4 Fantastic Vikings Go Ice Fishing

The age of the Vikings reigned on for around 300 years, beginning way back in the latter stages of the 8th Century; a time that brought catastrophic changes of ruling across much of Europe and beyond, through unapologetic pillaging, raiding and, ultimately, colonization.

The gruesome methods of takeover used back then would be no less than frowned upon by today’s standards, as countless dwellings were torched to the ground, populations butchered, slaves captured and riches plundered, as hordes of attacks were made possible by sea crossings in long boats by the thousands.

Whilst this ghastly bunch may come across in a relatively bad light, still to this day, millions of us likely have the Vikings to thank for even being here in the first place, with ancestral links continuing to run strong, and let’s not forget the widening of trade networks, primitive city foundations and new land exploration that all came as a result.

4 Fantastic Vikings Go Ice Fishing Base Game Play

With such a widespread impact in such a short space of time, these bloodthirsty warriors clearly would have taken some feeding to keep up optimised energy levels, and with all of that ocean-fairing travel, the ability to catch fish would have been a crucial part of day-to-day life, an activity only emphasised by the 2024 collaboration between online slot studios 4ThePlayer and Yggdrasil Gaming, who placed both of their most notorious series head-to-head with the release of “4 Fantastic Vikings Go Fishing“.

The “4 Fantastic” and “Vikings Go” sagas have long been staples in each provider’s back catalogue, with multiple sequels still being released to this day, yet the combination of the two made for some grueling action, as Berzerk Vikings utilised their enhancers to net as many fish as possible, with the outcome being widely well-received by players around.

Almost exactly a year on, the pairing makes their warranted return, as the icy weather of the Nordic fjords draws in, with the release of “4 Fantastic Vikings Go Ice Fishing“; a 6 reel 4 row game offering up punchy, familiar gameplay with a few chilling additions for good measure.

The game grid takes its place in a rather frosty environment, with snow-covered mountains reaching tall, as the crystal blue waters lap against the side of the long boat reel matrix.

The usual group of Vikings line the top of the reels, as a variety of Fish Money symbols take their place within the grid, offering up the chances of activating the Money Ways feature during play.

With Big Game prizes also up for grabs, as well as the inclusion of traditional appearances from the Mighty Kraken and Shark, a medium to high volatility math model takes the reins, alongside a 94% RTP and max win potential capped at 10,240x bet.

Let’s head straight into the action as we check out all of the key rules and features in more detail…

4 Fantastic Vikings Go Ice Fishing Offers Players 4,096 Ways to Win

4 Fantastic Vikings Go Ice Fishing Base Game and Features

Win spins are formed by combining 3 or more matching symbols (or 2 or more of the game’s 3 highest-paying symbols) from left to right, across adjacent reels, over any of the 4,096 ways to win.

10 regular paying symbols make up the selection, consisting of low-paying Coins, octopus and seagull, worth up to 2.5x bet for a line of 6 matching symbols, and 5 high-paying characters paying between 3x and 10x bet for 6 matching symbols.

Wild symbols are also included, substituting for any regular paying symbol and able to land on any reel other than the left-most.

Land Giant Ice Blox Symbols and Activate the Mighty Kraken to Form Money Ways Wins

Money Ways

Cash Prize symbols may land on any reel, taking the form of Fish or Big Game symbols.

Each reel sees Cash Prize symbols land with progressively higher values, with reel 1 able to award up to 1.8x bet, and reel 6 up to 50x bet.

Additionally, Reel 6 may also host any of the 4 Big Game Prize symbols, consisting of the BIG (10x), SUPER (250x), MEGA (1,000x) and ULTRA (5,000x).

Cash Prize symbols act as regular paying symbols, and when landing 3 or more across adjacent reels, all values included are added together and paid out as a win.

Mighty Kraken Feature

During base game play, 1 or more Giant Ice Blox may land on the reels, taking the size format of 2×2 or larger.

Landing one or more Giant Ice Blox symbols on the reels may activate the Mighty Kraken feature, whereby the Mighty Kraken breaks up the Giant Ice Blox into individual 1×1 symbols, each revealing a Cash Prize symbol.

The Mighty Kraken may then swap one or more revealed prize symbols with other symbols within the game grid, in order to form a Money Ways win or improve an existing win.

Trigger the Fighting Respins Bonus Game by Landing 3 or More Scatter Symbols

Fighting Respins Bonus

Landing 3 or more scatters during the same game round triggers the Fighting Respins Bonus game, awarding 3 initial respins.

At the beginning of the feature, all reels that possessed a triggering scatter begin open, with the remainder locked.

Additionally, any Cash Prize symbols landing on the triggering spin are transferred through to the bonus, locking in place on their respective reels.

During the respins, each new Cash Prize symbol that lands on an open reel locks into place and resets the spin counter back to 3.

Landing a scatter symbol on a locked reel during any respin, opens it up for the remainder of the round.

Completely filling an open reel with Cash Prize symbols activates the Shark feature, swimming up the reel and multiplying each value by x2.

All values are then collected and stored within the highest row position available, allowing fresh Cash Prize symbols to land below.

During the bonus, 1×1 Ice Blox symbols are also active and, upon landing on an open reel, display a prize value that increases with each respin.

