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After so many fishing games were released, finding a truly unique slot with this theme with unconventional features became challenging. I knew Nolimit City had something up its sleeve when I heard about this game, and the provider duly delivered.
Years of toxic and illegal dumping have plagued the lake where the game is set, taking you to its dirty, slimy depths. While it might be the most unpleasant fishing experience in history, Ugliest Catch was one of the better recent gaming experiences for me. Its exceptional features, breakneck tempo and hefty wins gave me an energy boost.
The cartoonish design and the entire presentation fit the theme like a glove, and I was instantly drawn in. Nolimit City knows how to deliver what players want, and it shows here. This appropriately titled game was exceptionally catchy, and I spent many rounds on the edge of my seat.
It might be the fact that I love everything I have played from this studio, but I was instantly hooked. The extreme volatility is usually not my cup of tea, but it felt great to play such a fast-paced game this time. I did not snatch gigantic wins, but several hefty wins did come my way.
Still, the game has a couple of flaws I need to mention. Some might not enjoy the extreme volatility, and the base game wins could be better. Additionally, some features take time to trigger. Nevertheless, Ugliest Catch is an excellent game every pokie enthusiast should play.
The action starts on a standard 5×3 playing area but can have 2 more rows as the game progresses. The extreme volatility indicates rare but substantial wins. Dead spins were an occasional problem, but the wins were hefty enough to help me forget them.
Red fish is the most lucrative regular symbol, granting 5x the stake for 5 on a line, while a mohawk fish awards 3x the bet. Moreover, a green fish is worth 2.40x the stake, whereas a fish trophy brings 2x the stake for 5. A Fisherman Wild replaces regular symbols in winning combinations, and 3 Scatters trigger the Free Spins round, opening up Enhancer Cells.
You can start playing for only $0.20, while the maximum potential wager is $100. The maximum win of 50,000x the stake is fantastic, offering a hypothetical $5m amount to play for. I did not come close to grabbing it, but you might.
A plethora of different features include Enhancer Cells, Fish Trophy, Big Berta, and Kill N’Grill Wild Fishing. Add three types of free spins and a buy option to the mix, and you have an excellent set of engaging features.
The locked Enhancer Cell positions are on the bottom and top of each reel. They open by landing a Scatter symbol, thus revealing regular pay symbols, Big Bertas, xWays or Wilds. Furthermore, xWays can only land on locked positions, turning into 2-4 instances of the same icon and enhancing the number of paylines.
These symbols display multiplier values you can win during the Kill N’Grill Wild Fishing feature. The former has 6 values ranging from 2x – 5,000x the stake, while the latter can be worth 100x – 5,000x the bet.
Landing a Gold Fisherman Wild with an open Enhancer Cell triggers the feature in the base game. In the Free Spins round, the Fisherman can land on any position to activate it. The feature adds multipliers from the collected Fish Trophy icons, multiplying them with the bet and increasing wins.
Landing 3 Scatters brings 8 Lunker Spins with 6 enhanced cells, while 4 Scatters activate 9 Hawg Spins with 8 enhanced cells. Finally, 5 Scatters on the grid award 10 Honey Hole Spins and 10 enhanced cells. If you manage to land an extra Scatter during Lunker or Hawg Spins, you will receive an additional spin and 2 enhanced cells. I did not make it, but you might.
Fishermen Wilds are also collected when they land. Every 4 Wilds unlock a multiplier of 2x, 3x and 10x, respectively. They are added and applied to any collected symbols in the previous feature. Each of the 3 multipliers also triggers 2 extra spins.
I paid 75% extra of the standard bet to land a Scatter on reel 2 for sure, doubling the chances of activating the Free Spins round. However, if you want to be sure, you can purchase each of the rounds. It is possible to buy Lunker, Hawg and Honey Hole Spins for 94x, 300x and 866x the stake, respectively. The respective RTP values are 96.44%, 96.22% and 96.34%. The Lucky Draw option costs 390x and has an RTP of 96.36%.
Ugliest Catch is another exquisite game from Nolimit City, oozing the studio’s recognisable charm. It is a thrilling pokie full of fantastic features, offering exceptional win potential. While it might not be the most unconventional game the provider has produced, it still provides enormous fun.
Occasional streaks of dead spins and uninspiring base game wins might spoil the fun for a while, but Ugliest Catch is still impressive. Its breakneck tempo might hack some players off, but one of the most interesting fishing games has plenty to offer.
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