We have only reviewed two AvatarUX slots so far. Given that this developer has upped its production quality sizably in the past couple of years, we thought we should pay more attention to what they put out. Hence, when we saw Pixel Paws in a casino lobby of one of our frequently used platforms, we knew we had to review it. We loved this studio’s Floridaman game, so this cat-themed arcade romp was a no-brainer.
We have not seen much news related to AvatarUX lately, but we can tell you that this Malta-based game supplier made its U.S. debut last year, entering the U.S. market through Caesars Palace online casino in Michigan. It released Pixel Paws on January 24, 2025, as the latest addition to the company’s Hold & Win series, drawing inspiration from 1980s arcade machine titles and pixelated graphics.
Per AvatarUX’s CEO Lara Falzon, following the company’s success with Depths of Fortune, they looked to bring back digital pet nostalgia via Pixel Paws, their second Hold & Win spinner. Famous for their PopWins titles, AvatarUX seemingly had high hopes for this feline-themed slot, but in the first week on the global market, it failed to impress in most regions, with Pixel Paws only gaining notable traction in Australia. Still, that did not turn us away from analyzing it, as we know that popularity does not necessarily equate to quality.
Theme & Design
The main motif here is pixelated visuals. If gambling games with such graphics interest you, we advise you to check out our dedicated article on them, where we list some of the best ones. Street Fighter 2: The World Warrior is a BTCGOSU favorite and, in our opinion, one of the best online slots ever.
Naturally, another theme here is cats. AvatarUX has experience with these cuddly creatures, as one of their most renowned titles is Majestic Meow, which appeared on the internet in mid-November 2024. Currently, we would say that the cat reel-spinning subgenre is dominated by Reel Kingdom’s Fonzo’s Feline Fortunes.
There is really not much to discuss about the visuals of this game, as they are about what you would expect for a pixel-based slot. We do like the endearing characters here and the fact that you can change the background color using a paint roller icon above the mute one. As far as the button configuration goes, it’s the usual AvatarUX setup, with all the bet functions to the right of the reel grid and the bet info, along with your site balance, presented in the bottom left corner of the screen, below the game grid.
Specs & Gameplay
Pixel Paws has a base 5×4 grid, a hit frequency of 28.8, a max exposure setting of x20,000, and medium variance. It comes in multiple RTP versions, the most standard one being 96.01%. The wager size available here starts at $0.10, going up to a game maximum of $50 per spin. The free spin frequency in this AvatarUX title is one in 204, and this reel spinner’s payline number varies between 1,024 and 16,807, depending on the active grid size, as the symbol setup in Pixel Paws can grow. You will see your current number of win-ways active to the right of the grid, below the game logo on a desktop browser.
In Pixel Paws, for you to win a reward, three to five matching symbols must materialize on adjacent reels. They do not have to touch; they just must not get interrupted by an empty column. The low-paying tokens in this AvatarUX creation are Tetris-style cards, 10 to A, while their high-paying counterparts are a mouse, a fish, a bird, a dog, and a cat. The low-pay symbols here pay out x0.5 to x1 for five-of-a-kind combos, while the high pays supply wins from x2 to x5 when five identical ones from this group appear on the grid. A hamburger is the wild of Pixel Paws.
Bonus Features
Regarding the bonus features of Pixel Paws, we will start by telling you about the Loaded Reel to the left of the main grid. Its top cell is the Trigger Zone, and it is empty at the beginning of each spin. As cascades occur, rewards and blank spaces move from the bottom to the top here. When a reward lands in the Trigger Zone, it activates. In the base game, the Loaded Reel offers Trigger Zone expansions by one position (down); the reels expanding upward by up to three positions, a multiplier reward, random symbol upgrades, and colossal wilds.
You trigger the Hold & Win mechanic by hitting five coins for a round where only coins and rewards from the Loaded Reel appear. Coin values move up to 100 from a starting point of 10, while colossal coin values go up to 5,000 starting from 500. All coins remain locked on the reels between spins. You begin the mode with three lives, and you lose one if no coins hit. If they do, your life count resets to three. Novel coins cascade to the grid’s bottom, allowing additional ones to land. Each spin introduces a new Loaded Reel reward, which moves upward with every cascade. These can add coins, upgrade visible ones, give up to three new lives, collect all coins via a treasure chest, or multiply them, and the Trigger Zone may again expand.
As expected, Pixel Paws has the famed AvatarUX Xpress feature, which supplies multiple bonus buy options. For x5, you can get no blanks on the Loaded Reel. For a cost of x60, you start a bonus feature with five coins. For x120, you begin it with six on a 5×5 layout. For x240, you get a 5×6 grid with seven coins, and for x500, a 5×7 setup is active with eight coins.
GOSU Verdict
Although we are suckers for retro graphics, the presentation of Pixel Paws did little for us. We appreciate AvatarUX stepping away from the PopWins system and exploring somewhat novel ground for them, expanding their horizons and diversifying their catalog. They did an okay job with this slot, whose bonus modes elevated it past the average mark, but it is still not something that will enchant most online gamblers. But, that is just our opinion.
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