The Angler

With fishing being such a popular pastime as it is, it was only a matter of time before one or another enterprising slot maker decided to make a fun game out of it to capture the market. The Angler is the newest release from Betsoft, coming out in May 2017 and bringing with it two Scatter bonuses, Wilds that can cling to a specific spot for a turn or two and a gamble feature that allows you to double up or lose any win you scored so far. So if you’re feeling ready, challenge the red moustached fisherman and see who can come out on top. Be warned, you’re in for a long day in a boat!

The visuals are beautiful and the artwork is top-notch. A little bit of animation to the backdrop could have made it all the more interesting with slight movement of the waves, and the fisherman himself showing signs of activity outside of when you win something. Still, we won’t complain too much, as Betsoft has made a smooth and lovely looking slot that we wouldn’t mind spending some more time playing.

However, The Angler can be comfortably placed at low or medium variance. Wins can be chained together for a satisfying score, but they can just as equally be disappointing all on their own. It falls into the category of a bonus chaser – free spins and the Time to Fish mini game will both come into play a lot if you’re hoping to walk away with any sizeable amount of money in your pocket.

There’s no progressive jackpot in The Angler, which doesn’t come surprising. The slot is decent enough with its pays, though the fact you still have symbols that can pay less than your wager feels bad in any game and this one isn’t an exception by a long shot. The largest score you can manage is a fixed jackpot of 350x increase or a $35,000 win if you’re playing on the largest wager possible.

It isn’t that impressive, but the fixed jackpot isn’t the slot’s focus, so we aren’t too keen on holding it down. Instead, the game expects players to keep spinning for the lucrative special features that are available. Free spins come out a bit better than the Reel Me in bonus, but this was our personal experience and your mileage may vary in what pays out better.

We quite liked the artstyle that The Angler has gone with, which just makes the inclusion of a few colourful poker card icons annoying. They very visibly clash with the other six or seven symbols on the playing field, and proved to be an annoyance that distracted us from fully immersing ourselves into the slot. If you’re less picky about this stuff, you won’t really notice it, but it irked us as we kept playing.

There are technically two different Scatter special features you can activate. The first one uses seashells which can only appear on the third, fourth and fifth reel and it awards the free spins. While the bonus is triggered, you can score additional extra rounds if more Scatters appear and Wilds will cling to the same place they landed for the duration of the free turns.
The second Scatter is a bucket of caught fish and makes the Time to Fish bonus activate. These Scatters can only appear on the first, second and third reel, and while active, it tests you on how good a fisherman you are. You can choose to reel in the fish or pull it out of the water and awards you more and more money as you catch more fish. It even gives you a little bit of money to start with as well as a sort of ‘welcome’, so in case you get nothing, you still don’t leave empty handed.