If you’re a fan of the original Thunderstruck slot, you may be tempted to jump straight in and start playing the sequel straight away!
However, it’s important to note that these are two mechanically very different games. The sequel is a 243-payline slot whereas the first game has 9 fixed betways and less winning combinations.
The good news is that you’ll still be able to toggle between different coin values in order to determine your total stake per spin, although you won’t have the option to choose how many paylines you’d like to activate.
Instead, you’ll start by choosing a coin value of between 0.01 and 0.05, before selecting a fixed number of coins to stake (between one and 10).
These decisions create a betting range of between £0.30 and £15 and, whilst this may seem a little small in comparison to some slots, it’s important to remember that there are some healthy multipliers on offer during the base game and bonus rounds.
The Thunderstruck II logo is the game’s wild symbol and pays out at 1,000-times your stake in instances where you land five on adjacent reels, for example, meaning that you can bank a maximum of 15,000 coins during the base game alone!
On a final note, it’s also important to remember that this slot boasts a ‘Bet Max’ feature at the bottom of the screen.
This automatically optimises your stake amount ahead of every single spin, and we’d recommend that you utilise this during lucrative bonus rounds and when the biggest multipliers are on offer (we’ll have a little more on this below!).
Whilst there are some slots that boast a larger number of bonus rounds, Thunderstruck II has focused primarily on quality over quantity.
This is definitely evident when you unlock the aptly-named Wildstorm feature, which leads to a deceptively lucrative period of gameplay that supports the game’s main bonus round!
The Wildstorm bonus can be triggered randomly during the base game and revolves around the iconic Thunderstruck II logo wild symbol.
This symbol can substitute for almost all other icons on the five reels to forge new and unexpected winning combinations.
Keep in mind though that the logo ceases to be wild during the Wildstorm bonus round, as once this has been triggered, you’ll notice a significant on-screen transformation take place. More specifically, at least one of the five reels will turn completely wild at this time, creating potentially huge winning combinations and massive multipliers.
During this bonus, it’s also possible for all five of the game’s reels to turn completely wild, and it’s at this time that the top prize of 2.4 million coins is available so long as you’ve staked the maximum amount.
We’ve already touched on the role of Thor’s Hammer, which is the slot’s scatter symbols and can unlock the coveted Great Hall of Spins.
In fact, landing three or more of the scatters across the five reels will kick start this bonus round, which is home to four distinct features that have been built around each of the four, high-paying Nordic Gold symbols.
So, here’s a breakdown of the four free spin features and a little insight into how and when they’ll be triggered:
Once all of the Gods have been unlocked, you’ll have the autonomy to choose your favourite one the next time you trigger the Great Hall of Spins feature.
This is a huge boon, and there’s no doubt that you can rake in some huge wins once you’ve triggered the Great Hall of Spins feature for the very first time.
With a 5 reel, 3 rows and 243 Paylines layout, Thunderstruck has 243 ways to win and this is something that adds real excitement to the slot game. Additionally, Thunderstruck 2 has medium volatility and a return to player of 96.65%.
Despite the differences between fixed payline slots and those with 243 (or more) ways to win, the most important technical aspect of gameplay is the bet limits in place.
After all, winnings in 243-payline slots are calculated as multipliers of your initial stake, so the amount that you wager will have a direct impact on the value of individual winning combinations.
There’s also a relatively wide betting range on offer to players, who can wager a minimum of £0.30 and a maximum of £15 during the base game and bonus rounds.
OK, we hear you ask, but how exactly do these betting limits impact on my potential returns? Of course, this partially depends on the value of the winning combinations that you land, but the slot’s paytable enables you to quickly calculate the multipliers associated with different symbols.
For example, let’s say that you land five of the iconic Thor symbols on adjacent reels. This will payout at a multiplier of 500-times your stake, meaning that players who stake the minimum of £0.30 will bank a total of £150 in purely financial terms.
Conversely, high-rollers who stake the maximum of £15 per spin will boost their bankroll considerably with this winning combination, landing a lucrative cash prize of £7,500.
Whilst neither of these prizes are negligible, we can see the direct influence that your stake amount has on the value of various winning combinations.
