While gameplay, graphics and special features are all important things, the main reason everyone plays slots is for the chance to win big. If a slot has proven to be great at paying out big wins, people will stay loyal to it, no matter how old the graphics, or how boring it may be to play. So is it really that surprising to see that developers just embrace that theme and run with it? Cash Cave brazenly flaunts all of that materialism in our faces, alongside high volatility gameplay, a 100x jackpot for a five-of-a-kind Scatter win, and two free spins bonuses dedicated gamblers may find themselves uncovering after a lot of cash spent.
When it comes to cold, hard cash, you really can’t go wrong, or so we thought. You go through the symbols, and it all fits. Gorgeous diamonds, red dice for high stakes gambling, stacks of cash, gold plates and a dollar sign, even a Scatter with lots and lots of stacked poker chips. And then you get to the Wild, which is a half-naked anthropomorphic bear holding a stack of cash and making a suggestive face at the player, and leaves us wondering what exactly happened at Ainsworth for them to think this was a good inclusion. Given the opulent, cash-heavy focus of the title, it would have been easier, and more thematically fitting, to just toss in something else relating to wealth. But instead, we’re stuck with a creepy humanoid bear that really has no business being here. This is a big minus from us. The gameplay still follows the same formula as before with chasing bonuses, but thanks to the higher volatility here, you have bigger risks towards your winnings, but also bigger rewards if you succeed.
The first bonus is a regular free spins one, which is activated by collecting three or more Scatters and rewards ten free spins. The weird bear appears on the second, third, fourth and fifth reel and the more bear Wilds are used to substitute a win, the higher that win is multiplied according to the Bear multiplier table. The Cash Cave bonus is an extension of the free spins – it can only be activated once the other feature is already triggered, and you need to collect three or more Cash Cove symbols. Once you do, it rewards five additional free spins, and all remaining extra turns become Cash Cove free games. The only difference here is that the bear can bring higher multipliers than during the free spins – but it also means the paytable is further lowered as a means of balancing things.
We have to admit, this is the second time we’ve reviewed an Ainsworth title that does this, and we don’t like it one bit. Bonuses are meant to feel strong and profitable, and lowering the amount of pays symbols reward is the wrong way to go about things. We’d rather start with weaker pays and upgrade than the other way around. As it stands right now, Cash Cave is an alright title, though one we really can’t recommend to you.
