Casino Bonuses
| Provider | Microgaming |
| Reels | 5 |
| Rows | 4 |
| Paylines | 1,024 |
| Bonus Rounds | 1 |
| Bet Range | 0.20 - 25 |
| Volatility | High |
| Max Win | 10,000x |
| Bonus Buy | Yes |
| RTP | 96.10% |
| Our Rating | 8.0 |
Latest Slots
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Game Overview
When I first saw that a new Thunderstruck game was due to be published on Microgaming’s platform, I could barely wait to try the demo slot of the new game. However, my excitement quickly began to fade when I realised that the new game was not actually a Microgaming creation but a product of one of the countless studios that have signed up to publish games using their universal casino interface. This iteration of “Thunderstruck” is a 1,024 pay way game with a 96.10% RTP and a maximum win of 10,000x your bet.
Thunderstruck Stormchaser includes other terms that suggest it was intended as a sequel to Thunderstruck 2, including an identical “Wild Storm” stacked wilds feature. The game also features “Rolling Reels” – the same term used by Microgaming’s own slots to describe a payout mechanic whereby winning combinations are immediately removed from the reels, allowing new symbols to fill the grid and produce several wins from each paid spin. Hitting three or more scatter symbols during the base game will take you to the free spins wheel, allowing you to win up to 25 free spins with a multiplier of up to 12x.
I suspect that there will be many of you that will be keen to see this game, but I will warn you before you do – this game sure looks ugly in comparison to the earlier Thunderstruck slots. That’s my opinion, anyway – our free demo slot of Thunderstruck Stormchaser is available below if you would like to decide for yourself.
Thunderstruck Stormchaser Slot Theme, Stakes, Pays & Symbols
The original Thunderstruck was one of the earliest online slots created by the team over at Microgaming. They were also one of the first companies to develop new games specifically for the online casino market. Thunderstruck was a huge hit with players, and Microgaming took advantage of this by re-skinning the game several times with other themes, such as Ladies Nite and Spring Break, to reach a wider audience. Several years later, the company released a sequel in the form of Thunderstruck II. This follow-up was another huge success for Microgaming and introduced several elements that have since become ubiquitous in the company’s games for the first time. Considering the huge success of both of these slots, it’s surprising that we have Microgaming has not produced any further games in the franchise. The developer’s recent release Jungle Fiesta uses an entirely different theme but is otherwise identical to Thunderstruck 2. If your favourite casino still has Thunderstruck 2, then I would absolutely recommend you play that game. Otherwise, Jungle Fiesta is worth a look.
Considering that Microgaming wasn’t responsible for developing this game, there sure are a lot of similarities between this and previous Thunderstruck games. The highest paying symbol, for example, appears to be Thor and has a payout of 10x your bet for each completed pay way of five-of-a-kind. I’m not sure who the female character in second place is meant to be, but her payout of just 4x the current stake is a huge drop off from the return of the highest-paying symbol. Odin’s raven is another familiar sight, with a payout of 3.5x for all five, whilst the remaining four picture symbols appear to show various locations within the world being represented and have payouts of between 2.5x and 1.5x for full pay ways of five-of-a-kind.
As for the betting range, the minimum bet of €0.20 sits squarely between the lowest wager available in previous Thunderstruck games. However, I’m genuinely not sure how relevant that fact is at this point. The maximum bet of €25.00 is almost certainly enough for most players but is also surprisingly low for a major release on the Microgaming platform. Perhaps developers are beginning to change their crazy max bet limits before regulators do it for them!
Base Game & Modifiers
The regular game of Thunderstruck – Stormchaser uses a five reel, four row design. Winnings are paid for any combination of three or more symbols on adjacent reels starting from the left, meaning you have a full 1,024 payways to play with.
The huge number of pay ways means I can forgive the low numbers on the paytable for the highest paying symbols, but it’s a shame that the wilds and scatters have no special payouts of their own.
Multiplier Symbols
These special symbols appear in both the base game and the free spin bonus round and can contain multipliers of between 2x and 20x. If more than one multiplier symbol lands on the reels during a single spin, their values will be added together before being applied to the total win from all pay ways at the end of the current spin.
Wildstorm Modifier
This modifier is named identically to the one featured in Thunderstruck 2 and also behaves in the same way, which feels somewhat unusual considering that this game does not appear to be a direct sequel to Thunderstruck 2.
Nevertheless, if the Wildstorm modifier is triggered during the base game, it will turn between one and five reels into full stacks of wilds before the remaining reels spin in, potentially allowing you to win on a large number of pay ways simultaneously.
Thunderstruck Stormchaser Slot Bonus Features
Hitting three or more scatter symbols during the base game will take you to the free spins wheel. The options shown on the wheel vary depending on the number of triggering scatters; a three-scatter trigger will offer between 7-12 free spins with a starting multiplier of up to 6x, whilst a four-scatter improves these numbers to 10-15 free spins at up to 9x, and a five-scatter trigger is significantly better still, offering between 15-25 free spins with a starting multiplier of up to 12x.
Free Spins Feature
During this mode, the game will keep track of an overall multiplier that will slowly increase as you progress through your bonus round. The starting multiplier is determined by the free spins wheel, which appears before the feature begins and could be anywhere from 2x to 12x, depending on your luck and the number of triggering scatters.
Each feature will also award you a random number of Wildstorm tokens. These tokens will be added to your meter on the right of the reel set, and one further token will be added to the counter each time a scatter symbol lands on the reels. Once your meter is full, the next free spin is guaranteed to trigger a Wildstorm modifier, as detailed in the previous section. Hitting three or more scatters while the feature is in play will add five free spins to your remaining total.
Bonus Buy
You can skip the base game and go directly to the free spins feature for a price of 50x the regular cost per spin. That seems like a bargain to me, bearing in mind the additional potential and profitability offered by the bonus round. Unfortunately, the bonus buy feature may not be available in your jurisdiction – any casino that the UKGC licenses will block this facility, which includes me, sadly!
Thunderstruck Stormchaser Slot Review Final Thoughts
If you’re a fan of the Thunderstruck series of games, then you’ll be eager to try this one out to see what it offers. As far as I’m concerned, it’s certainly worth some spinning time.
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