Fish ‘n’ Nudge

Fish 'n' Nudge: Slot Overview

The connection between online slots and fishing is so popular these days it's developed an almost symbiotic existence. Or parasitic, depending on your viewpoint. It might take a doctoral thesis to explore quite why these two seemingly unrelated topics have become so intimately intertwined and why every other software provider and their rod is leaping enthusiastically on the bandwagon. We could be overthinking the situation, of course, and perhaps it's simply because fishing slots are (or can be) fun, full stop. Let's put the philosophical musings aside for now as we plough into another angling slot where fish prize symbols can be collected by nets or fishermen – in the base game or bonus round, where free spins are indefinitely awarded.

Fish 'n' Nudge comes from Push Gaming, a studio that has built impressive oceanic credentials through the release of salty slots Razor Shark and Razor Returns. As we go through the review, you may notice some links between the three games - faint ones, though, since Fish 'n' Nudge delivers a unique form of action. As tradition dictates, Fish 'n' Nudge takes place out in the briny, the majority of the screen depicting an underwater scene with a snippet of the surface up top. Bubbles drift upwards, weeds wave, and a relaxing underwater tune doggy paddles around in the background – in stark contrast to the blast of energy that may occur when scatter symbols are landing.

Time to cast off, which means picking a stake of 10 p/c to $/€100 and choosing whether or not to engage the Push Bet. What the Push Bet does is increase the stake by 20% to increase the chance of winning the feature by 42%. With the Push Bet off, Fish 'n' Nudge's default RTP is 96.4%; with it on, that figure pips upwards to 96.41%. In both scenarios, the math model is medium volatile, though after a playthrough, the game came across more as being powered by a highly volatile math model rather than just medium (though it can be hard to tell between a limited number of sessions). It's played on a 5-reel gaming matrix with 4 rows per reel and 20 lines for win evals.

Sea shells make up the 4 low pay symbols, followed by 2 hook symbols, fish, a fishing rod, and a tackle box. Landing a 5-symbol winning combination made up of the shells gets you 1 to 1.5 times the bet, the hooks pay 7.5 to 10 times the bet, while the final 3 symbols are worth up to 20 to 40 times the bet. The Fisherman symbol lands on all reels and has the same value as the tackle box when creating wins. However, the Fisherman is wild, too, so it substitutes for all symbols except the scatter or the Net symbol.

Fish 'n' Nudge: Slot Features

The Fisherman can also play a part in collecting fish symbol instant prize values, but he is not the only way they may be collected. Net symbols play the most important role in scooping up fish symbols, which are present in the base game as well as in the free spins round.

Net Symbol

Net Symbols are overlays which frame symbol positions when they appear on the grid. They are present on each reel in stacks of 4 in the base game and in free spins. Like Mystery Seaweed symbols in Razor Shark, after wins are evaluated, and the spin button is pressed, Net Symbols all nudge down by 1 position as the reels spin. This process continues until there are no more Nets on the reels.

Fish Symbols

As well as being able to award line wins, fish symbols land with values of 0.5 to 1,000x the bet. The instant prize attached to fish symbols is awarded when the fish symbol lands in a Net symbol.

Fisherman Symbol

The Fisherman symbol is both wild and an instant prize collector. If a Fisherman Symbol lands in a Net symbol, all of the instant prize values attached to fish symbols in view are collected whether they are in Nets or not. When fish symbols and the Fisherman symbol land in a Net, the fish symbol instant prize is awarded even after being collected by the Fisherman symbol.

Free Spins

In the base game, when 3, 4, or 5 scatter symbols land, the free spins round is awarded with a starting multiplier of 1x, 10x, or 25x, respectively. Net symbols begin the free spins round covering reels 2 and 4. On each spin, the Net symbols nudge down 1 position. For each nudge, the multiplier increases by +1. The multiplier applies to fish symbol instant prize wins. New Net symbols may land, and the free spins round ends when no more Net symbols are in view. The final nudge down will not increase the multiplier.

Bonus Buy

Clicking the star button presents four bonus buy options:

• Free spins triggered by 3 scatters with an initial multiplier of 1x for 42x the bet (RTP 96.23%).
• Free spins triggered by 4 scatters with an initial multiplier of 10x for 87x the bet (RTP 96.99%).
• Free spins triggered by 5 scatters with an initial multiplier of 25x for 163x the bet (RTP 96.25%).
• Free spins triggered by a random number of scatters for 100x the bet (RTP 96.7%).

Fish 'n' Nudge: Slot Verdict

Push Gaming might not be watermen or waterwomen to the level of Pragmatic Play/Reel Kingdom and their monumentally popular Big Bass Bonanza phenomenon, but Fish 'n' Nudge isn't the first time Push Gaming has got its feet wet in the sea. However, Fish 'n' Nudge is the first time Push Gaming has used an instant prize collector mechanic. As you might expect from a studio as creative as PG, the team has thought up quite a unique way of deploying the collection mechanic. We say quite unique because whilst it doesn't stick to the Fishin' Frenzy method like glue, it mixes in elements of Razor Shark/Razor Returns' nudging seaweed Mystery symbols.

Like those games, Fish 'n' Nudge was pretty darn volatile as well. Bonus rounds could be hugely hit or miss. It's not hard to see this one sparking interest amongst bonus buy players. Buying isn't a requirement since the Push Bet technically helps trigger the feature, too, but the way the win multiplier starts at much higher levels when 4 or 5 scatter symbols trigger them makes them a lot more desirable. Max win is high for these sorts of games at 10,000x the bet, too. However, fans of Big Bass Bonanza games, more casual gamblers, let's say, may not appreciate Fish 'n' Nudge's extra bite. Fish 'n' Nudge felt like, and we are speaking very broadly here, a game which distributes either low or high returns and fewer hits in the middle band that a regular fishy instant prize collection game may do. In staying that, When Fish 'n' Nudge pulls its gaming components together and fires, the adrenalised results could be mesmerisingly good.

It's been an interesting year for Push Gaming. The studio has let loose outstanding follow-ups, and dropped some great new slots while also attempting to broaden its fan base by releasing arguably more mainstream-minded games like 10 Swords with its 9 Masks element, Goat Getter, Push Gaming's first scatter pays slot, and now Fish 'n' Nudge, which goes after the fish themed instant cash prize sector. True to form, Push Gaming has crafted a slot that entertains in a unique and potentially thrilling way, though one which may come as a shock for players expecting a straight Fishin' Frenzy-type experience.