This independent software developer became Microgaming’s exclusive partner in 2019 and, thanks to the global platform, had grown into a recognizable brand that has kept to amaze ever since.
With plenty of refined lakes, boundless rivers, and diversified fish species, Canada is often regarded as a fisherman’s dreamland. In the Great White North, the fish look happier.
The atmosphere (water and air temperature) is adequate for long fishing months. In most places, anglers feel comfy and pleased with the chance to cast free all year round without having to clear the ice from the rod guides every few hurls.
Before analyzing the Golden Hook game, we will take a moment to share our (from the team of BNC Canada opinion on 4 key aspects (Originality/Potential/Acceptance/Reskins) of Crazy Tooth Studio (CTS) productions so far:
- Originality – The gaming community hammers out that Originality is crucial in this business. But, … only along with huge Profitability, perfect UX (User Interface – storytelling, engaging, objectiveness, usability) and flawless UI (User Interface – branding, layout, visual and interactive design). Otherwise, originality is frowned upon.
CTS took some bold decisions and often made headlines with unorthodox approaches and ambitious offbeat style. In most of their games, the Studio outlines the original features and naturally trademarks them. So we see:
- The CONTINuWIN technique (™ – added reels) in their Seven 7’s slot
- The REEL QUEST technique (™ – moving toward winning/achievement 1 reel at the time) in their Fortress Charge slot
- The COINVERGE technique (™ – brackets framing a collection zone + modifiers) in their Aureus slot
- The RESPIN INSANITY technique (™ – every win brings Re-spin in which all winning symbols Re-spins) in their Lady Earth slot
- The TEAM UP REELS technique (™ – symbols team up to create new reels) in their Diamond Force slot
- The BIG BUID UP technique (™ – reels stretch + modifiers ) in their Lucky Clucks slot
- The WiNCREASE technique (™ – holding the spin button for increasing the amount of the credits) in their Golden Hook game (subject of this article)
*** Please stand up – all other casino software developers with that many original features for a year and a half!
- Potential – Nowadays, a game that has 5000x the bet winning outlook (imagine even less) is in most cases considered weak and doomed to be easily forgotten.
- Admittedly, most CTS games just can’t provide extreme payouts.
- And then there is the second group of machines in their portfolio, which come with a solid max but with that promoted potency spark a debate perhaps because they bring such novelty that it is difficult to calculate how high the winnings can be (unlike the regular slots, where the math is easy).
Either way, if there were Olympics for Studio-developers, where medals are given for the max prospect, CTS wouldn’t win.
And in general, when it comes to max potential/exposure, the dispute about how important that is can be as long as the one – “Should we use 2/3 or 4 ply toilet paper?” (Pardon – if you don’t like our figurative expressions).
- Acceptance – Like with any other product on the market, it is a matter of taste for a game to become liked/hated, favourite/underdog. So many sites dispute the: paytable, the back story, the feasibility of the promoted max prospect, the techniques offered by CTS’s games. But don’t we all agree that taste is “relative” and an excuse adopted by those who find all that is not excellent detestable?
- Reskins – In all honesty, we are absolutely not a fan of cloning/reskinning/mirroring practices used lately more wide in the industry. But then again, show us a Studio that has not even 1 reskin game in its library!
In this line of thinking, we should mention that since its debut title – Arctic Valour slot (2019) until 2022, CTS has delivered 16 projects on the Microgaming portal, 3 of which are a reskin of previous productions.
- 3 Devils Pinball slot is a reskin of Queen of the Crystal Rays
- Rainbow Re-spins is a reskin of 777 Mega Deluxe slot and the one that provoked our deep dive:
- Golden Hook game is a reskin of The Incredible Balloon Machine.
We don’t have the connections to find out if CTS considers the initial titles a success, so they’ve put the time and effort into replicating them or what other reason is behind this. Dear reader, feel free to investigate and inform us later – share it in our comments section.
Golden Hook game properties
This title is part of the Games (not slots) section in the Crazy Tooth Studio portfolio – meaning the machine has no reels, no paytable, and the gameplay doesn’t include spinning.
But, similar to the perfect Canadian picture painted at the beginning of our article, in the video game, the water is full of fish (some even leaping out of the water), and the angler should be continually pleased.
The bettor has only 1 task in this game push and hold the Spin button and wait for anything to get hooked. It becomes more complex, of course – there is a gauge showing 3 colours:
- Red – place your wager,
- Blue – you catch nothing or a dead fish (lose your bet),
- Green – you catch a fish with a value, which progressively grows right in front of you – WiNCREASE ™ engine (while you still navigate with the Spin button). Here 2 variants of actions can follow:
A) Collect, and B) Hold the button a while longer (up to 5 sec).
The ticklish matter comes from holding the fish too long – then the already inflated amount can be lost (the rod breaks, and you lose). So, the key is to find the golden middle.
If fear and greed had their index rendering up to 100 (where 0 shows excellent fear, and 100 – excessive greed), you must strive for a score of 50, i.e. neutral, where neither greed nor fear wins.
CTS embedded in the Golden Hook game the following technical components:
- betting range up to 40 CAD;
- hit rate – over 41%;
- Medium Volatility (suitable for a large group of bettors)
- Variable RTP of 96.75% by default and 2 other custom variants of 94.17% and 92.17%
- Maximum winning outlook (according to the producer) of over 3000x the total bet.
- Multipliers up to 10x in the main game and x2 in the Bonus Catch (Mini-game).
It is a point of perception: to find this game refreshing – different from the ordinary spinning slots, or like a glass-half-empty person – to find it boring/wretched/pathetic (not our words). The Golden Hook game is unlikely to become one of those you return to every day.
But in middle-length sessions, this can be quite an enjoyable pastime bringing modest profits. It doesn’t require a fishing license and/or specific skills to angle. Just keep in mind, a little fish in the basket is worth more than an almost caught great haul.
All players with a penchant for outdoorsy experiments will be in the right address with the Golden Hook game. You can launch it for free (using the link on our page) or with real credits (singing up with our featured casinos).
Bonus Features of the Golden Hook game
- Multiplier – Once a fish is hooked, there is a chance for a random Multiplier with values of 2x/3x/4x/5x/7x/10x. The numbers pop up out of the water, and the slot will bestow your win with 1 of them.
- Golden Hook Bonus – At random, a Big Golden Fish jumps in front of the water, trying to get hooked. If it works, the perspective transitions to underwater, where various fishes are for grabs. The Bonus is time-sensitive (active until the orange bar gets full), and besides big and small fishes, a Big Red Crab is delivering x2 Multiplier to the total amount. The Mini-game concludes when the Crab is picked up or the time is over.
Settings
- Provider – Crazy Tooth Studio (Microgaming)
- Payments on – 1 (rod)
- Volatility – Medium
- The default range of bets – 0.20 to 40 CAD
- The maximum winning is – 3082x the total bet
- Bonuses – Multipliers, Bonus Mini-game with Multipliers
- Free Spins – No
- RTP – 96.75% (by default)
