Big Bass – Secrets of the Golden Lake

Reel Kingdom seems hellbent on flooding every popular slot genre with some kind of Big Bass installment, and Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake takes you back to medieval times. The fisherman is dressed up as King Arthur himself in this game, trying his luck at a gold-kissed lake that seems to have buried his former castle and his famous Excalibur sword. Perhaps the latter is what he’s truly angling for, but it seems stuck there at the bottom of the lake.

This unique blend of classic fishing slot action and Camelot mythology is charming in one way, but we hardly sense that a lot of heart and soul has been poured into this release. Looking past the incongruent mix of themes, the only innovation this game brings to the table is a bonus round with no regular pay symbols. It works the same as the also included regular bonus round, with fish prizes up to a solid 5,000x your stake, multiplier upgrades, and extra spins from the trail.

Reel Kingdom – Slot Developer

Reel Kingdom stormed into the spotlight with Big Bass Bonanza, forever changing the fishing slot landscape. This powerhouse of a Pragmatic Play partner is churning out new Big Bass installments like there’s no tomorrow, but they struggle to live up to this huge success story with other releases.

Slot Theme And Storyline

Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake takes you on a medieval fishing expedition where King Arthur himself dons his waders and casts his line in a shimmering lake. Its depths contain hidden treasures, including his long-lost Excalibur sword, and his ruined castle peeks from beneath the golden surface. Upbeat, medieval-style melodies complete the enchanting atmosphere, making this Big Bass adventure a quirky blend of familiar fishing fun and legendary lore.

Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake RTP, Volatility, And Max Win

The top-tier Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake RTP of 96.07 % is a bit above average. However, operators can adjust the RTP down to 95.07 or 94.07 % as they see fit. This is a high volatility installment from Reel Kingdom, scoring 5 out of 5 on the in-game volatility scale. This means that fluctuations on your bankroll are to be expected. The Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake max win of 5,000x your stake is around average, and it comes with a 1 in 3,378,378 spins hit frequency.

Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake Rules And Gameplay

You can place bets between €0.1 and €250 per spin in Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake slot, which is a solid bet range that should cater to any type of player. You win by landing up to 5 matching symbols across up to 10 paylines, and any combination of fish symbols pay for 3 to 5 of a kind when not collected as cash prizes. The latter happens only in the bonus rounds, where the fisherman wild/collector symbol comes into play.

Symbols And Paytable

Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake Bonuses And Special Features

You get a set of familiar features in Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake slot, but a new type of bonus round has been included in addition to the regular one. Let’s dive in!

Ante Bet (not UK)

The Ante Bet feature can be turned on between base game spins, and keeping it on will cost you 50 % extra per spin. The benefit is not specified with stats, but you get more scatters on the reel strips that increase your bonus round chances.

Money Symbols

The money symbols appear in the form of different-sized fish symbols, and larger fish means larger money prize values. The money fish range from 2x to 5,000x your stake, so you can crack the max win from a single fish. The money prizes can only be reeled in during either of the bonus rounds (see below).

Free Spins Pick Game

The Bonus Round Pick Game triggers when 3, 4, or 5 scatters appear in view, awarding 10, 15, or 20 free spins, respectively. A 3rd scatter may appear in different ways at random times if you land only 2 scatters in view, helping you trigger the bonus round. You get to pick from a selection of cards before the feature starts, and this awards either the regular free spins feature or the Golden Lake bonus round.

Regular Free Spins Round

The fisherman wild appears in the regular bonus round, collecting all present money fish prizes as usual. He is himself collected in the multiplier upgrade and extra spins meter seen above the grid, and every 4th collected awards 10 extra free spins. The multiplier increases to x2, x3, and finally x10 after the 4th retrigger, and there are no more upgrades or retriggers after that.

Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake Free Spins

The Golden Lake Free Spins feature comes with no regular pay symbols. Instead, only blanks, money fish, and the fisherman collector are in play. Money symbol line wins are still possible, but you need the fisherman to collect the fish prize values. The fisherman is collected as in the regular bonus round, and the whole multiplier and extra spins trail work exactly the same way.

Random Bonus Round features

Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake also comes with random modifiers that can help you out in either of the bonus rounds. A free spin with at least one fisherman symbol but no money fish may trigger money fish to appear. Money fish in view with no fisherman may trigger a hook that pulls up a fisherman to collect the prizes. Finally, a fisherman with no money fish may transform all other symbols into something else.

Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake Bonus Buy (not UK)

Eligible players can purchase the bonus round pick game for 100x the stake, awarding either the regular free spins round or the Golden Lake version. The Golden Lake feature can be purchased directly for 270x the stake. The organic bonus round pick game hit rate is 1 in 113 spins on average, and this is without the Ante Bet turned on.

The 200 Spins Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake Online Slot Experience

We had good fun testing Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake slot, and you can see the highlights from our test session in the 3:18-minute video below. You get a decent taste of the base game first, and then we purchase the Golden Lake Bonus Round at 0:41 into the video. Check it all out for yourself by hitting the play button below, and get a nice overview of the game.

Review Summary And Verdict

Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake pushes the boundaries of the wildly popular Big Bass series with another incongruent installment. Like we “predicted” in our Big Bass Day At The Races review, it looks like Reel Kingdom plans to install at least one Big Bass-type release in every popular slot genre, just for good measure. We doubt it will float to the top of the Medieval slot genre though, and not the Fishing slot genre either.

The lake undeniably has a golden shimmer, and the underwater castle adds to the Arthurian atmosphere. The same can be said about the carefree medieval-style soundtrack, but there is very little new to see here except the audiovisuals. The Golden Lake bonus round is admittedly potentially more lucrative with its sole focus on fish collection, and the 5,000x potential is decent as well. Still, the Arthurian twist is about as hollow as the sunken castle, and there are plenty of better alternatives in this series.