In this fast-paced, ever-changing world we live in, it can sometimes feel like there are few certainties to hold onto and ground ourselves with. There are taxes, of course, and one other is the near certainty that sooner or later, a new fishing slot is going to rumble along. We're kidding, sort of, but here's another one. It's called Bigger Bass Blizzard from the originators of the Big/Bigger Bass series Pragmatic Play and associates Reel Kingdom. Does it add something new for Bass fans to go gaga over, or rehash something we've all seen before?
Visually, it's different. Well, a bit different, at least, as the action moves away from the warm, tropical setting of Bigger Bass Bonanza to somewhere far chillier. It's questionable how much fish could be caught in a blizzard or how safe the activity would be. However, while playing Bigger Bass Blizzard, there isn't much snow falling nor winds howling; it does look cold, though. For scenery, the studio has planted some snow-covered trees and framed the upper portion of the grid with icicles, reinforcing the low temperature. On the bright side, Bigger Bass Blizzard's soundtrack is as happily bouncy as ever, so the game world is about as upbeat as fans of the series could possibly hope for.
At heart, for most intents and purposes, Bigger Bass Blizzard is pretty much a reskin of Bigger Bass Bonanza, but there are one or two differences when you look hard. One is an RTP drop from the maximum value of 96.71% in 'Bonanza' down to 96.08% in this one. That's when playing regularly by picking a bet of 12 p/c to $/€240 per spin. If activating the Ante Bet, bets increase by 50%. In return, the number of scatter symbols is increased to improve your chances of triggering the bonus. The RTP, however, remains the same, but it drops a titch to 96.07% when buying free spins. As before, Bigger Bass Blizzard is highly volatile, though not anywhere near as brutal as some of the monsters on the market.
The reason bet levels are so specific is that the game has 12 fixed paylines crossing its 5-reel, 4-row game panel. Along them, winning combinations of three to five of a kind are possible, except for the top-paying symbols, which pays out for two of a kind or more. This is the snowmobile, followed by fishing rods, floats, and tackle boxes as the premiums, paying 20 to 50x the bet for five-of-a-kind. Then there are 10-A card ranks as the low pays, worth 10x the bet for five-of-a-kind. One other symbol type to be aware of for now is the fish money symbols carrying values of 2x to 4,000x the bet. If a line of five of them hits, they pay the total money value amount.
Like its forebear, not a whole lot happens in Bigger Bass Blizzard's base game from a features standpoint. When 3, 4, or 5 scatters land, though, they trigger 10, 15, or 20 free spins, respectively. There is a chance, too, that when 2 scatters are in view, a hook appears to bring the third scatter symbol onto the screen.
The wild symbol enters the game when free spins are active. Aside from carrying out its regular duties as a wild, if fish money symbols are on the grid at the same time as wild symbols, each wild symbol collects their values. There's more. Each time the wild symbol hits, it is collected. The first 4 wilds collected award +10 extra free spins where an x2 multiplier is active, the second batch of 4 collected symbols award another +10 free spins where an x3 multiplier is active, while another 4 collected wilds awards yet another +10 free spins where an x10 multiplier is active. The multiplier is applied to money symbol collects and not to line wins. After the third retrigger, free spins cannot be retriggered again.
Moreover, at random in free spins, if there are 1 or 2 wild symbols in view, at the end of the spin, fish money symbols are added to the board in random positions. As well, 1 or 2 hooks can randomly appear at the end of a spin, pulling reels to reveal wilds and money symbols.
Patience might be a virtue when fishing, but if it's in short supply in Bigger Bass Blizzard, applicable players can buy free spins for 100x the bet. When buying the bonus round, 3, 4, or 5 scatters will randomly land.
According to the World Economic Forum, 90% of the stocks of marine fish around the world are 'fully exploited, overexploited, or depleted.' Science magazine, back in 2006, stated every possible seafood species would drop beneath commercial viability by the year 2048. Clearly, fish stocks are dropping. On the bright side of things, fishing-themed online slots are going gangbusters, a new release emerging from the briny at regular intervals. Perhaps in years to come, one of the only ways future generations will know about an antiquated recreational activity called 'fishing' is through playing online slots.
Now, we said 'new' fishing slots at regular intervals, but there's not very much new about Bigger Bass Blizzard, aside from the skin change. There are minor things; two of the most noticeable were the reduced RTP and the added bonus buy functionality for players with access. So really, unless you're utterly enamoured with all things cold or are absolutely hanging out for Bigger Bass Bonanza with a bonus buy, there's little to no reason to pick this over the previous one. Potential has remained the same at 4,000x the bet, and the core gaming is more or less unchanged as well.
Then again, the Bass range has proven immensely popular and Pragmatic Play are shrewd business people as well as prolific providers of online slots. Perhaps market research has revealed an empty niche for fishing slots set in colder climes. Other than that, or just for convenience's sake, it's hard to guess why the studio chose to change the location while leaving most of everything else untouched. This isn't to say fishing fans will have a boo time should they fire up Bigger Bass Blizzard for a crack. It's got the range's typically chipper vibe and a free spins money collection/wild collection menagerie of features which has proven to be a hit in the past.
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