[Slot review] Thunderstruck Stormchaser — Microgaming

Overview

Thunderstruck Stormchaser is the fourth series title, released by Microgaming on 23 November 2022. The format is 5 reels and 1024 ways, the published RTP is 96.10%, and volatility is High. The hub's feature field lists 'WildStorm Feature'.

RTP and volatility are identical to the original Thunderstruck (22 March 2012). Over a gap of more than ten years the two values held, and only the format widened from 9 lines to 1024 ways. The bet range, however, is blank in the hub, making this the only one of the four without published bet limits.

Layout and rules

1024 ways works on the same principle as 243 ways: every route of matching symbols across adjacent reels is counted. 1024 is 4 to the 5th power, which fits five reels with four positions each. It reads as Thunderstruck II's 243 (3 to the 5th) with one more position per reel, though the hub does not list the row count separately.

The hub records one feature name: 'WildStorm Feature'. The name points to something involving wild symbols, but its trigger and effect are not in the published specification, so this review does not describe its internals. The cover carries a 'BUY FEATURE' badge, which suggests a bonus buy, but neither the price nor which feature it buys is published.

The published spec ten years on

Put the four in release order and the format widens from 9 lines to 243 ways to Wild Lightning (layout unpublished) to 1024 ways, with volatility at High throughout. RTP passes once through Thunderstruck II's 96.65% and then returns to the original's 96.10% with Wild Lightning and this title.

The notable part is that the published fields did not grow. The newest title is the one that leaves out its bet range, and max win is blank on all four. The expectation that newer games come with fuller spec sheets does not hold in this series.

A large number like 1024 gives no basis for reading higher volatility or a bigger cap. The volatility label is the same High as the original, and this catalogue's published figures do not support saying more than that.

Presentation

For the first time in the series, the cover has two figures: a fur-clad blond man and a woman with violet hair stand side by side, with metallic title lettering, a 'STORMCHASER' subtitle and a 'BUY FEATURE' badge stacked below. Next to the original's caricature in a round frame, the series has moved fully to realistic 3D rendering.

The demo is embedded on this page. With no published bet range, the demo's bet settings are the only place to see the selectable range — though there is no guarantee the range shown there is the same everywhere.