Bass Hunter - Demo & Slot Review

Bass Hunter is played on 5 reels and 3 rows with 10 fixed paylines. Wins form from left to right, starting from the first reel. Bets range from 0.10 to 100 per spin.

The default RTP is 94.14%, volatility is medium, and the maximum win is capped at 5,000x the bet. The RTP is certainly one of the less attractive numbers here, especially for a game that otherwise takes a fairly safe approach.

The main mechanics revolve around Cash Fish, Jackpot Fish and Mystery Fish, with the Fisherman collecting their values. Hunter Respins give missed fish another chance to turn into a payout, while the Bonus Game adds a progressive Fisherman Meter with extra spins and increasing collection multipliers.

Basics

The basic 5×3 setup is about as traditional as it gets. Regular symbols form wins across the 10 paylines, while most of the actual excitement comes from seeing valuable Fish symbols appear and then hoping something arrives to collect them.

The Fisherman acts as the wild and substitutes for regular paying symbols, but not the Scatter. More importantly, whenever he lands, he collects all visible Fish values on the reels. That means a screen full of fish is only really useful once somebody actually turns up with the net.

Symbols and features

There are 3 main types of special Fish symbols. Cash Fish carry values of 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 10x, 15x or 25x the bet. Jackpot Fish are worth fixed prizes of 50x Mini, 100x Minor, 250x Major or 1,000x Grand when collected.

Mystery Fish keep their value hidden until either a Fisherman or Hunter is present. They can then reveal either a regular cash value or one of the jackpot prizes. It adds a little suspense to a familiar collection setup without making the system any harder to follow.

The more original idea is the Hunter Respin. When Fish symbols are visible but there is no Fisherman, a Hunter Fish can appear randomly. It banks all visible Fish values and starts a series of respins. Scatter symbols remain sticky during the feature, while normal payline wins still pay as usual.

Respins continue until a spin lands without another Fish, or until the Fisherman appears. If he does, the Fisherman collects the entire banked amount together with any Fish values currently on the reels. It basically gives those otherwise wasted Fish screens a second life, and this is easily Bass Hunter's best attempt at doing something of its own.

Bonuses

Landing 3, 4 or 5 Scatters triggers 10, 15 or 20 Free Spins, respectively. All the normal Fish and Hunter mechanics remain active, but the bonus adds the Fisherman Meter underneath the reels.

Every 4 collected Fishermen move the meter up one level and award 5 extra spins. The first checkpoint raises the Fish collection multiplier to 2x, the second to 3x, and the third to 5x. Every Fish value collected by the Fisherman is multiplied by the current meter value before being added to the win.

It is very familiar territory, but the progression works. Getting both extra spins and a better multiplier gives the bonus an obvious target, and reaching the 5x level can make a good Fish collection considerably more useful.

Feature Buy

Bass Hunter includes both Bet+ options and direct Feature Buys where they are available.

Bonus Boost costs 1.5x the normal bet and makes the Bonus Game around twice as likely to trigger. Bonus Boost Plus costs 3x and increases the trigger chance by roughly 5 times. The more expensive Hunter Bet costs 10x the normal stake and keeps the Hunter active whenever at least one Fish symbol is visible.

There are also 2 direct buys. The regular Bonus Game costs 80x the bet and has an RTP of 94.30%, while Hunter Spins cost 250x with an RTP of 94.50% and give direct access to the Hunter focused feature.