4 Fantastic Vikings Go Ice Fishing Slot Review
Embrace the icy conditions of 4ThePlayer’s latest adventure, where fearless Vikings are conquering sub-zero temperatures in 4 Fantastic Vikings Go Ice Fishing. Crossing paths with Yggdrasil Gaming’s Vikings Go Berzerk, this group of Vikings will stop at nothing to get their fill of Fishing, but does the reward outweigh the risk?
After taking to the seas toward the domain of Njord in 4 Fantastic Vikings Go Fishing, 4ThePlayer returns us to the rough seas, where there’s more than just Fish Prizes lurking beneath the surface.
4 Fantastic Vikings Go Ice Fishing embarks us on a journey of Cash Collect functions, Fighting Respins, and monstrous Money Ways wins. With a fixed RTP of 94%, a mid-high volatility score, and a sizable max win potential of 10,240x your bet – these Vikings aren’t just fishing….they’re winning.
While Fishing-themed slots have slowed in pace recently, making room for seasonal slots & the growing trend of the ‘3 Pots’ mechanic, 4 Fantastic Vikings Go Fishing may just revive our love for the genre, but will it have us hook, line, and sinker?
The collaboration between 4ThePlayer’s 4 Fantastic Fish release and Yggdrasil Gaming’s Vikings Go Berzerk has worked wonders together in the past, but can they do so again? Let’s set sail and find out…
Base Game & Features
4 Fantastic Vikings Go Ice Fishing is part of an ongoing series, consisting of 6 reels, 4 rows, and 4,096 ways to win. Winning combinations are determined when 2-6 identical symbols appear on adjacent reels, starting from reel 1.
The game reveals 10 paytable symbols, with the highest-paying symbols falling to a variety of Characters, followed by Seagulls, Octopus, and Bronze, Silver, & Gold Coins. When a winning combination is awarded, a fixed payout between 0.2x and 10x your bet is applied.
Furthermore, Wild symbols appear across all reels except the leftmost, substituting for all symbols except Scatters. Lastly, Big Game Prizes are available on the rightmost reel, while Scatters are responsible for triggering the Free Spins mode.
Money Ways
During gameplay, special Cash Prizes in the form of Fish (or Big Game symbols) can appear on all 6 reels, varying in value depending on which reel they appear on:
- Reel 1: Awards up to 1.8x your bet
- Reel 2: Between 0.6x and 3x your bet
- Reel 3: Between 1.5x and 5x your bet
- Reel 4: Between 2.5x and 10x your bet
- Reel 5: Between 5x and 25x your bet
- Reel 6: Between 10x and 50x your bet
In addition, reel 6 may reveal up to 4 Big Game Fish symbols of Big (10x), Super (250x), Mega (1,000x), and Ultra (5,000x). Lastly, Cash Prizes act as standard paytable symbols, applying their total amount when 3 or more appear in a winning combination from reel 1 onwards.
Mighty Kraken Feature
In the base game, when 1 or more 2×2 Giant Ice Blox appear on the reels, the Mighty Kraken feature is awarded. In this feature, the Mighty Kraken will smash open the Giant Ice Blox to reveal 1×1-sized Cash Prize symbols.
The Mighty Kraken may also switch 1 or more Cash Prize symbols with others on the reels, to create a Money Ways payout or upgrade an existing Money Ways win. Finally, the Mighty Kraken is unable to move Cash Prize symbols that were not part of the Giant Ice Blox.
Viking Coins Bonus
In the base game, high-paying (Viking) symbols can appear on the reels carrying a Coin Overlay. Each time this happens, the Coin is collected into the corresponding Viking above the reels, with the chance to trigger the Fighting Respins Bonus.
When 1 or more Vikings have triggered the Fighting Respins Bonus, they switch to Berzerk Mode, guaranteed to win the fight when prompted throughout Respins. Triggering the Fighting Respins Bonus in this manner will begin the session with reels 1 & 2 unlocked, in addition to the possession of Berzerk Vikings.
However, triggering the Fighting Respins Bonus with the Berzerk Walrus active guarantees reels 1, 2, & 3 unlocked.
Fighting Respins Bonus
When 3 or more Scatters appear within the base game, the Fighting Respins Bonus is triggered, awarding 3 Respins. Once active, each reel with a Scatter will unlock, while all others remain locked.
