Golden Hook

Golden Hook: Slot Overview

Deep breath players, the out-of-the-box thinkers at Crazy Tooth have released another one of those games that makes you wonder, is it a slot, is it not, what is it? This one, Golden Hook, isn't as outrageously original as you might first think – there is precedence. Golden Hook follows on from The Incredible Balloon Machine, using the same, let's say unusual, methods of playing each game round. If you missed the previous balloon one, then prepare to have your mind blown in this fishing-themed 'slot'.

Golden Hook has a more down to earth attitude than The Incredible Balloon Machine. One of the issues with 'Balloon' is that it wasn't massively incredible. It just inflated balloons, though fair dues; it was quite original. Instead of being up in the clouds this time, floating free with bunches of helium-filled balloons, we're out on the water, bobbing up and down on a boat about to cast off. Golden Hook offers a nice view of gently rippling waves and clusters of islands drifting sideways on the horizon. What every fisherperson wants to see, fish are literally jumping out of the water as if they want to be reeled onto dry land. The fish finder on the boat is clearly working and has brought us right to where they're hanging out.

It feels odd to say this, yet there are no reels, no rows, paylines, ways, or cluster systems in Golden Hook. However, it comes with a standard set of figures, including a variable RTP, which has a default value of 96.75%, dropping a few points depending on the market and casino. Volatility has been classed as medium; however, it is hard to judge. You hit the play button, win or lose, with little variation between the two – at a hit frequency of 41.08%. Stakes vary from 20 p/c to $/€40 per, um cast off, and Golden Hook may be played on any device.

Golden Hook: Slot Features

How To Play

The first thing to look at is the tri-coloured meter sitting above the red play button in the middle of the screen. To start the action, you click and hold down on the play button until the needle moves past the red section to where it says 'Wager'. Once the needle hits Wager, the game round begins, and the fishing rod casts its hook at the water. If the rod does not hook a fish while the needle is in the blue section of the meter the round is over, and you win nothing.

If the needle makes it to the green section, this means you have hooked a fish and have an opportunity to win some money. Here it gets a little tricky because the longer you hold down the button, the greater the prize money grows, but there is a chance the line breaks, and you end up with nothing. To haul in the prize money, click the collect button next to the meter.

Multiplier Feature

When you hook a fish, there is a chance the Multiplier feature randomly triggers. When it does, any collected prize amount is increased by a random multiplier of x2 to x10.

Golden Hook Bonus

When casting the line out, a golden bonus fish occasionally leaps up to try and catch the hook. If it does catch it, then the Golden Hook Bonus is awarded. Play shifts and the screen displays a side-on view of a boat sitting on top of the water while numerous fish swim beneath it and crabs scuttle along the seabed. The fish possess various credit amounts, while the crab has a x2 multiplier.

The bonus round is activated for a set time, with a counter displaying how much longer it has to run. Then you sit back to watch as a fishing line drops from the boat to randomly catch fish or crabs. Caught fish add their respective prize value to the round total, which is awarded at the end of the bonus. Catching a crab multiplies the cumulative total by 2. The bonus ends when time runs out, or a x2 multiplier is caught.

Golden Hook: Slot Verdict

If you've ever played one of those bitcoin Crash games, you'll have a good idea of how Golden Hook is. You hit play, often crashing out before hooking a fish, or if you do land one, you have to decide to either pull it in early for a lower payout or hold on for more money but risk breaking the line and losing the round. Unless you're extremely vested in Golden Hook, the fiddly controls get annoying, and after breaking the line a few times, it's easy to just hit collect whenever a fish is hooked. If auto spin is available, it's extra tempting to engage because you don't have to keep depressing and holding the play button.

Then there are the rewards themselves, which never managed to amount to much. Regular base game wins typically averaged 1-3x the bet at best. There is the multiplier, yet it never served up much either. Not saying it can't technically do so, though the weak results during the review just made the game even less appealing. Golden Hook Bonus games were only slightly more interesting. The stats claim max exposure is 123,280 credits or 3,082x the max bet, but it is difficult to see how Golden Hook could get near that amount. Maybe if it was possible to hook the x2 multiplier in the bonus game multiple times. Instead, once you catch it, the round ends.

On a happy note, Crazy Tooth has quite cleverly recycled the mechanic for use in a fishing game. The mechanic matches the theme, so maybe fishing fans will rejoice. What's interesting, or scary, is Crazy Tooth has now named this contraption WiNCREASE, suggesting there may be more of these on the way. Despite not falling for Golden Hook, like a lot of what Crazy Tooth produces, there is a peculiar fascination about what the next WiNCREASE game could possibly be about.

To sum up, Golden Hook is unlike just about every other slot out there. Perhaps for good reason. It's certainly going to be an acquired taste, which won't be for everyone, heck is it for anyone?