All – all gem types are upgraded in value by up to 3 stages.
• Transform – transforms a cluster of gems, next to the bird, into the same colour as the collecting bird.  A random number of Gems may also be transformed into feature symbols.
• Spacecorn – places Spacecorn into empty grid spaces to allow each bird to cross the empty space once to reach additional symbols.
• Black Hole – absorbs all symbols and birds within the game grid, before throwing them back out in a different order.  Between 1 to 3 birds can be completely removed from play.  All Gems of the same colour as a removed bird turn into the colour of one or more of the returning birds.
• Alien Invasion – triggers the Alien Invasion feature, once no further collections can be made.

Clear the Grid of All Collectible Symbols to Trigger the Lost In Space Coin Collect Feature

Alien Invasion

Triggering the Alien Invasion sees the Space Bandit collect symbols column by column, collecting any Gem, bird or feature symbol except for the Black Hole, Spacecorn and transform symbols, with these being discarded.

Corner Bombs are also activated when the Space bandit collects the symbol overlaying a Bomb position,

Attempting to collect a bird activates a Space Duel which, if won by the Space Bandit, removes the bird from play and increases the Spaceship Multiplier.

Whenever a bird defeats the Space bandit, the Alien Invasion feature comes to an immediate end and the current Spaceship Multiplier is applied to the total round win.

Lost In Space

Collecting all collectible symbols during the Spacecorn feature immediately triggers the Lost In Space coin game.

Playing out on an 8×8 game grid, one bird begins in each corner and 3 drops are awarded.

Landing one or more Coin symbols or bridge symbols resets the drop counter back to 3.

When no drops remain, the birds move horizontally or vertically to collect adjacent Coins and are able to use horizontally or vertically adjacent bridges to do so.

When 2 or more birds are connected by the same Coins, the collected bird value becomes collectible for the next bird to collect the same coins.

At the end of the feature, all collected Coin values are added together and paid out as a win, before the game returns to its previous state.

Collect 3 Scatter Symbols to Trigger The Bonus Game Round

Charlie’s Extra Chance

When no more collections are possible, the Charlie’s Extra Chance feature may randomly trigger.

Upon activating, between 1 to 4 Corner Bombs are detonated at the same time, removing the birds and Gem clusters and allowing fresh symbols to fall into the grid before the birds return.

Pirots 4 Free Spins

Collecting 3 scatters during the same game round triggers the bonus game, awarding 5 free drops and beginning with the game grid at its current size.

During the round, all progress including the grid size, meter collection state and Gem upgrades remains persistent throughout.

Additionally, each scatter symbol collected during the feature awards one additional drop.

If one of the triggering scatters collected is the Super Scatter, the Super Bonus is awarded.

During the Super Bonus, the grid begins in its fully expanded state and collecting an upgrade symbol upgrades all Gem types.

Before the initial drop, should an Alien Invasion feature, Corner Bomb or feature release be pending at the point of trigger, these are activated as part of the first free drop.

During the Bonus Game, Progress Becomes Persistent, Including Grid Expansions and Symbol Upgrades

X-iter

A healthy menu of purchasable enhancements is included with Pirots 4, which players may wish to utilise should they choose to…

• Bonus Hunt – at the cost of 3x bet, each spin has more than 4 times the chance of triggering a bonus game.
• Alien Invasion – at the cost of 25x bet, a spin with the Alien Invasion feature is guaranteed.  Additionally, if a bonus is triggered during the spin, it will be the Super Bonus.
• Lost In Space – at the cost of 50x bet.
• Bonus – at the cost of 100x bet.
• Super Bonus – at the cost of 500x bet.

All X-iter options play out at 94% RTP.

Pirots 4 Super Bonus Game Play

First Impression

Following on from the somewhat revamped adventures that was “Pirots X”, Pirots 4 finds us back amongst those creature comforts and familiarities of Pirot games of old; the CollectR mechanic back in full flow alongside the usual hearty range of features from “Switcheroos” and detonations to Symbol Upgrades and more.

Thankfully, many of us are now more than well-accustomed to the vast range of dynamic additives within the series however, anyone new to ELK Studios’ feathered foursome would be forgiven for feeling a little overwhelmed by it all, especially thanks to a whole host of new and exciting inclusions found in this latest outer-space ensemble!

Although not completely paving the way to fresh, innovative heights, ELK’s adaptations, from the expansion of the game grid by way of Corner Bombs, duels via Alien Invasions and an extra Coin collecting bonus round during Lost In Space, all act as bulk alongisde the core gaming elements, making for some truly exciting game rounds as spins progress.

The charm with the Pirots series, on the whole, is that you never quite can tell where a game round is leading to or when it’s going to end, with countless, random symbol releases only enhancing play and symbol switching and transportations keeping players firmly on their toes.

Speaking of transportations, Pirots 4 contains two variations of methods used by the birds to get from one place to another, with each one proving just as handy as the other.

The clever use of the removable “Space Station” grid matrix allows Corner Bombs to remove sections from play, leaving a creative tunnel system that birds may utilise.

Not only does this help prolong game rounds, but extra feature symbols can be collected along the route, making for a very useful concept.

Fully expanding the grid similarly activates portal positions, another neat way of shifting birds around the game area, although arguably not as lucratively as the tunnels.

Triggering the Bonus Game sees progress become persistent, certainly nothing new but by no means an unhealthy inclusion and with the usual Super Bonus up for grabs, players can begin with an enhanced game grid, fully expanded to 8×8, and all upgrade symbols collected upgrading all Gems.

With all of the exciting, new additions, the core model beneath the surface does remain much the same as Pirot predecessors, including that 10,000x bet max win cap.

After so many sequels within the series, perhaps a little extra punch wouldn’t have gone amiss by now but, figures to one side, Pirots 4 encapsulates all of the charm and spark from titles gone by, whilst adding its own stamp within the saga, making it a very worthy addition to the feathered franchise.

The screenshots taken of games reviewed on this site are taken from Demo Play, as reviews are often written before games are released for real play.