Bob Marlin Goes Deep Demo
Bob Marlin Goes Deep Slot Review
Dive deep and reel in rewarding treasures from the ocean of Yggdrasil Gaming’s latest release, Bob Marlin Goes Deep!
Gear up in your fishing attire and grab your virtual tackle box, we’re heading out onto the open waters with a new, friendly face, Bob Marlin (no relation to the King of Reggae).
Bob Marlin Goes Deep is the latest Fishing-themed slot release to join the likes of Reel Kingdom’s Big Bass Bonanza, but will it be as successful? As we’re pulled deeper into the middle of the ocean, the usual 5×4 reel set expands to reveal additional ‘catches of the day’.
With 5 of the same fish symbols caught, a wave of Free Spins crashes into action, whereby the biggest fish are waiting to be captured and awarded. With a fixed RTP of 96.8% and a mid-high volatility score, will the 3,905x max win potential be ours for the taking? Let’s find out.
Base Game & Features
Bob Marlin Goes Deep is a mid-high volatility release from Yggdrasil Gaming, consisting of 5 reels and up to 16,807 ways to win. Winning combinations occur when 2-5 identical symbols land on reels 1-5, on adjacent reels, starting from reel 1.
The paytable system is divided into super-high, high, and low-paying symbols, resulting in 12 paytable symbols combined. Each of the available symbols offers a fixed payout between 0.2x and 4x your bet, where applicable.
In terms of special symbols, the game features a Scatter symbol that appears on reels 1, 3, and 5 in the base game. This symbol is responsible for triggering the Free Spins mode.
Expanding Reels
During gameplay, landing a single Scatter symbol on reels 1, 3, or 5 will trigger the Expanding Reels feature. Once active, the reels will expand by +1 row downwards for that spin.
Reels can expand up to 3 times per spin, increasing the maximum ways to win up to 16,807. This feature causes new symbols to appear on the reels, with the potential to reveal additional Scatters, thus triggering Free Spins.
Collectible Fish
There are 4 collectible fish available in the base game, positioned on the 3 expanded reels after the Expanding Reels feature has occurred. When 5 fish of the same colour are collected, +5 Collection Spins are awarded.
The number of collected Fish symbols is revealed on the special panel next to the main reel set, while new players are given 3 collected (orange) fish to begin the round with.
Each colour of fish can only appear on the reels once per spin. If 2 or more collections are completed simultaneously, they are awarded in the following order: blue, green, purple, and orange.
Lastly, if both Free Spins modes are triggered within the same spin, the regular Free Spins mode is played out first.
Bob Marlin Goes Deep Free Spins
Accessing the Free Spins mode is done so by landing 3 Scatters in the base game, awarding 10 Free Spins and a fully expanded (5×7) reel set.
In this round, Scatter symbols or Collectible Fish are not available, while spins are played on the same bet state as the triggering spin.
Collection Free Spins
As mentioned above, completing a Fish Collection triggers the Collection Free Spins mode, awarding 5 Free Spins and a fully expanded (5×7) reel set.
In this round, the reels do not contain Scatters or Collectible Fish icons. During spins, a super high-paying symbol of the same colour as the collected Fish is added to the reels.
Our Honest Verdict
With summer blissfully upon us, software developers are taking this opportunity to dig out their fishing rods and expand the Fishing-themed slots market. Bob Marlin Goes Deep is the latest Yggdrasil release to grace our screens, which gives nothing away from a design/aesthetics point of view.
If you’ve not cottoned on yet, it’s clear that Yggdrasil are big fans of the King of Reggae – and the clue is wrapped in the title of this game. We can appreciate a clever play on words, but the ‘Bob Marley’ mash-up bears no relevance to the game itself, nor does it make the game any more desirable.
Despite the growing success of the Fishing theme, Bob Marlin Goes Deep lacks significant detail through its design and presentation. Of all the fishing games we’ve stumbled across, we can think of many that are far more appealing aesthetically than this – take 4ThePlayer’s 4 Fantastic Fish or Push Gaming’s Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch as fine examples.
So, what does Bob Marlin Goes Deep bring to the table that others in its category don’t?
In the base game, you’re consumed by the Expanding Reels and Collectible Fish features. Each spin begins with 1,024 ways to win, which can be enhanced by landing Scatter symbols on selected reels, up to a maximum of 16,807 ways to win.
Not only does the expanding reels feature enable further possibilities to create winning combinations, but it also allows the Collectible Fish feature to occur on the expanded rows.
There’s method in the madness of filling Collectable Fish meters, which guarantees to trigger the Collection Free Spins mode upon a meter completion. However, failing this will still leave the standard Free Spins available.
From a statistical point of view, Bob Marlin Goes Deep looks to be pretty solid. The theoretical RTP of 96.8% pairs nicely with the mid-high volatility rating, while the 3,905x max win potential could have done with a slight boost.
All in all, Bob Marlin Goes Deep is not the most eye-catching game in Yggdrasil Gaming’s portfolio, but it will float the boat of players with a strong appreciation for simple mechanics and the generic Fishing theme.
*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.
