Thunderstruck Wild Lightning

Mighty Thor returns for another intense reel battle on the slot from Stormcraft Studios powered by Microgaming. Thunderstruck Wild Lightning is the next addition to the immensely popular Thunderstruck franchise that originally started in 2003. A highly volatile reel voyage to the Norse lands awaits, featuring wild substitutions, a random Wild Storm, four free spins modes with retriggers and multipliers as well as a Link&Win bonus game that can lead to wins of up to 15,000 times your bet.

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Slot Details

Thunderstruck Wild Lightning is a video slot with five reels, four rows and 40 fixed pay lines. Wins are awarded for three to five matching symbols landing on a line from left to right only. You can face the mighty Thor on desktop, tablet or mobile from 0.20 to 16 credits per spin. The game has high volatility with a default RTP of 96.10%. Beware, lower RTP settings at 94.00% or 92.00% are offered. Check the help files to find out which version you will be playing.

The visuals are rather basic but fitting for the theme. The scenery is changing in colour and location based on the gameplay and features. They range from a dark thundery sky in the base game to an ominous forest scene in the Vanaheim Free Spins. Watch out for the various elaborate visual animations on triggers, big wins and teaser spins. Two small displays on the left (desktop) will keep you informed on the progress for two of the main features while a suspenseful soundtrack accompanies the usual reel and win count noises.

The pay symbols start at the low end with rune-style card royals from 9 through to A, awarding 2x to 3x your bet for a single five of a kind. They are followed by five orbs, one for each of the five realms, with a purple, blue, green, orange and fire blazing background. Hit five on a line to win 5x to 25x your stake.

Thor is the wild symbol, substituting for all regular pay symbols while also yielding a respectable 200x your bet for five. During the base game, Thor can appear either single or stacked and will multiply any line win containing a wild by either x2 or x5. Thor’s hammer is the scatter while Thunderball orbs act as the bonus symbol.

Thunderstruck Wild Lightning Slot Features

Thunderstruck and Thunderstruck II are two of the most iconic video slots to ever emanate from the studios of Microgaming. Released in 2003 and 2010 respectively, they have been steady stalwarts in the growing portfolio, building up a sizeable fan community in the process. With such a pedigree, there is even more pressure to create something special for the third title in the series. Microgaming delegated that task to the folks at Stormcraft Studios, who had hits and misses in their past. Reason enough to take a closer look and find out in which category Thunderstruck: Wild Lightning belongs.

The most visible novelty is the format change from a 5×3 size and 9 lines or 243 ways respectively to a 5×4 grid with 40 fixed pay lines, which might disappoint some of the Microgaming purists. The game features are divided into two main parts – a range of free spin modes and a Link&Win bonus game. The maximum win in the free spins is noted with 8,000x your bet while in the bonus game with four fixed jackpots it can reach a lofty 15,000x.

Fans of Thunderstruck II will surely remember the four different free spin modes and will be thrilled to see that the format has been retained, albeit in a different form. Landing three, four or five scatters will trigger the Free Spins Selector while also awarding a coin win of 3x, 20x and 200x your bet respectively. The game will lead to a new screen, displaying the different options and also showing which can be selected as each is unlocked after a specific number of triggers. You can pick any of the features that are unlocked.

1. Jotunheim Free Spins – available as default: Awards 15 Free Spins which can be retriggered. Any wild appearing in a winning combo will multiply the win by a randomly chosen factor of x2, x3 or x5.
2. Vanaheim Free Spins – available from the 5th trigger: Awards 12 Free Spins which can be retriggered. Any wild appearing in a winning combo will multiply the win by a randomly chosen factor of x2, x4 or x6.
3. Alfheim Free Spins – available from the 10th trigger: Awards 9 Free Spins which can be retriggered. Any wild appearing in a winning combo will multiply the win by a randomly chosen factor of x3, x5 or x8.
4. Nidavellir Free Spins – available from the 15th trigger: Awards 6 Free Spins which can be retriggered. Any wild appearing in a winning combo will multiply the win by a randomly chosen factor of x5, x8 or x12.
5. Svartalheim Free Spin – available when collection meter is filled: Awards 1 Free Spin with a guaranteed Wildstorm feature (see below).

