Monster Catch: Slot Overview

Plenty of players will remember the buzz of being younger and watching beloved arcade titles get ported to consoles or PCs. Think Street Fighter 2, Double Dragon, Bubble Bobble, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Rampage, and the list goes on. That same idea—bringing a fun public pastime into the comfort of home—sits behind Light & Wonder’s online slot, Monster Catch, which is likely of particular interest to British betters, but let’s dive in and see what it’s all about.

On the visual side, Monster Catch leans heavily into Fishin’ Frenzy-style nostalgia, with a retro, slightly weathered presentation. As with most things in Monster Catch, you’ll probably know immediately whether the art is your thing. There are white-framed reels in the centre, a fisherman character up on the left, and seabed scenery filling out much of the background. Whether it’s charming or clunky is best left to the player to judge, rather than getting too critical.

If you’re ready to cast a line, Monster Catch offers a stake range of 10 c to $/€10 per spin. The math model is low volatile, and the top RTP is listed at 96.17%. The game runs on a 5-reel setup that typically shows 3 rows per reel, though during the free spins feature it can expand to up to 6 positions on each reel. With 3 active positions, the game uses 10 paylines. With 6 positions available across the reels, the paylines double to 20.

Paying symbols include 10-A card ranks as the low icons, each returning 10 times the bet for five-of-a-kind wins regardless of which rank lands. Higher-value symbols are anchors, floats, worms, and seagulls, paying 50 to 200 times the bet for 5 OAK. Fish money symbols can also pay via line wins, up to 20x the bet.

Monster Catch: Slot Features

Monster Catch includes 4 different fish symbols – small, medium, large, and XL. Fish symbols can appear on any reel, and different sizes may combine within the same winning line. Each fish also carries a cash value of 2x to 50x, which is collected by the Fisherman or the Gold Fisherman symbols during free spins only.

Free Spins

Landing 3, 4, or 5 scatter symbols awards 10, 15, or 20 free spins, respectively. The free spins round features Mighty Reels, so the reels are 6 rows high, although the top 3 rows start off inactive. The Fisherman and Gold Fisherman symbols are introduced in free spins, and both act as substitutes for any standard paying symbol. In addition, the Fisherman’s key role is to collect the Cash value from Fish money symbols.

If one or more Gold Fisherman symbols land, Mighty Reels are activated, the upper 3 rows open, and 2 free spins are awarded. Any Fisherman and/or Gold Fisherman symbols visible then collect the cash values from any Fish symbols on the active reels. The upper reels switch back to inactive on the following spin. While Mighty Reels are open, 5 OAK Fish wins cannot land on the upper 3 rows.

Gamble Feature

Whenever the Gamble button is available and a win of 5x the stake or over lands, the Gamble feature triggers. If Premium Play is enabled, the Gamble feature triggers at 2.5x the Premium Play stake. There are two Gamble choices – Gamble Cash value and Gamble entry into free spins. The gambles are played on red and green segmented wheels.

Premium Play

Activating Premium Play adds 50% to the bet. After that, if there is a single base game win of 2x or more that does not trigger free spins, players receive one spin on the Bonus Wheel with a Bonus Guarantee. The Bonus Wheel includes multipliers of x1 to x5 and 8 to 20 free spins. When a multiplier lands, it is applied to the cash win; when free spins land, players are awarded the displayed amount. Premium Play has an RTP of 96.1%.

Monster Catch: Slot Verdict

If you never experienced Monster Catch as a real-world, physical game, it may be tough to feel much enthusiasm for the online version. Fish slots—where do you even start? There are loads of them, and that’s putting it mildly. From genre staples like Fishin’ Frenzy and Big Bass Bonanza to endless variations from a wide range of studios. Even developers known for ignoring trends and doing their own thing, such as Nolimit City, have joined in with releases like Ugliest Catch to muscle into the fish craze. In the middle of that huge commercial net sweeping the sea, Monster Catch comes across as a very small catch indeed.

Still, there’s something genuinely pleasant about being able to play a game at home that you previously enjoyed while out and about. That’s true for video games, and it can apply to Monster Catch as well. Anyone who likes the idea of having Monster Catch available 24/7 on a PC, tablet, laptop, or mobile gets exactly that here. No need to head to the bookies, an arcade, or anywhere else for a go; you can play wherever you are, from a commute to a quiet moment on the khazi. Even better, the maximum win has been boosted beyond what the physical cabinet offered, now topping out at 736x.

It almost goes without saying that 736x isn’t a huge figure these days, though it’s unlikely to be the deciding point. Either the idea of playing Monster Catch at home gets you properly interested, or it turns your stomach like yesterday’s lasagna coming back for round two.