Village People Macho Moves (Microgaming): Review

Revealed with plenty of hype on day one of the 2019 London igaming event, Microgaming’s game publisher David Reynolds didn’t hold back when talking up the company’s forthcoming branded slot Village People Macho Moves; “Starring all six members of the iconic group, the game has been stunningly designed with colourful graphics and dynamic animations to bring all of its special features to life“, and he also claimed that “players will be tapping their feet to big wins.” More likely “banging their heads against the wall” at the annoyingly small returns and dull play, considering how disconnected Microgaming has seemed from the gambling crowd in recent years. Still, we’ll find out—perhaps things have finally turned a corner.

Developed by Fortune Factory Studios exclusively for Microgaming, Village People Macho Moves is a 6-reel, 15-payline video slot inspired by the legendary American disco act Village People, who became a global phenomenon during disco’s peak. Known for their flamboyantly gay stage presence and costumes, the group released a string of international dance anthems including Y.M.C.A, Go West, Macho Man, and In the Navy, all of which appear in the game and can be selected via the virtual jukebox to the left of the reels. Available on all devices with stakes from 20 cents to 25€ per spin, Village People Macho Moves features expanding wilds and a token collection mechanic that’s used to unlock one of six free spin features.

Undeniably distinctive and very colourful, the action takes place on a disco stage where all the band’s iconic characters appear, with each member tied to their own reel. For a bit of humour, it seems, the characters have been drawn with gorilla-like arms and look like they never trained legs. On the reels you’ll find 4 card suit icons alongside higher-paying sunglasses, dancing boots, vinyl records, microphones and cassettes. The last 5 all pay the same, awarding you 6 times your stake for 6 of a kind. A standard wild symbol also appears, shown as a white ball that substitutes for all symbols.

Village People Macho Moves (Microgaming): Features

At the heart of the gameplay is the VP Wild symbol. When it lands, it triggers the VP Wild feature, expanding into a completely stacked wild reel. With enough luck, it can appear on all 6 reels in a single spin.

If you pay attention, you’ll notice each band member stands on a platform containing 5 slots. This is the VP Wild Meter—whenever a VP Wild shows up on a reel, it adds a token to that reel’s meter. Collecting 5 tokens fills the meter and, once completed, activates that reel’s corresponding Free Spins game. You begin with 5 free spins, and the options are as follows:

• Construction Worker (Reel 1) – awards a random multiplier on every spin ranging from between 2x and 20x.
• Cowboy (Reel 2) – during this feature you receive between 2 to 12 extra wild symbols on every spin.
• Cop (Reel 3) – provides 2 to 4 fully stacked wild reels on every spin.
• Native Indian (Reel 4) – begins with fully stacked wild reels on the two rightmost reels, which then shift 1 reel to the left on each spin.
• Biker (Reel 5) – swaps the lower-value card suit symbols for one of the higher-paying premiums to increase payouts.
• Sailor (Reel 6) – awards 1 to 3 wild symbols that randomly lock into place for each spin.

Village People Macho Moves (Microgaming): Verdict

With old-fashioned mechanics and underwhelming payouts, Village People Macho Moves leans heavily on the band’s famous hit tracks to do the heavy lifting. Yes, there’s some effort to make it feel different, but the sixth reel, for instance, doesn’t really add anything here beyond allowing all the band members to be included. From a visual standpoint it’s solid, with nicely executed graphics, and while the base game is painfully dull, the free spins features can occasionally deliver some unexpectedly enjoyable moments.

Casual players will probably find Village People Macho Moves appealing thanks to the bright palette, strong music and goofy character designs, but more serious slot fans are likely to look elsewhere for genuinely thrilling gameplay.