ABOUT
Big Bass Bonanza by now has made quite a name for itself that it almost needs no introduction. The adored darling from Pragmatic Play and Reel Kingdom lets players enjoy the simple pleasure of being a fisherman. After all, fishing and playing slots are surprisingly similar: you have to wait with patience for that one big catch!
Betting Options and Bonus Features
The visuals in Big Bass Bonanza might not look very impressive compared to the modern standard but the true beauty of this slot lies in its explosive gameplay. But first, let's go over the stats. Big Bass Bonanza has an RTP of 96.71%, a 4/5 volatility and 2,100x max win. The slot plays out on 3 rows and 5 reels with 10 paylines.
There are 9 standard symbols in this game, the most premium one being the fish bait symbol which pays 200x the bet for a combination of 5. Aside from that, there's the scatter symbol in the shape of a fish on a hook. There's also the money symbol with random cash values attached and they play a big part in the bonus round.
Collect 3, 4 or 5 scatter symbols give you 10, 15 or 20 free spins respectively. In the bonus game, a fisherman wild symbol is added to the reels, which not only substitutes for other symbols but also collects the cash prizes of the money symbols on screen. Every fourth wild that appears will retrigger the free spins feature with 10 bonus spins and a multiplier which applies on money symbols only.
The reason why Big Bass Bonanza's gameplay is so explosive is that the momentum in the free spins round keeps building up and up. The first retrigger gives a multiplier of 2x, the second one gives an x3, and the third one gives an x10. Unfortunately, you can't retrigger more than 3 times, but by then the payout has probably already been more than satisfactory.
Roshtein's Take
Big Bass Bonanza is an iconic slot for a reason: it's the prime example of an original online slot game that fuses the theme with the gameplay to perfection. In every other slot, wild symbols are just used to make winning combinations and money symbols only lead to money respins feature but here, the wild symbol is a fisherman and you use it to catch fish (money symbols).
Even the way you retrigger the free spins bonus with wilds is a new take that rarely exists on the slot market. And the increasing multiplier makes sure you never leave the bonus round feeling underwhelmed. The only criticism I can make is that the base game can be a little dry with no wild.