During Respins, each Cash Prize symbol that appears on an unlocked reel will remain in position and its value awarded. As the reels spin, additional Cash prizes may lock into position, resetting the Respins Meter to 3. However, Cash Prizes that land on locked reels will continue to spin.
If a Scatter symbol appears upon a locked reel, it will unlock for subsequent Respins, while Scatters are unable to land on unlocked reels. Additionally, 1×1 Ice Blox symbols can appear on an unlocked position, increasing in value with every Respin thereafter.
After a random Respin, the Ice Blox symbol may crack open to reveal a random Cash Prize symbol, retaining the final value of the Ice Blox before it opened. If there is an Ice Blox symbol present on the reels when the Shark Feature activates, it will collect as normal.
Filling an entire reel with Cash Prize symbols will trigger the Shark Feature, causing all values on that reel to be multiplied by x2. After this, all Cash Prizes on that reel are added together and applied to a single position, making room for new Cash Prizes to land.
At random, the Mighty Kraken can appear and move a Cash Prize symbol from a locked reel to an unlocked reel, causing it to stick in place for future Respins.
Viking Fights
In the Fighting Respins Bonus, each high-paying (Viking) symbol can appear on specific reels, as displayed above the main reel set. If a Viking symbol lands during a Respin, a fight will ensue, awarding the following outcome:
- Cash Collect: Gathers all Cash Prizes on the reels and adds them to its current prize of 1x bet, after which, it locks into position.
- Cash Increment: Increases the value of all Cash Prizes between 2x and 15x your bet.
- Cash Multiplier: Adds a Multiplier between x2 and x20 to 1 or more reel positions. Any Cash Prizes that land within this position will automatically be multiplied by the respective value.
- Cash Net: Generates nets to 1 or more reel positions, after which, Cash Prize symbols are guaranteed to land within them in the next spin.
- Extra Respins: Awards an additional number of Respins to the meter. If the Respin Meter is greater than 3, each new Cash Prize symbol will not reset spins.
Bonus Buy
Players may purchase one of the following Bonus Buy options:
- Fighting Respin Bonus: Trigger the Respin Bonus with a chance to activate Viking Features for 125x your bet (94%)
- Mega Respin Bonus: Trigger the Respin Bonus with 5 Viking Features guaranteed for 500x your bet (94%)
- Mighty Kraken Spin: Guarantees to activate the Mighty Kraken feature with a Giant Ice Blox for 20x your bet per spin (94%)
4 Fantastic Vikings Go Ice Fishing has a maximum win potential of 10,240x your bet. If a single game session exceeds this figure, the current mode ends, and the player returns to the base game with the qualifying amount.
Our Honest Verdict
If we’re being honest, we thought the amalgamation between 4 Fantastic Fish and Vikings Go Bezerk was a brilliant concept, and a thought-provoking instalment too. What else could work together?
Could 4ThePlayer’s 9K Kong In Vegas feature in Relax Gaming’s next rendition of Banana Town, or perhaps something with Yggdrasil’s Golden Fish Tank? Golden Fish Tank’s Fish Go Fishing, perhaps. The point is, it’s evidently effective to put innovative heads together, because the result is often something quite appealing.
Such is the case once more in 4 Fantastic Vikings Go Fishing, which reimagines the original in a chillier atmosphere, and this time with a Mega Respins Bonus, which gives 5 Berzerk Vikings. Yes, 5, not 4, as was the case before.
Another notable feature is its Mighty Kraken, which can arrive to switch up symbols to create Money Ways wins. This has always been a staple of 4 Fantastic Fish-esque slots, and we’re glad to see its return.
We and others have been guilty sometimes of marking slots down on max wins being lower than that of its predecessor, and 4 Fantastic Vikings Go Ice Fishing could well be in the scope, considering a 10,240x maximum win potential, lower than that of the first game.
Why the change? 4ThePlayer has decided to slightly reduce the volatility, making it easier for more players to enjoy the game’s exciting features and land big wins, rather than reserving those moments for just a lucky few. And honestly, we can’t argue with that. It’s right there in the name, they’re 4ThePlayer.
What we will say is that it has a fairly low RTP of 94%. No lower than its predecessor, but still low. Many will overlook this, as they should for shorter sessions, where it’s likely to be less noticeable.
All in all, it’s a great combination once more. We’d be particularly interested to see if they not only further this series, but toy with the merging of others.
*The images found in this slot review are currently from Demo Play. On average, our reviews are written prior to the initial release date and before real play is available.
