Introduction to Shark Feast
Shark Feast is a casino slot from Play’n GO set in the deep blue sea where the king around these corals is the gold-toothed shark, Jawsome Joe. We’re no strangers to fish-themed games, and especially not shark-themed games, as we usually see one or two pop up every now and then. Often, these games like to portray sharks as these bloodthirsty killers that many want to believe they are, as seen with games like Slotmill’s Shark Frenzy, Hacksaw Gaming’s Jaws of Justice, or Push Gaming’s beloved Razor Shark series. But as most people know nowadays, sharks aren’t really as dangerous as they often are made out to be, and sometimes we even see some more silly and fun shark-themed games, with slots like Relax Gaming’s Shark Wash, or this review’s subject, Shark Feast. But we do want to point out that Jawsome Joe here still enjoys his, more than occasional, bite of fish, even going so far as to take bites of the playing grid, leaving Chomp Multipliers behind, and even sneaking into parties with a disguise during the different Free Spin Bonus Games, and maybe taking home the max win of 40,000X the bet.
Under the sea is where you’ll meet Jawsome Joe, who will contribute with Helper Symbols, Chomp Multipliers, and 3 different Free Spins features to keep the Cascades and wins going strong. If you want to try out the game for yourself, be sure to check out the Shark Feast demo.
Theme, Gameplay, & Payouts
Shark Feast is a video slot from Play’n GO with 6 Reels, 5 Rows, and uses Scatter Pay mechanics, needing a minimum of 8+ of the same symbols anywhere to form a win. You can choose between making a Min.bet of 0.2 and a Max.bet of 800. Shark Feast comes with an average RTP of 96.2% and high volatility, which makes wins explosive, where you have chances at long Cascades and huge Chomp Multipliers, and you might even hit the huge max win of 40,000X the bet.
When you enter the game, you find yourself among a school of fish that gets spooked by Jawsome Joe, who just wants a little nibble. Set on the ocean floor, fish will pass through the playing grid, with Joe taking a few bites out of it, leaving Chomp Multipliers behind. However, it all gets a bit different during the bonus games, as they’re set at a fish party, where Joe isn’t invited, so he decides to don a disguise as he mingles with his next meal. You can play the game on most notepads, mobiles, and desktops.
The lower-paying symbols are various seashells and underwater creatures, ranging from the blue conch, the pink shell, the green starfish, the orange shell, and the purple conch. Creating a win with 12 or more of the same symbols will pay out 1X to 1.25X the bet. The higher-paying symbols are the blue fish, the pink shrimp, the green jellyfish, and the orange crab. Landing a win with 12 or more of the same symbols pays out 2X to 4X the bet. The Special Symbols are Wilds, Scatters, and the various Helper Symbols, which we will go into more detail about in the Feature section.
Special Features & Mechanics
What is the max win in the slot Shark Feast?
You can win up to 40,000X the bet.
What features are available in the slot Shark Feast?
The features are Wild Symbols, Cascade, Chomp Multipliers, Helper Symbols, Free Spins, and Go Ultra Mode.
Wild Symbols
Wild Symbols help form winning combinations by being able to substitute for all symbols except Scatter and Helper Symbols.
Cascades
Whenever you land a win, the winning symbols will be removed from the playing grid, allowing new symbols to fall in from above to fill in the empty positions. This has the possibility to continue creating new wins, and the Cascades will keep on going until no more wins can be made, thus ending the spin.
Chomp Multipliers
After creating a win, each cleared position will receive a Chomp Multiplier, starting at 2X, and each additional win on that position will double the multiplier up to a maximum of 2,048X. Chomp Multipliers will reset at the start of a new spin.
Helper Symbols
Helper Symbols can show up on any spin or Cascade, and will trigger a bonus effect depending on the Helper Symbol, and these are:
Bubble Symbol = Bubble Symbols will transform into any regular symbol and reveal a Chomp Multiplier ranging from 2X to 8X. If there already is a Chomp Multiplier, the new value is multiplied by the existing one.
