Big Bass Bonanza Megaways Slot Game Review: An In-Depth Look at the Mechanics
Reel in some huge wins as you try out Pragmatic Play’s latest release to get the Megwaways treatment, Big Bass Bonanza Megaways. The latest addition to the provider’s fishing-themed slot series plays out across a dynamic reel structure that offers up to 46,656 ways to win and a maximum prize of 4,000x your stake.
The gameplay also reintroduces several mechanics and features present in the earlier titles from the series, so there’s familiar ground to walk upon. The Tumble Feature grants the possibility of multiple payouts per spin, whilst the upgradeable free spins bonus unlocks the game’s true potential via a combination of increasing multipliers and Money Symbols.
Continue reading our full Big Bass Bonanza Megaways slot review for all of the important details!
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways Features
Although Big Bass Bonanza Megaways doesn’t offer a wealth of novel features, certain mechanics and bonuses mix up the gameplay and can also help you to scoop some great prizes.
Tumble Feature
As with the majority of BTG-licensed Megaways slots, the Tumble Feature grants you the ability to land consecutive payouts per spin. Each time a winning combination rolls in the Tumble Feature will trigger and all winning symbols disappear. This frees up positions for new symbols to drop in and potentially create additional wins. Tumbles will continue until no more winning combinations appear.
Money Symbol
Varying sizes of fish represent the game’s Money Symbol. These can land on each reel and any combination of 3 or more appearing on consecutive reels award a fixed prize.
However, Money Symbols also display a random monetary value which is greyed out during the base game. You’ll need to trigger the free spins feature to be in with a chance of winning the amount shown on-screen.
Scatter Symbol
Land 3 or more Scatter symbols during a single spin to trigger the free spins on Big Bass Bonanza Megaways. The more that appear, the more initial free spins you’ll receive as we’ve outlined below:
- 3 Scatters: 10 free spins
- 4 Scatters: 15 free spins
- 5 Scatters: 20 free spins
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways Free Spins and Bonus
In terms of the main feature, Big Bass Bonanza Megaways centres around an upgradable free spins bonus. As we mentioned, you’ll first need to land 3 or more Scatter symbols during a single base game spin to trigger the free spins. When you do, you’ll encounter several new mechanics.
The most notable difference is the introduction of the Fisherman symbol. This plays a pivotal role in the bonus round as it’s the source of a new way to win and also how you retrigger and upgrade the feature.
Each time the Fisherman symbol lands in conjunction with one or more Money Symbols it will collect all of the now active monetary values displayed on-screen. Additionally, each 4th Fisherman symbol you collect will retrigger the feature, award 10 more free spins and improve your multiplier, as shown below:
- 4 Fisherman symbols (1st retrigger): 2x multiplier
- 8 Fisherman symbols (2nd retrigger): 3x multiplier
- 12 Fisherman symbols (3rd retrigger): 10x multiplier
Finally, 2 new random features can trigger during the bonus. The first can randomly occur whenever 1 or 2 Fisherman symbols appear on-screen with no fish present. At the end of the spin, a dynamite animation can cause Money Symbols to appear in random positions. The second random feature activates in the same way, but this time a bazooka animation can trigger, causing all symbols except the Fisherman to transform.
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways Theme and Symbols
Unsurprisingly, Big Bass Bonanza Megaways revolves around a central fishing theme. The background showcases a vast ocean where animated fish dart in and out of view – they’re perhaps the elusive Money Symbols you’re looking to catch!
The reels themselves are adorned with a thematic range of symbols that denote both low and high-valued payouts. Regular 10-A royals and any combination of fish award less valuable payouts, whereas tackle boxes, dragonflies, fishing rods and floats serve up much much greater wins – the latter of which are worth up to 50x your stake.
Finally, Wild symbols can appear on the additional row sitting atop the reels. When present, Wilds will substitute for all regular paytable symbols thus improving your chances of creating a winning combination.
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways RTP and Volatility
With an RTP of 96.70%, Big Bass Bonanza Megaways compares extremely favourably to any other slot currently available. Its theoretical return to player rate sits well above the industry average, so it’s a clear positive for players who are looking to maximise their win potential.
However, the game’s highly volatile nature is something to take note of. Landing larger wins may require some patience and it can cause your bankroll to diminish relatively quickly.
How To Play Big Bass Bonanza Megaways
In a similar fashion to previous Megaways releases, the gameplay revolves around a dynamic reel structure. On any given spin, reels 1 and 6 can display up to 6 symbols, whilst reels 2, 3, 4 and 5 can only display up to 5, along with another symbol on the top row. If you’re new to Megaways slots, it’s something that can take some getting used to, but, thankfully, there are no other complicated mechanics that you’ll need to watch out for.
Functionally, everything you’ll need to play is located beneath the reels. From there you can adjust your stake, between the €0.20 minimum bet and the €100 maximum bet, brush up on the game’s rules or enable autoplay for a more convenient spinning session.
Slotsia’s Review
Overall, Big Bass Bonanza Megaways is a solid online slot. Although it’s hardly the most original release in terms of theme and features – think Fishin’ Frenzy or any of the previous titles in this series – the addition of the Megaways mechanics proves there are still plenty of thrills to be had. Of course, the biggest attraction is bound to be the free spins bonus. 10x multipliers can result in some staggering payouts, but you’re going to need the stars to perfectly align if you want to reel in a monster catch.
Fantastic RTP – 96.70%
Upgradable free spins bonus with increasing multipliers
4,000x maximum win
High volatility gameplay may not appeal to all players
