Fish Up Huge Wins in Marlin Masters: The Big Haul

Fishing is a pastime many of us are familiar with. However, there are levels to every hobby, and Marlin Masters: The Big Haul takes it up a notch. Players will visit the tropics, where rare species of fish, such as the marlin, swim about. If you’re good with the rod and have a little luck, the game’s 10,000x big haul might just end up in your pocket.

Keep reading to learn all about this new slot from Hacksaw Gaming, including its features, math model, and visuals. By the end, you’ll know if this game is worth your time.

Marlin Masters: The Big Haul Visuals & Sounds

Setting the game in a tropical wonderland was a brilliant move by Hacksaw Gaming. Players get to enjoy the sight of clear, azure water and swaying palm trees as they try to reel in the wins. The reels are positioned above a boat, with fishing rods on either side waiting for a fish to take the bait. However, watch out for the sharp rocks, which can end your fishing trip early if you’re not careful.

Available symbols are a mix of playing card royals and different kinds of fish. Marlin fish are special symbols and can appear in regular and golden variants. Other bonus icons include the fisherman, FS scatters, and a W-shaped anchor Wild.

Hacksaw Gaming added a relaxing track that perfectly matches the feeling of a day out on a boat. The upbeat nature of the track is guaranteed to put you in a good mood. We also like how the game emulates the sound of actual reels spinning. It makes it all the more satisfying when the board comes to a stop and you see a screen full of winning symbols.

Marlin Masters: The Big Haul Gameplay & Features

Marlin Masters: The Big Haul uses a 5×4 playing area with 14 paylines. The game can also form LootLines, special paylines used to award cash prizes granted by marlin symbols. Winning combinations must include at least three identical symbols that follow a pre-defined line from left to right, starting with the leftmost reel.

Marlin Symbols

Marlin symbols appear with attached cash prizes ranging from 1x to 1,000x. There are two ways to get these rewards: collecting them using the fisherman icon or if the marlins form a LootLine.

LootLines are created when you have enough marlins on an active payline to form a win. Regular paylines pay out first, and LootLines award their cash prizes afterwards. The values of each marlin icon present on it determine the payout of each LootLine.

Golden marlins can appear alongside their regular counterparts. If they land on a LootLine, they will spread their value to all normal marlin symbols on the grid.

Fisherman Icons

After LootLine payouts are awarded and the golden marlin feature completes, the fisherman will collect the cash prizes attached to each marlin. Each fisherman can land with a multiplier value of up to 20x, which will increase the value of each collected reward.

Watch out for golden fisherman symbols. On top of collecting all marlin symbol prizes, they will also scoop up the collected values from other fisherman icons.

Free Spins

Land three or more Scatters to activate the Free Spins feature. Depending on how many Scatters are on the reels, you will receive a different accompanying feature and number of spins.

• Three Scatters nets you 8 free spins and the Don’t Be Koi feature
• Four Scatters grants 10 free spins and the Catch Me If You Can bonus
• Five Scatters awards 10 free spins and the Hooked On Paradise feature

Don’t Be Koi

This bonus adds a Big Haul Bar outside the grid. Each time a fisherman symbol lands on the reels, the bar progresses by one step. After every fourth fisherman is collected, you reach a new level, which unlocks more goodies in turn.

• The first upgrade grants 8 free spins and guarantees that all fishermen appear with a 2x multiplier.
• Upgrade two awards 8 free spins, and ensures at least a 4x multiplier for fisherman icons.
• The third upgrade unlocks 8 additional free spins and guarantees a 10x multiplier for all fishermen.

Catch Me If You Can

Catch Me If You Can has the same additions as Don’t Be Koi. However, it makes the upgrade rewards even more valuable. You’re guaranteed a 2x multiplier for fisherman symbols from the start, and can increase it up to 15x. You also get 10 free spins per upgrade, up from eight.

Hooked On Paradise

During this feature, you are guaranteed to have at least one sticky fisherman icon. Any additional fishermen that appear on the reels will also become sticky, giving you a great chance to form big wins.

Bonus Buy

Players have several bonus buy options in Marlin Masters: The Big Haul slot:

• Bonus Hunt Feature Spins make each spin 5 times more likely to activate a feature. Costs 3x your bet.
• Fin-tastic Feature Spins guarantees three marlin and one fisherman icons land on the reels. Costs 50x your stake.
• Sea-riously Epic Drop Feature Spins forces three marlin, one golden marlin, and one fisherman to appear. Costs 100x your wager.
• Don’t Be Koi awards the same-named bonus feature for 75x your bet.
• Catch Me If You Can does the same and requires paying 200x your stake upfront.

Marlin Masters: The Big Haul RTP and Payouts

With an RTP of 96.28%, Hacksaw Gaming’s release is comfortably above average. That said, the value can shift up or down slightly if you use any of the bonus buy options. The top prize is 10,000x your wager, which is quite solid for a medium variance slot.