More Game Themes
As someone who has enjoyed a spot of fishing now and then (with little success I have to add) I am definitely more a fan of the quieter and more sedate end of the angling spectrum and by the looks of it, the chap in The Angler slot agrees with that.
Although angling and slot gaming may seem a pretty unusual combination, there's actually a number of good angling-themed slots around to play so where does The Angler slot fit into this and how does it shape up against the competition? Let's take a closer look and find out.
Overview
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Presentation
The presentation of The Angler slot is very nicely done with a 3D graphic feel to the game. Our fisherman stands to the left of the reels and the reels are set against a very picturesque backdrop of flat calm water and mountains and forests. It's very nicely done and there's a jaunty piece of music playing as you view the reels and then spin them which fits nicely with the gentle theme of the slot.
The main controls for the slot are all at the foot of the screen where you can select the coin size, the number of lines you want to play and the number of coins you want to bet per line. There's also a Max Bet button for quicker wagering, a Spin button and an Auto Play button where you can decide how many spins you want to play through automatically.
There is also Double Up button which is only activated when you have achieved a standard win in the base game.
What's on the reels?
On the reels there are a total of nine low and higher value symbols. The lower value symbols, of which there are four, are the four playing card low symbols from Jack through to Ace and you can win from 3 coins up to 75 coins depending on how many and what type of the symbols you land on a pay line.
This is a little disappointing as these type of symbols don't really fit in with the Angling theme and there are so many fishy species that could have been used for these lower value symbols I think it was a missed opportunity here.
The five higher value icons are all based on an angling theme however with a red colored fish, a green puffer fish, a turtle and a hammerhead shark being the four lower value icons while the Angler is the highest value icon offering a maximum payout of 350 coins for five across a single pay line.
There are a couple of other symbols on the reels to take note of but they unlock some of the key features of the slot and we'll explore these in more detail below.
Wild Features
There is one symbol on the reels that is the Wild symbol and that is the orange Octopus. This symbol can substitute for any of the lower or higher value symbols outlined above but the Wild symbol is only found on the second, third, fourth and fifth reels.
You can land more than one of these Wild symbols on the reels on a single spin which can help you land some bigger base game wins and using Wilds especially on the second and third reels can help you unlock multiple pay line wins which will increase the cumulative value of a win greatly.
During Free Spins, how the Wild operates changes slightly for the duration of the bonus round and we'll explore this in more detail in the section below.
Free Spins Features
The Free Spins bonus is triggered when you land three of the Pearl scatter symbols across the third, fourth and fifth reels of the slot. When this occurs you are awarded a randomly selected number of free spins which you can re-trigger during the bonus by landing three of the scatter symbols once again.
The Free Spins will begin but in this round each time that you land one of the Octopus Wild symbols, they will become a Sticky Wild and will remain on the reels for the remainder of the free spins, thus you can collect a number of Octopus Wild symbols on the reels to give yourself a chance of some bigger wins in the last few of your spins.
Other Bonus Features
The other bonus feature on The Angler slot is the Time To Fish bonus and this is unlocked when you land three of the Bonus symbols on the first, second and third reel on a single spin.
This is a game where you have to choose to reel or pull in fish for cash prizes, you have a chance to catch up to three fish, or if you miss three fish then the round ends. Each fish you land will award you an unspecified cash prize which will be calculated based on the size of your standard bet.
In addition to this, you can gamble any standard win in the base game using the Gamble Feature. This is a simple game where you get to wager either all your winnings, or half of what you have won, on a coin toss. Select how much you want to wager and then select Heads or Tails. If you win, you double your money, if you lose, you lose what you have wagered.
You can click the Collect button at any time to end the bonus round and there is no limit to the number of times you can use this bonus to try and increase the size of a base game win.
Best Feature of the The Angler slot
The most exciting aspect of The Angler slot for me is the two bonus rounds and while it is hard to separate them in terms of the amount you could win, I personally think that the rewards you get on the Time To Fish bonus tend to be more consistent than you get on the Free Spins round.
That said however, when you get lucky in the Free Spins round you can win considerably more playing this bonus than the Time To Fish bonus, so I guess the bonus that will appeal to you the most will be the one that you feel best suits your gaming requirements. Personally, I prefer the more consistent rewards of the Time to Fish bonus.
The other thing that I like about this slot is how it rewards players. It is a medium variance slot but it also can play quite forgiving at times and wins can come along regularly and there is a good mix of wins from smaller value wins, up to some sizeable wins in the base game which top up your balance nicely while you try to trigger the bonus features.
What does the The Angler slot lack?
If The Angler slot lacks anything then I think it would have to be the use of multipliers in the slot. None of the bonuses have multipliers attached to them and I think this would have made the slot more appealing had there been a multiplier attached to say, wins completed with a Wild.
Overall though, this is a nicely balanced slot and the features it has play very well, but this was just one small addition I felt would have improved how the slot played.
Conclusion
The Angler is a very nicely put together slot from Betsoft. It has two good bonus rounds that offer a different type of playing experience and which offer a variety of rewards. Both have their positive aspects and you can win decent amounts of money playing either, but both are also volatile enough to ensure there is a level of challenge in the game.
The presentation of the slot is excellent and the base game has a nice mix of wins, ranging from the very small wins that don't cover your bet, up to some considerable wins which really boost your bankroll. As such, this is a medium variance slot that won't actually devour your bankroll in a flash but which offers you a fair combination of risk and reward.
Ratings
Good Luck
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