One of Novomatic’s slot machines, and one of the older ones by the looks of it, Big Catch is ocean and fish themed, as the name gives away easily. Taking us to the middle of the ocean and exploring its depths, the game includes mostly cartoon-style graphics and so it has a certain type of look which is not unusual for slots with this particular theme.
5×3 reels make up the game area on which you’re going to place wagers. Big Catch has as many as 20 active lines for that zone, with potential wins of $20,000 coming from the best rounds. As for the big features that are available in Big Catch, one would be the wild symbol, the other is called a Fishing Feature.
Betting
Your options for the game’s bets are available at the bottom, right in the middle of that row of displays and buttons. You get one setting called Lines, which mentions that you get 20 lines active, and that you can reduce their number if you want to. The second one is called Bet/Line and it’s self-explanatory. It lets you spend as much as $2 per line, but the starting point is at only $0.01. The full range, with all lines active, will be $0.20 to $40.
Big Catch Jackpot
The jackpot value is set to 10,000x the line bet, or up to $20,000. It’s going to be won through the Fishing Feature or by landing a screen filled with Big Catch symbols. Either one pays the big prize to you.
As a downside, the game is played with a Return to Player of 94%, a below average figure that will give the casino a 6% edge.
Special Features
The feature list isn’t going to make the game much more special than it already is. Still, let’s take a look at the options available in it, and see if you like what you see.
Jackpot Symbol
One of the symbols available in Big Catch is the one that’s showing the game logo with a fish next to it. It’s going to pay by forming combinations, but in addition to that role, there is another possibility, to fill up a screen with such icons. The payouts would be at 10,000x, or $20,000, so the game’s maximum potential can be fulfilled this way.
Wild Symbols
Showing us a cute Star Fish, cartoon-style of course, the game turns this into its wild feature. It may be used as part of other combinations which are formed, acting as a replacement when it’s in the right place to be of help. You shouldn’t expect for any wins of its own to be paid out, the symbol is only allowed to appear on the reels 3, 4 and 5. It will help with the formation or improvement of combinations, but it doesn’t do much for the low paying ones.
Go Fishing Feature
At the end of a spin, any random one, you may get access to the Go Fishing bonus. You will discover that the reels get filled with water at that point, and that you’re asked to go fishing for prizes. You choose the reel on which you’re going to fish. Next, a fishing hook will come down and will catch a fish for you. The type of fish you get determines what prize you win. You can get up to $4,000 from each reel, but the feature can also end early if you find a Boot. Another way to end the feature is by finding the Prize Catch fish, which is worth $20,000.
Design
This is not a new game, and the graphics look the part of the dated slot machine as well. The graphics are cute, even though they’re older, with cartoon style characters and colorful Royals, anchors and different fish or star fish, but they’re not that special overall. The competition is strong enough to make Novomatic’s efforts look like below average in this case.
Summary
Big Catch doesn’t have a big RTP, great graphics or huge payouts (only 500x the stake potential). It’s not a game that I’d recommend these days, though perhaps it was much more impressive when it first came out.
