Thunder Screech

Theme and Design

Prairie-themed slots tend to draw on the epic settings of North America – think Wolf Howl by Just For The Win or Bronco Spirit by Pragmatic Play – but for Thunder Screech Play n Go have taken a more basic approach with a cartoon style reminiscent of Disney. Illustrated mountains and forests form the backdrop whilst the reels are a mix of native Indian styles and almost photographic-level animal symbols.

It has a nice feel to it in fact and there are some fun animated moments when an eagle swoops over head or lightning strikes when one of the features trigger. Meanwhile, that atmosphere is completed by a soundtrack that mixes drumbeats, woodwinds and chanting. Whilst far from being epic, Thunder Screech still creates a unique and immersive identity that carries throughout.

RTP and Variance

Thunder Screech has an optimum RTP of 96.2% in the UK which is about average for a Play n Go slot. For comparison others slots by this studio include Ghost of Dead (96.21% RTP), Hooligan Hustle (96.27%) and Boat Bonanza (96.25%).

The game does have four other RTP settings – 94.2%, 91.2%, 87.2% or 84.2%. Which you play at will be at the discretion of your casino. You can check the RTP by hitting the ‘?’ button on the bottom left of the reels when you load the game up. I verified this number at a few slot sites as part of this review. I found Barz Casino form White Hat Gaming runs at the 96.2% setting making it a good place to play.

This is a medium variance slot so less volatile than other Play n Go games and a good option for casual slots players less interested in the high risk action you find in games like Book of Dead.

Maximum Win

The maximum payout from one spin is 5,000x which is good for a medium variance slot. However, if you want bigger potential you could try the awesome Raging Rex 2 with a 30,000x max win, or any of the games in our list of Play n Go’s highest max win slots.

Symbols and Paytable

This is a 5 reel by 4 row game where wins are scored by landing between 3 and 5 identical symbols from left to right across one of 10 paylines.

One of the impressive parts about Thunder Screech, asides from that 5,000x max win, is the high values in the paytable.

Let’s start at the low end first though. Low payers are the cards 10 through to Ace, valued at between 0.2x for three 10s up to 3x for five Aces. The premiums are where things get interesting. These are the wildlife, from beavers, otters and badgers to wolves and ravens. They are valued at 1x for 3 beavers up to a massive 75x for 5 of the ravens.

There is also a Wild – a wooden bird – that subs in for all other symbols bar the scatters, and a variation called Thunder Wild which comes with a multiplier of up to 3x.

Features and Gameplay

The name of the game here is Wilds … in standard format they simply sub for other symbols. They can drop at any time on a spin or through The Call feature in which between 5 and 9 are randomly added to the grid after a spin.

Better still, you may encounter a Thunder Wild that looks the same but displays a multiplier of up to 3x. These always trigger re-spins in which they stick whilst their multiplier increases by 1x on each spin. These can combine with other Thunder Wilds to from win lines with multipliers of up to 9x.

Or, Thunder Wilds can also created by The Strike, a lightning bolt that hits the reels and upgrades ALL Wilds to become Thunder Wilds.

There is also a Free Spins round, triggered by landing 3 Dream Catcher Scatters anywhere on the grid. The same rules apply except players are GUARANTEED to land Thunder Wilds on every free spin. This then triggers re-spins that continue until there are no more Wilds present on the reels.