Bass Hunter

Bass Hunter: Slot Overview

Even in an industry as overrun with generic copycats as the online gambling business is, you'd be hard-pressed to find a genre that's been squeezed for blood harder than the bass fishing one. This is largely on account of the popularity of fishing slots in general, but also in part due to the enormous success of Pragmatic Play's unstoppable Big Bass range. Swedish company Thunderkick is another studio that has thrown a worm-baited hook into the crowded pond with its version, Bass Hunter (possibly a Basshunter pun). As well as the usual money symbol collecting, and collection multiplier free spins shenanigans that fishing gamblers will be very well acquainted with by now, is a Hunter Respin feature, which, hopefully, will push Bass Hunter beyond mere Big Bass wannabe status.

Bass Hunter would appear to be a game Thunderkick is unlikely to have put enormous amounts of thought into, and that impression extends to its skin. While there is nothing nasty whatsoever about the way the game looks, its watery lower area, and woody upper parts are totally par for the course, with little of note to cast your eyes on. The studio does have a talented art team, but Bass Hunter is so nondescript it could have been created by anyone. Due to the inundation of bass-themed slots, they do tend to blur into one another, and Bass Hunter does little in the skin department to look unique.

Bass Hunter's pond is a 5x3 playing area with 10 paylines forming wins left to right from the leftmost reel. Gamblers can dangle $/€0.10 to $/€100 per game round, bolstered by ante bets and feature buys. Rated as highly volatile, Bass Hunter's math model RTP of 94.14% is a disappointing minnow compared to countless other bass fishing slots.

The regular paying symbols are 10-A royals, hats, nets, boxes, and fishing rods. Hitting a line of 5 matching royals pays 10x the stake, or a line of 5 matching high pays awards 50x to 100x the bet. Fish symbols also pay 20x for a line of 5 OAK.

Bass Hunter: Slot Features

Bass Hunter's gameplay consists of cash Fish symbol collection, a Hunter Respin bonus, free spins, Bet+ ante bets, and feature buys.

Fish Symbols & Fisherman Symbols

Cash Fish symbols carry a value of 2x to 25x, while Jackpot Fish award the Mini (50x), Minor (100x), Major (250x), or the Grand (1,000x) when collected. Mystery Fish reveal a random cash or jackpot value, but only if a Hunter or Fisherman is present. When a Fisherman symbol lands, it collects all fish values in view, adding them to the win. In the bonus game, each fish value is multiplied by the current Fisherman meter multiplier before being added to the win. The Fisherman symbol also substitutes for all other symbols except the scatter.

Hunter Respin Feature

A Hunter fish symbol can randomly appear when fish symbols are present, but no Fisherman is visible. It banks all of the fish values and triggers respins. During respins, scatter symbols are sticky, and regular wins pay as normal. Respins continue until no new fish appears, or a Fisherman lands. If a Fisherman lands, it collects the banked total plus any fish values on the reels.

Bonus Game

Landing 3, 4, or 5 scatters triggers 10, 15, or 20 free spins, respectively. During the round, Fisherman symbols are collected by a meter. Every 4 collected Fisherman symbols increases the Fisherman Meter by +1 level, awarding +5 free spins, and increasing the fish collection multiplier to x2, x3, then x5.

Bet+ & Feature Buy

Bass Hunter comes with three Bet+ options. The Bonus Boost and Bonus Boost Plus cost 1.5x and 3x to make each spin 2 or 5 times more likely to trigger a bonus game, respectively. At 10x the stake, the Hunter Bet makes the Hunter always active when at least one fish is in view. The two feature buys are 80x to trigger the bonus game, or 250x to trigger Hunter Spins (free spins with Hunter Respin feature).

Bass Hunter: Slot Verdict

Thunderkick is a creative studio made up of talented individuals capable of designing unique gambling experiences. Bass Hunter ain't one of them. Given the studio's history of experimentation and thoughtful design, Bass Hunter feels designed solely to latch onto the Big Bass phenomenon and hopefully suck gamblers in from its orbit. Fine, that makes total business sense, and no doubt there will be a chunk of gamblers willing to bait up and give Bass Hunter a crack. In its defence, it's a nice-looking, if generically presented fish slot that thrusts users into a pretty part of nature, and the game lays on money symbol collecting action that players have come to love, or hate.

But, it was impossible to shrug off the sensation of having been here and done this on numerous occasions before. Fair dues, the Hunter Respins feature offers a respite from the cliches, and while it doesn't push Bass Hunter into unmissable territory, it just might be strong enough to encourage fish slot fanatics to drop their beloved Big Bass for a moment to see what's up. Hunter Respins provide a little teaser when fish symbols appear without a Fisherman, and buying Hunter Spins is three times more expensive than a regular free spins buy, so it clearly has some potential. At full capacity, Bass Hunter can reel in wins up to a 5,000x the bet cap, which is quite enticing for a BB competitor.

Yet, on the other hand, when taking the positivity hat off for a moment, Bass Hunter is far from being Thunderkick's finest moment. Obviously, the studio was aiming more for mainstream appeal, hooking the low-hanging fruit, let's say, than creating a flagship, groundbreaking release. But, even then, Bass Hunter came across as a tepid wannabe, with an uncompetitive RTP, and few to no unmissable features that significantly further the fish slot genre.