Expansion Bubble Symbol = Expansion Bubble Symbols will turn into a regular symbol and add Chomp Multipliers to all matching symbols currently on the playing grid.
Crunch! Symbol = When a Crunch! Symbol lands, it will clear a 3x3 area around its position, removing all symbols except Scatters and Wilds. Cleared positions will receive Chomp Multipliers or double any current Chomp Multipliers.
Free Spins
There are 3 types of Free Spins, which are awarded depending on the number of Scatter Symbols that triggered the feature. On top of this, there are also 3 types of Upgrades you can be awarded before starting the bonus game, and they are as follows:
Expansion Bubbles Upgrade = All Bubble Helper Symbols turn into Expansion Bubble Symbols for the remainder of the bonus game.
Crunch! Upgrade = All Crunch! Symbols clear a 5x5 area around the symbol.
Lucky Voucher Upgrade = Lucky Voucher Symbols now give +2 extra spins instead of +1 spin.
By landing 3, 4, or 6 Scatter Symbols will award you with a different Free Spins feature.
3 Scatter Symbols = Award the Jelly Fish Festival Free Spins bonus game, giving you 7 spins and one Upgrade Ticket before the feature starts.
4 Scatter Symbols = Award the Deep Sea Fiesta Free Spins bonus game, giving you 8 spins and two Upgrade Tickets before the feature starts.
5 Scatter Symbols = Award the Aqua Beat Carnival Free Spins bonus game, giving you 10 spins and three Upgrade Tickets before the feature starts.
Go Ultra Mode
The Go Ultra Mode can be turned on at any time between base game spins, which will start every spin with Chomp Multipliers locked in the center of the playing grid, starting at 2X, however, at the cost of increasing your current bet by 50%.
Final Thoughts on Shark Feast
Shark Feast is a vibrant, fun-looking game that sadly doesn’t do much to step out of its safe zone, as that is exactly what its visuals are, safe, and boring for that matter. We love some comedic tones in our games, and Jawsome Joe is a fun character to be present in the game, and Play’n GO even uses him as a meme in the game’s information tab, which screams to us that this game is not to be taken seriously. But, while in the bonus game, Joe will even dress up in a wig and pink dress to infiltrate a party, in the base game, there are very few interesting visuals to really engage and immerse us in the game. From a first glance, this game looks and feels very much like any other fish or shark-themed game, but underneath the crystal blue water is a slot that tries its hand to be a highly volatile, Cascading game filled with Multipliers with comedic tones, but might be lacking a bit on the latter. So, let us move over to discuss this gameplay in a bit more detail.
Starting with our stats, Shark Feast comes with an average RTP of 96.2% and a high max win of 40,000X the bet. It’s quite clear that this game is based around its Chomp Multipliers, as you will probably have to try and hunt down the maximum Multipliers of 2,048X before you start getting close to the max win, which makes the game incredibly volatile. These Chomp Multipliers are fun to play around with, however, the feature isn’t exactly new and is something we’ve seen pop up more and more over the years, since it really started gaining traction in games such as Sugar Rush, released in 2022 by Pragmatic Play. To keep the Multipliers alive, we have Helper Symbols, which, well, help create wins by either transforming into other symbols or removing unwanted symbols with additional Chomp Multipliers, which works fine in the base game, at best. It’s not until we enter the Free Spins feature that Chomp Multipliers really shine, as now they’re persistent between spins, and with the possibilities with one or more Helper Symbol Upgrades, you have even more possibilities of keeping the Cascades going. All of these features come together to create an extremely volatile game that, while it has a few features, ultimately rests on the Chomp Multipliers and Cascades, which might be the deciding factor for players if they really enjoy the game or not. We had a fun time with Shark Feasts, but we can see a few flaws in both its presentation and the balance between the various features. But don’t let that discourage you, as we still believe this game can offer a great slot experience.
Shark Feast is a slot where you meet Jawsome Joe, leaving Chomp Multipliers behind him as he eats up the playing grid for chances at hitting the max win of 40,000X the bet.
