Ocean Hunter Slot Review 2024
iSoftBet is taking us deep into shark-infested waters, where we will either be the hunters or the hunted, in their latest release, Ocean Hunter!
Always wondered what it would be like to swim with Sharks? Well today’s the day you can…on screen anyway and without the risk of becoming an all-you-can-eat shark buffet. Many are well acquainted with iSoftBet’s Twisted Tale series, and now we’re beginning to explore their newest family of games, the Apex Predator series. The Apex Predator Series began with Tyrant King Megaways, and now Ocean Hunter takes the baton, but will this series see as much success as the Twisted Tale series?
In terms of theme, Ocean Hunter has everything you would expect to see. A blood-red sea, Check! an underwater background complete with aquatic life, Check! a dramatic and intense soundtrack, double-check! Still, you can’t help but feel there is something missing, maybe a particular great-white with a mouthful of deadly teeth?
Will Ocean Hunter swallow you whole, or will you be triumphant? Let’s take a look.
Ocean Hunter Base Game and Features
Ocean Hunter is a 5 reel slot with 20 fixed paylines. In order to form a winning combination, you will need to connect 3 or more of the same symbol types from left to right, starting from the left-most reel. The minimum bet available here is £/€0.20 per spin and the maximum bet available is £/€200 per spin, with plenty of other options in between the two.
In terms of symbols, the highest paying regular symbol in Ocean Hunter is the Red Logo, followed by the Male Diver, Female Diver, Treasure Chest and Jewels. Low paying symbols are standard Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten. There is also a Wild symbol in the form of a Shark, which substitutes for all symbols except Scatters and Oxygen Tanks. Wild symbols will only appear during the Wild Frenzy feature in the Base Game and Reel Unlocking in Free Spins.
To make this slot more deadly, iSoftBet has thrown in an Extra Bait Bet option and a Wild Frenzy feature in the base game. More on these below!
Extra Bait Bet
Before you begin spinning, you will have the option to acivate the Extra Bait Bet, which is located on the left side of the reel set.
If you choose to activate the side Bet, you will increase your chances of triggering the Wild Frenzy and Free Spins features. Once active, your current bet will increase by 50% for each spin.
All Scatters will now Double in size and can land either fully or partially in view. Please note, stacked Scatters only count as one symbol, regardless if they land fully or partially in view.
Wild Frenzy Feature
On any random spin in the base game, the Wid Frenzy feature can be triggered.
Once this happens, the music picks up in pace and the water will turn Red. Wild Sharks will start attacking the screen, locking themselves into certain reel positions, up to a maximum of 4 Wild Sharks.
Each Wild Shark can award a random Multiplier of either x2, x3 or x4.
Ocean Hunter Free Spins
Landing 3 Scatters on reels 1,3 and 5, triggers the Free Spins round, awarding 15 Free Spins.
Once active, the Free Spins round has 4 Reel Sets available, each with 20 fixed Paylines. 1 Reel Set will be unlocked at the start of Free Spins, with the remaining 3 reel sets locked. In order to unloock each Reel Set, you will need to Collect a certain amount of Oxygen Tank symbols.
- Reel Set 2 – Collecting 10 Oxygen Tanks will unlock the 2nd Reel Set, and turn the 5th reel Wild on all unlocked Reel Sets.
- Reel Set 3 – Collecting an additional 10 Oxygen Tanks will unlock the 3rd Reel Set, and turn the 4th reel Wild on all unlocked Reel Sets.
- Reel Set 4 – Collecting another 10 Oxygen Tanks will unlock the final 4th Reel Set, and turn the 3rd reel Wild on all unlocked Reel Sets.
Each reel set unlocked will also award an additional +2 Free Spins and turn a certain reel Wild for the duration of Free Spins. Landing a Scatter during Free Spins, will also award an additional +3 Free Spins.
Ocean Hunter Bonus Buy
For those outside the UK, you may benefit from a Bonus Buy option.
The Free Spins round can be purchased for a generous 100x your current bet.
Ocean Hunter: Our Verdict
Ocean Hunter isn’t a terrible instalment from iSoftBet, but we can’t say that we enjoyed it as much as Tyrant King Megaways.
Tyrant King Megaways just feels like it was given more care, more thought and as a result it had much more appeal. Ocean Hunter isn’t without its merits though, beneath the surface, or sea, should we say, good things can happen if the Wild Frenzy Feature feels like delivering, and the bonus round with a quad reel set up can put you on the edge of your seat.
Is it us, or has quad reel configurations never really kicked off? It’s not really the same as the likes of Gorilla Gold Megaways, but it sort of feels like there’s too much going on to fully understand.
That may just be us though, perhaps there is demand for these sorts of games? If there wasn’t then they probably wouldn’t make them, but we’re sticking to our guns when we say we prefer the single reel set. Potential can be just as good with 1 reel set too, if the pays were higher. There doesn’t feel like there’s a lot of point in having 4 separate reel sets with lower pays than one with higher pays, apart from theatrics of course.
Overall, Ocean Hunter can definitely deliver, but we feel like Tryant King Megaways had a lot more appeal.