Should the Shark feature trigger on a reel containing an Ice Blox prize, the Ice Blox transforms into a normal Cash Prize symbol, before being collected and multiplied.

At random, the Mighty Kraken feature may trigger during any respin, which sees the Mighty Kraken move a Cash Prize symbol from a locked reel to an open reel.

During Fighting Respins, Land Cash Prize Symbols on Open Reels for Instant Prize Awards and Multipliers

Viking Fights

During the Fighting Respins bonus, reels 2 to 6 possess a designated Viking character, displayed above the game grid.

Landing a Viking character symbol within its corresponding reel activates a fight which, if won, activates a unique, enhancing feature…

• Cash Collector – collects all active prizes in view, displaying the new value and locking into position.
• Cash Incrementor – increases all active Cash Prizes by a value of between 2x to 15x bet, before locking into place as a Cash Prize with its initial incrementor value.
• Cash Multiplier – adds a random multiplier value of between 2x to 20x to one or more reel positions.  Any Cash Prize symbol that lands on a multiplied position sees its initial value multiplied by the multiplier.
• Cash Nets – creates a net on one or more reel positions, with a Cash Prize symbol guaranteed on the next respin.
• Extra Respins – adds an additional number of respins to the counter.  Whilst the spin count is greater than 3, landing symbols on the reels will not reset the spin counter.

Collect Viking Coins During Base Game Play to Trigger the Respin Bonus with Berzerk Vikings

Viking Coins Bonus Trigger

During base game play, Viking character symbols may land on the reels displaying a Coin overlay.

Each Coin is collected into the corresponding Viking above the reels, with the chance of randomly triggering the Fighting Respins bonus game.

Multiple Vikings are able to trigger the Bonus at once.

When one or more Vikings trigger the Fighting Respins bonus, they become Berzerk, guaranteed to win each fight triggered throughout the round.

Triggering the bonus in this way begins the respins with reels 1 and 2 unlocked, as well as any reels possessing a Berzerk Viking.

Triggering the feature with a Berzerk Walrus Viking, begins the round with reels 1, 2 and 3 unlocked.

Feature Buy

An assortment of 3 feature buy options has been included within play, which players may opt to utilise should they choose…

• Fighting Respin Bonus – at the cost of 125x bet, triggering the bonus with the chance of Berzerk Vikings.
• Mega Respin Bonus – at the cost of 500x bet, triggering the bonus with all 5 Vikings Berzerk.
• Mighty Kraken Spin – at the cost of 20x bet, guaranteeing the Mighty Kraken feature to activate with a Giant Ice Blox.

All feature buy options come with a fixed RTP of 94%.

Berzerk Viking Characters are Guaranteed to Win Fights During the Fighting Respins Bonus, Allowing for Enhanced Features and Returns

First Impression

As mentioned during the introduction, both the “4 Fantastic” and “Vikings Go” series remain absolute staples within both 4ThePlayer’s and Yggdrasil Gaming’s arsenal, continuing to show progress with each and every new sequel released.

The popularity of all titles involved is more than warranted, with hearty, dynamic gameplay to be found, and the complementary factors between the two were more than magnified with the release of 4 Fantastic Vikings Go Fishing, which saw the best of both sagas come into fruition as historic raiders and slippery sea-dwellers joined forces with volatile results.

4 Fantastic Vikings Go Ice Fishing arrives as a very respectable sequel, opting not to head out into overly choppy waters, in terms of overall changes to mechanics, but instead to adapt to the cooler climates of the Nordic fjords with the additions of one or two worthy inclusions.

The first to note is the Giant Ice Blox feature, Cash Prize values taking the format of 2×2, or larger, symbols during base game play.

Landing the Giant Ice Blox symbols can trigger the Mighty Kraken, coming along to smash up blocks and switch symbols around, in order to combine a Money Ways win, or enhance a pre-existing win.

Ice Blox also play a handy role during the Fighting Respin Bonus, landing on an open reel and increasing in value with each respin that passes.

It may not sound the most over-zealous of features, yet by delivering an in-themed method of awarding additional rewards, few could argue against its overall appearance.

The second noticeable change is the arrival of the Walrus Viking, bringing the total number of Vikings up to 5, from 4 as previously seen.

Obviously, with an additional character comes the additional potential of the Respins Bonus, with increased chances of more Bezerk Vikings and features activating throughout.

3 Feature Buy choices have also made the cut, as 4ThePlayer opt to include a lower-value option in the form of the Mighty Kraken Spin, alongside the traditional Bonus Buy and Super Bonus buy, offering up an enhanced range for players to utilise to get straight into the action.

The only true downsides to potentially note are the lower end RTP of 94%, though fans of both studios can likely overlook that figure by this point, and the slight reduction in overall max win return…down from 12,500x bet, as found in the game’s predecessor, to a more moderate 10,240x bet, second time around, although it has to be stated that some tinkering with the maths has allowed for certain in-game features to increase in frequency, as a result, so perhaps not all that bad.

The remainder stays strong and true to both studios, with stunning visuals and theming throughout, in-keeping features that complement to a tee and a Respin-style bonus that is certain to unleash chills into even the hottest of heads out there!

They say teamwork makes the dream work, and hats off to another strong collaboration, with the likelihood of more to follow…

The screenshots taken of games reviewed on this site are taken from Demo Play, as reviews are often written before games are released for real play.