In the realm of online slots, fishing and Ancient Egypt are two hot topics, so why not mash them together? If you've ever wondered what that amalgamation might look like, wonder no more. Pragmatic Play and associates Reel Kingdom have blended the two, combining a couple of iGaming's enduring tropes in one place titled Fish Eye. This blend might require a certain suspension of disbelief, but what could help is casting your mind to the Ancient Egyptian cities of Canopus or Thonis-Heracleion, which were once thriving settlements that slipped beneath the sea thanks to events like tsunamis, floods, and earthquakes. Now they rest on the sea bed, where the otherworldly quality of Ancient Egyptian civilisation is amplified by eerie underwater lighting.
It is to a submerged domain players plunge to sample the delights on offer in Fish Eye. One of the most eye-catching bits right away was the line of fish at the top, resting above a 5-reel, 3-row game grid. Bubbling about on either side of the screen are some watery bits, where statues lie in the sand or float about on the surface. Initially, the fish part of the game wasn't hugely apparent, so Fish Eye came across as a fairly conventional Ancient Egyptian slot, just one with more water than you usually find in a game like this.
Prising open Fish Eye like a long hidden sarcophagus reveals a highly volatile math model jigging out a maximum return to player value of 96.07%. This value applies when betting 10 p/c to $/€250 on single spins, buying free spins, or using the Ante Bet. The Ante Bet, when switched on, increases the stake by 50%, slapping extra scatter symbols onto the reels. A total of 10 paylines cross the 5x3 gaming matrix for landing winning combinations of up to five-of-a-kind along.
Hitting a full, five symbol winning line made up of the 10, J, Q, K, or A low pays results in a payout of 5-10x the bet winding its way into your pocket, while a 5OAK premium win of the eye, cat, bird, or scarab golden items fires out a payout worth 50 to 200 times the bet. Players receive no assistance from wild symbols as they are not used in Fish Eye, but there are Fish Money symbols, scatters, Collectors, and Removers, covered next.
Fish Money symbols are up first, and these appear with a random monetary value. The values in the base game are 0.1x-0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x, 10x, 50x or 100x the bet. In the base game, landing 4 or more Fish Money symbols awards their values. Moreover, fish symbol prizes are multiplied by x1, x2, x5, x10, x20, x30, x50, x100, x500, x1,000, x1,500, or x2,000 when 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, or 15 Fish Money symbols land. The bar along the top of the screen indicates the multiplier in use.
Players are awarded 10, 15, or 20 free spins when 3, 4, or 5 scatter symbols land. In the free spins round, the collection system changes and the multipliers are removed. Now, Fish Symbols can land with values of 2x, 5x, 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x, 50x, 100x, 200x, 500x, or 1,000x the bet. When Fish Money symbols land at the same time as a Collector symbol, the fish values are awarded. Collectors also get collected on a meter where every 4th one awards +10 additional free spins.
Along with the Collector, another bonus round-only symbol is the Remover. When a Remover hits, the lowest possible Fish Symbol value is removed. Hitting one Remover awards +1 extra free spin, or 2 Removers in view at the same time awards +3 free additional free spins. At random, when Collector symbols are on the screen, but there are no fish at the end of a spin. Fish Symbols may randomly appear on the reels.
To wrap up, if available, players can click the Buy Free Spins button to buy their way into the bonus round. The cost is 100x the bet for 3, 4, or 5 scatters to randomly hit.
Fishing and Ancient Egypt are two of the most common themes in online slots, so it was perhaps inevitable the two motifs would mash together sooner or later. Maybe so, but it was still a surprise to find them in one place, though less surprising to see it was Pragmatic Play and Reel Kingdom were behind it. The studios are responsible for one of the most, if not the most, popular range of fishing slots on the market, after all, namely Big Bass Bonanza and its numerous ilk. As such, the studio duo are well positioned to launch off into the brave unknown and do something experimental.
The result of the experimentation is Fish Eye which has its share of ingredients. A recognisable gaming process can be found at the heart of the maelstrom, though. Namely, hit enough Fish Money symbols to collect them in the base game or land Collectors and Fish Money symbols at the same time in free spins. Interestingly, Fish Eye's set-up means the base game and free spins round are in some ways equally good. The main game has multipliers with massive values at the upper end, while free spins swap the multiplier out for a straightforward collection symbol function – not to mention the lowest money value removals like a faintly fishy version of Eye of Horus. Fish Eye caters to players who like their fish games served in a variety of different ways, like a meze, where the final dish is its win cap of 10,000x the bet. This is much higher than everything in the Big Bass range to date, with the exception of Big Bass Bonanza Keeping it Reel.
Reel Kingdom is no stranger to getting experimental with unusual themes. Cash Elevator, Star Pirates Code, or Snakes and Ladders Snake Eyes are three memorable examples. Fish Eyes arguably makes sense despite being boldly different, and like dipping fries into a shake, in the right hands, it should just kinda work.
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