However, it’s important to remain within your financial means at all times, so don’t be afraid to stake smaller amounts in order to make your bankroll go further (particularly with some of the base game and bonus round multipliers on offer).
Coins Bet: 1 |
Minimum Stake: €0.30 Maximum Stake: €1.50 |
---|---|
Coins Bet: 2 |
Minimum Stake: €0.60 Maximum Stake: €3.00 |
Coins Bet: 3 |
Minimum Stake: €0.90 Maximum Stake: €4.50 |
Coins Bet: 4 |
Minimum Stake: €1.20 Maximum Stake: €6.00 |
Coins Bet: 5 |
Minimum Stake: €1.50 Maximum Stake: €7.50 |
Coins Bet: 6 |
Minimum Stake: €1.80 Maximum Stake: €9.00 |
Coins Bet: 7 |
Minimum Stake: €2.10 Maximum Stake: €10.50 |
Coins Bet: 8 |
Minimum Stake: €2.40 Maximum Stake: €12.00 |
Coins Bet: 9 |
Minimum Stake: €2.70 Maximum Stake: €13.50 |
Coins Bet: 10 |
Minimum Stake: €3.00 Maximum Stake: €15.00 |
This leads us neatly on the maximum win, which varies depending on the precise stage of the game that you’re in.
If we take the base game as an example, you’ll see that landing five of the Thunderstruck II wild symbols on adjacent reels offers the highest multiplier of 1,000-times your stake. So, at the maximum stake of £15 your spin, you could bank a cool £15,000 with a single winning combination.
The value of winning combinations in the Great Hall of Spins will vary wildly, however, depending on the feature that you’ve unlocked and the multipliers that are in play.
The slot’s biggest win is reserved for the aforementioned Wildstorm feature, however, with a staggering 2.4 million coins on offer in instances where all five of the game’s reels turn wild simultaneously.
Thunderstruck II is now more than nine years’ old, and yet, despite this, the game’s graphics have remained relevant in the digital age.
This slot has also benefitted from several software updates during the last few years, the last of which was rolled out in 2018.
This ensured that the game was powered by Flash and HTML5 technology, enabling players to access it seamlessly through both desktop and mobile browsers.
So, regardless of whether you’re accessing an instant play casino or a native app on Android or iOS, you’ll be able to play Thunderstuck II in top quality.
Fans of modern slots may consider Thunderstruck II to be a little outdated, as, despite regular software updates, the graphics are not as crisp as some players would like.
However, this should not distract you from the high-quality gameplay on offer here that makes this an immersive slot that has built a large cult following over the course of the last decade.
Whether you’re enjoying the base game or benefitting from five-times multipliers in iconic Great Hall of Spins, Thunderstruck II is an exceptional slot game that manages to combine a competitive RTP rate with a maximum payout of 2.4 million coins!
This makes for a compelling game with an enduringly popular theme that brings excitement, mystique and energy in equal measure.
Ultimately, whilst there may be more modern and eye-catching slots on offer in the iGaming market, few can match the depth and status of Microgaming’s Thunderstruck II. In fact, we can’t be alone in hoping that we see a Thunderstruck III unveiled at some point in the future!
We know that there’s similar games to Thunderstuck II, not least because this slot is a sequel that borrowed heavily from an original title.
It’s also fair to say that the slot gaming market is awash with popular, Viking-themed titles, most of which combine high-octane gameplay and exceptional graphics with mid to high-variance gameplay.
Vikings Go Berserk is a particular favourite, whilst this was also a hotly-anticipated sequel to the popular ‘Vikings Go Wild’ title.
Vikings of Fortune is another popular slot in the genre, although this is arguably a little more cartoonish than some of its competitors.
We know that there’s similar games to Thunderstuck II, not least because this slot is a sequel that borrowed heavily from an original title.
It’s also fair to say that the slot gaming market is awash with popular, Viking-themed titles, most of which combine high-octane gameplay and exceptional graphics with mid to high-variance gameplay.
Vikings Go Berserk is a particular favourite, whilst this was also a hotly-anticipated sequel to the popular ‘Vikings Go Wild’ title.
Vikings of Fortune is another popular slot in the genre, although this is arguably a little more cartoonish than some of its competitors.