And there is more in play in the first 4 modes – the Wild Lightning feature. Any of the free spins rounds can have at the start randomly highlighted positions on the three centre reels. Alternatively, hitting a Thor wild on the middle reels will activate the position it landed on. The feature triggers when a Thor wild appears again in an active position, which will see Thor expanding to full reel height for the current free spin. The triggering position will be removed once it has been used, however, it can be activated again by landing another Thor wild.

If any Thunderstruck II fan missed the Wildstorm feature up to this point, no worries, here is the moment. And it is quite potent as expected and very volatile for good measure. It will become available in the Free Spins Selector on a feature trigger if you have collected 20 scatter pairs during the base game. Keep an eye on the small display to the left (desktop) to see the progress.

The Svartalheim Free Spin is indeed just a single spin but with a guaranteed Wildstorm trigger. One to five reels can turn into stacked wilds, with a full screen awarding a massive 8,000 times your bet. There is one consolation should the feature fail to deliver a win as the collecting meter will be refilled, ready to be unleashed again on your next trigger.

And still not the end. Landing six or more Thunderball bonus symbols on a spin in the base game will trigger the Link&Win Bonus Game with four fixed jackpots – Mini at 25x, Minor at 50x, Major at 150x and Mega at 15,000x bet. The game will lead to a new grid with eight rows and all triggering Thunderball symbols locked in place. Each is marked with a random coin win, usually between 1x and 5x your bet, or any of the three smaller jackpots.

Initially, three spins are awarded to potentially land more Thunderball symbols or any of the smaller jackpots. Any appearing will turn sticky as well and the counter is reset to three. Landing sufficient Thunderball symbols will gradually unlock the extra rows.

• Row 5: Unlocked by a total of 15 sticky Thunderball symbols; includes minimum 6 from the feature trigger.
• Row 6: Unlocked by a total of 20 sticky Thunderball symbols
• Row 7: Unlocked by a total of 25 sticky Thunderball symbols
• Row 8: Unlocked by a total of 30 sticky Thunderball symbols

The bonus game continues until you you either fill the entire screen with Thunderball symbols or run out of spins. All coin wins and smaller jackpots in view will be added and paid in one amount. A full screen will award the Mega Jackpot at 15,000 times your bet. Once concluded, the game will lead back to the default reel set.

Final Verdict

Admittedly, I have been and still am a big fan of Thunderstruck and Thunderstruck II. Both have entertained me truly well over the years although the concepts of the games are miles apart. Yes, they cost me too occasionally but also delivered sizeable wins. So where does that leave Thunderstruck: Wild Lightning?

Generally, Stormcraft Studios did well in preserving the multi- feature approach as well as that intense Wildstorm modifier while also adding a new bonus game to the roster that has an increased max win potential for good measure. Overall, a very playable slot that can hold the balance well in the base game due to the multiplier wilds and has mega win potential in the features.

Thunderstruck: Wild Lightning – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Is Thunderstruck: Wild Lightning offered with RTP ranges?

Yes. Joining the current trend to variable RTP settings, Thunderstruck: Wild Lightning is offered with three possible RTP settings at 96.19%, 94.19% and 91.23%. Operators can choose one value that will be set by Microgaming. We strongly recommend to read the help files to find out which version you will be playing.

2. Can the Wildstorm feature trigger randomly in the base game?

No. While that was the case on Thunderstruck II, on this occasion you will need to collect 20 pairs of scatters in the base game on what we call teaser spins. Once the meter is filled, the feature becomes available on the next 3, 4 or 5-scatter trigger.

3. Where can I play Thunderstruck: Wild Lightning?

As an online gaming pioneer, Microgaming is one of the most widely available game providers at online casinos. Feel free to browse through our extensive list of tested casinos with Microgaming slots in their lobbies.

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