Big Fin Bay Slot Review
Big Fin Bay is a video slot from Thunderkick that was released on March 31, 2021. The setting of Big Fin Bay along the shore is quite picturesque. The architecture of the homes that line the reels has a decidedly Mediterranean feel to it, giving the impression that the game will take you on an exciting journey to a breathtaking location. The music that plays in the background of the game is also really pleasant to listen to, and it perfectly complements the slot's overall maritime theme while also including some of the quirky elements that are characteristic of Thunderkick games. While the setting of Pink Elephants 2, Beat the Beast: Kraken's Lair, and Crystal Quest are all based on the fantasy, Big Fin Bay's theme is a little more grounded in reality, yet, the slot game's music lends it an aura of mystery and intrigue that sets it apart from its competitors. Read our evaluation of this slot to decide for yourself whether it is worth your time and money.
Big Fin Bay General Characteristics
- 64-117,649 Paylines
- 6 reels and 2-7 rows
- RTP: 96.14%
- High Volatility
- Bet Amount 0.1 EUR - 100 EUR
- Maximum Win Multiplier x15,040
- Maximum Win Value 1,504,000 EUR
- 11 Main Symbols
- Additional Symbols: Wild Symbol, Scatter Symbol
Big Fin Bay Bonus Features
Mystery Wilds
In the base game, there is a mystery feature that may be enabled at random. Wild Symbols may appear on up to 3 of the available reel positions. During this portion of the game, there is no chance that any Scatter symbols will emerge.
Expanding Wilds
When playing the Base game, each pay way win that contains a Wild symbol will cause the Wild symbol to grow such that it covers the full relevant reel. During a single spin, there may be a total of 3 reels that include Wild symbols. Whenever you play the Bonus game, the Wild symbol always grows to a larger size. Whenever the Bonus game is being played, if one or more Wild symbols fall on the reels, they will grow and cause one respin to be awarded. During the respin, the Wild symbol will grow, bringing the total number of symbols on that reel up by one. This will result in an increased number of possible winning combinations. Throughout the duration of the Bonus game, the reel size will stay at its increased level. During the respin, it is possible to be rewarded with extra Wild symbols that grow. Only one instance of the expansion will take place per symbol. The reels have the potential to extend to include a maximum of 7 symbols on each reel. When a reel has reached its maximum capacity of 7 symbols, the player is granted 3 more free spins.
Free Spins
When playing the base game, the bonus game consisting of free spins is triggered when there are 3 or more scatter symbols on the reels in any position. Each reel that has a Scatter symbol during the Bonus game will reward a random amount of free spins (up to a maximum of 6 per reel), and these numbers will then be added together. The total number of free spins that are provided for the Bonus game is equal to these factors added together. For example, if you have a reel that awards 4 free spins, one that awards 5 free spins, and one that awards 6 free spins, you will have a total of 15 free spins. The bonus game will begin with the initial reel configuration determined by the heights of the reels in play during the spin that triggered the bonus round.
Our Experience Playing Big Fin Bay
As soon as we began playing this slot, we were greeted with a reelset that had a fishing motif to it. This reelset brought to mind the Megaways engine because of its configuration. There are a lot of slot machines with a fishing theme available, and it was our job to find out how this particular game fared in contrast to the others. The graphics and the music were both pretty enjoyable, but how did this slot machine perform in terms of payouts? In order to determine this, we resorted to our standard method, which consisted of making a deposit of 200 Euros, adjusting the stake to 1 Euro, and playing the game for around 300 times. We had an incredible number of spins that did not result in a win during the first one hundred that were played, and the highest win that we had throughout the main game was only around four times the amount that we had initially wagered. As a direct consequence of this, we incurred a loss of 68 Euros in around 15 minutes' time. Even if the following one hundred spins were a little bit better due to a Free Spins bonus round that rewarded us almost fifty times the wager, the attempt was still unsuccessful. It felt like we "fed the fish" over the previous two hundred spins, and it chose to give us something back during the last one hundred spins as a result. This resulted in a significant improvement in our luck. During the regular game, we were awarded a pair of wins that were worth around 25x and 40x the wager. During the Free Spins bonus round, we were awarded a large payment that was equivalent to approximately 115x the stake. After a total of 300 spins, we were able to accumulate a profit of 45 Euros and were fairly content with the way things had worked out for us.
Big Fin Bay Verdict
In all candidness, despite the fact that we had quite a good time playing this slot and even managed to gain some profit, there is still nothing that can beat the Big Bass franchise when it comes to fishing-themed slots, however you should know that payout mechanisms are different. The payouts during the Free Spins are great, but so is in the Big Bass series, but without a huge amount of dead spins that this slot showed us. Since this slot has a high degree of volatility, come prepared with a sizable bankroll, and know when to quit playing, since it can make or ruin your bankroll rather quickly. If you are a fan of highly volatile fishing-themed slots, you may give this slot a shot. However, we would recommend you to stick to what we know works well, which is the Big Bass series. Good luck and have fun!
