Thunderstruck

Thunderstruck was launched in 2004 and, thanks to its great game design at the time by Microgaming, has had a cult following ever since. 

The game is one of the few slots to have been successful enough to warrant a sequel in Thunderstruck II, a 5-reel video slot with a huge 243 different paylines, a rather large step up from the nine you’ll find in the original Thunderstruck. 

Both games stick tightly to the themes following Norse mythology and the God of Thunder, perhaps most famously played by Chris Hemsworth in the Avengers franchise, Thor. Regardless of which of the two games you choose to play, there’s no arguing their iconic nature as they set the standard for the online video slot, even to this day. 

How to play Thunderstruck  

Getting used to with such an old-timer can be a little difficult to manage, especially if you’re much more used to the newer slots with countless paylines. 

Thunderstruck only has the nine and, once you’ve played for long enough, you’ll be able to see them falling into place as you build a mental grip on the game. Regardless, there’s only a couple of things that you’re going to need to know before heading onto your favorite Microgaming online casino and searching for Thunderstruck. 

Betting options 

There’s only a handful of options that you’re able to adjust and tweak when you’re looking to play Thunderstruck with the following options dictating all functions inside the game: 

• +/-: Allows the player to choose a coin size
• Select Lines: Allows the player to choose the number of paylines selected
• Select Coins: Allows the player to alter the number of coins wagered
• Spin: Allows the player to start the game at the chosen wager
• Auto Play: Allows the player to spin the reels for a predetermined number of times without interruptions
• Bet Max: Allows the player to spin the reels at the maximum wager permitted
• Gamble: Allows the player to start the gamble round
• Collect: Allows the player to collect their winnings

When it comes to online video slots, it’s often the case that players will find themselves learning much faster by “doing.” By playing the game, even for free, they’re able to quickly understand what is required and how the game works.  

Ways to win 

Thunderstruck offers a 5-reel video slot with just 9 different paylines available for players to win with, but don’t let that put you off. 

There’s an RTP of 96.1%, very similar to but not quite as good as the 96.65% players will find in Thunderstruck II. Players will find the minimum and maximum coins per line of 1 and 5 respectively alongside a respective minimum and maximum coin size of 0.01 and 2. There’s a jackpot of 750 to be found, ultimately making the game a fan-favorite - even if the variance is particularly high.

2004 really was a different time, a time where hundreds of different paylines weren’t required to spark a bit of enjoyment from the slots, and it’s something that we do miss and harbor a nostalgia for. 

But times change and so must the games that we play. 

Where to play Thunderstruck

Players will be able to find Thunderstruck in game libraries of every casino offering Microgaming slots and, as there’s plenty of them around, there shouldn’t be too much issue on this front.  

Bonuses available 

As you may expect from a game stemming from the early 2000s, there’s not a huge amount of bonuses and features in the game compared to some of the newer slots.

But that doesn’t mean the game is lacking entirely. There’s a couple of great bonuses that we’re always looking for when playing Thunderstruck. 

Up to 2x your win with Thor 

Thor is your very best friend in this slot, the image of his long flowing locks is the wild symbol, letting him substitute all other symbols (bar rams) on the reels. 

Your winnings will be doubled whenever Thor is present as a substituting symbol in a winning combination, meaning it’s hard not to excitedly await his arrival. 

Up to 3x multiplier with 15 free spins

Players see free spins in the majority of video slots, but it’s the 3x multiplier that players will find interesting in Thunderstruck. 

Manage to bag yourself three or more Rams anywhere on the reels and all wins during the bonus round will be tripled. Players can even see a further fifteen additional free spins when three rams are found once again - it’s these moments that we look for when playing slots and boy do they deliver. 

Scatter pays are also awarded before free spins initiate, but players should note that these are multiplied by the total number of credits wagered. Sometimes it really does pay to put your money where your mouth is. 

All good things must come to an end

As far as bonuses go, that’s about all you’ll see at Thunderstruck. 

It may be a little underwhelming, but if you’re looking for a bit more of a story with a flashier game to get involved with, it’ll be Thunderstruck II that’ll suit you perfectly. 

What do the players say? 

The most valuable opinions are those from you, the players, and when it comes to Thunderstruck, there’s a lot that players have on their minds. 

The pros

Starting off with the good stuff, players tend to appreciate the older game and love the video slot for what it was ultimately responsible for kicking off. But don’t just take our word for it, here are two great player reviews that we’ve sourced from the web: 

“With such a very good paytable, one can expect the game to be very tight and very hard to win on, simply because this Thunderstruck game falls into the High Variance category, but when a good win comes, it may seem like it's raining cash! After so many years of playing Thunderstruck, my luck has always been struck off by the lightning, or by Thor's Hammer, so I haven't yet seen any huge good win from it. It may elude me forever, but I'm not that concerned, because I'm not going to go chasing after such huge wins.”

“This game is getting a little long in the tooth now, but it's still just as good as ever if you favor the older, nine liner style of the slot game. It’s all just so simple, with some big hits in the base game paytable as well as a free spins mode that gives you tripled up wins as well. I’ve actually seen a screenshot of somebody who was playing this game at just 1p per spin – a single line – and hit the five wilds during the free spins winning a monster £300, or 30,000 x times his stake to put it another way. Outrageous!”

The cons

But not all players share the same nostalgic approach that we’re seeing with die-hard video slot enthusiasts. Some simply don’t understand why you’d play an older game when so many more, improved slots are available: 

“This is a very different animal from the second Thunderstruck game, which is really just ‘another’ 243 ways slot game, but then again, this game itself spawned a huge number of virtually identical games with just the symbols on the reels changed such as Adventure Palace, Ladies Nite, and Spring Break – so if you like the theme of any of those other games better than this one, then you might prefer to play those instead.”

“Unfortunately, the game has become dated and lacks in everything that Thunderstruck II supplies. This game may just suit you if you're interested in taking a trip up memory lane but if you’re looking for any sort of major winnings or some pulse-racing action then I could not recommend this game. All things considered, I would give Thunderstruck an overall rating of five out of ten, possibly lower if judging it by today's standards.”

Bottom Line 

If you’re still unsure whether or not Thunderstruck is for you, it’s more than worth giving it a go. 

For most of us, it’s a game filled to the brim with nostalgia and more than worth logging onto and playing for old time’s sake. For the younger crowd, or for those that have only recently found the online slot world, Thunderstruck is a great game to play to see the foundations of the video slot world. 

For a game that will compete with the modern slots that we’re seeing pop-up today, Thunderstruck may feel a little outdated, but that’s no longer the point of the game.

It’s a piece of gaming history that we all love to play and look back on.