Marlin Masters The Big Haul

Marlin Masters The Big Haul: Slot Overview

Much like the elves in Lord of the Rings, casino game makers have an unusual yearning for the sea that sees a sizable chunk of them designing a fishing-themed slot sooner or later. It took a while for developer Hacksaw Gaming to rod up and hit the waves, but it finally did so in Marlin Masters, an enjoyable angling game that had more than one competitor's fishy fingerprints smeared across it. To make the sequel Marlin Masters The Big Haul, Hacksaw Gaming has given everything a tropical makeover, kept most of the features, while adding Golden fish, Golden Fisherman and a sticky quality to its Hidden Epic Bonus round.

Where the original release was a straight high-seas adventure, Marlin Masters The Big Haul goes tropical. The vibe is created by turquoise-coloured water, palm leaves, a bamboo framed grid, St Lucia-esque mountains, and chillaxing choons. As far as visual extravagance goes, the game sits somewhere between 4ThePlayer's 4 Fantastic Fish slots and Pragmatic Play/Reel Kingdom's Big Bass Bonanza line. The same can be said for a lot of the features, though fish slot fans should be happy to see that Marlin Masters The Big Haul is more innovative than the previous Marlin Masters game.

With a focus on collecting Marlin money symbols, normal line wins occur across 14 paylines on a 5x4 play area. Rated 3 out of 5, Marlin Masters The Big Haul keeps the volatility to a medium setting and has a slightly higher maximum RTP of 96.28%. Bet levels range from 10 c to $/€100 per spin, and five bonus buys have been stashed in the tackle box.

Five playing card ranks (10-A) and four delightful creatures of the sea make up Marlin Masters The Big Haul's regular paying symbols. Royals pay 2x the bet when landing a line of 5 OAK, while the higher paying fish award 5x-7.5x for 5 OAK. The game has a dedicated wild symbol that is not a Fisherman collector, which substitutes all regular pays and is worth 10x when hitting five wilds in a winning line.

Marlin Masters The Big Haul: Slot Features

Marlin Masters The Big Haul builds on top of Marlin Masters' features such as Lootlines, Fisherman collectors, three bonus rounds, with one packing a clever sticky element, and feature buys.

Marlin Symbols and Lootlines

Marlin symbols appear as normal or Golden and display cash values of 1x to 1,000x the bet. Cash values are paid when there is a winning payline of Marlin symbols (a LootLine) or when collected by a Fisherman. When a Golden Marlin is part of a LootLine win, it activates and adds its value to all normal Marlin symbols on the grid. If there are any other Golden Marlins that were not part of a win and a Fisherman symbol is present, they activate, adding their values to all normal Marlin symbols. Once all normal wins, LootLine wins, and Golden Marlin activations finish, the Fisherman collects all Marlin symbols.

Fisherman Symbols

Each landed Fisherman symbol collects all Marlin symbols on the grid. Normal Fisherman symbols can land with a Multiplier of up to x20 that modifies the values of all Marlin symbols it collects. The Golden Fisherman collects all Marlin values on the grid and the collected values from the other Fisherman symbols. Only one Golden Fisherman can land at a time.

Don't Be Koi Bonus Game

Don't Be Koi's 8 free spins are awarded when landing 3 FS scatters in the base game. As well as the base game mechanics, a Big Haul Bar is added outside the reels. Each time a Fisherman symbol lands, the Big Haul Bar progresses by one step - 4 collected Fisherman symbols award +8 free spins, and all subsequent Fisherman symbols have a minimum multiplier of x2, x4, or x10 for the first, second, and third upgrades. Lastly, Golden Marlins have a minimum value of 3x.

Catch Me If You Can Bonus Game

Hitting 4 FS scatters in the base game awards this bonus with 10 free spins. It has the same rules as Don't Be Koi, plus all Fisherman symbols are guaranteed a multiplier of at least x2. Also, when reaching upgrades 1, 2, or 3, +10 free spins are granted, and the minimum Fisherman multiplier is x4, x10, or x15, respectively.

Hooked On Paradise Hidden Epic Bonus

Landing 5 FS scatters in the base game award 10 free Hooked On Paradise spins. On top of the base game mechanics, Sticky Fisherman symbols can land, remaining on the grid collecting Marlins till the round ends. One Sticky Fisherman will be on the grid from the start of the feature. Golden Sticky Fisherman can also land to stick in place and collect Marlins and Fisherman symbols for the full duration. If there is a Sticky Golden Fisherman on the grid, no more can land. Golden Marlins also have a minimum value of 3x in this bonus.

Feature Buy

Marlin Masters The Big Haul's feature buy has five options. They are BonusHunt FeatureSpins, making each spin 5 times more likely to trigger a bonus for 3x; Fin-Tastic FeatureSpins, which guarantee at least 3 Marlin symbols and 1 Fisherman land for 50x; or Sea-Riously Epic Drop FeatureSpins, guaranteeing at least 3 Marlins, 1 Golden Marlin and 1 Fisherman symbol land for 100x the bet. As well as these, Don't Be Koi costs 75x to activate or Catch Me If You Can is 200x.

Marlin Masters The Big Haul: Slot Verdict

As far as Big Bass/4 Fantastic Fish killers go, Marlin Masters wasn't a bad effort. It could hardly be classed as a hugely original slot since it borrowed so many things from elsewhere, but Hacksaw Gaming rolled them all together in a handsome game that benefited from the studio's expertise at crafting quality slots. The team had hardly put the fishing rod down before it embarked upon its next aquatic escapade, and if anything, Marlin Masters The Big Haul has turned out to be an even stronger game. It might take colossal amounts of luck to see Marlin Masters The Big Haul's finest parts, but knowing that the Hidden Epic Bonus Game and its sticky Fishermen are out there somewhere fuels motivation to keep the virtual angling going.

Even for players who don't manage to crack Hooked On Paradise, there are other nice additions to experience along the way. Key amongst them is the Golden Marlin, adding its value to normal Marlin symbols whether in Lootlines or to be collected by the Fisherman. Being able to collect Marlin symbols in the base game is a positive, so is the winning potential boost, as Marlin Masters The Big Haul raises the win cap to 10,000x the bet. The Golden Fisherman effect was less obvious, as getting one on the grid at the same time as regular Fisherman symbols wasn't easy. You can see how they might absolutely shine during Hooked On Paradise, though.

Hacksaw Gaming has once again successfully combined some of the most popular fishing mechanics on the market, added a sticky quality, and crafted everything to its typically high standard. As a result, Marlin Masters The Big Haul could be the ideal choice to experience some Big Bass action for players not keen on playing the 12 millionth Big Bass slot to flood the market.