Thunder Hawk: Slot Overview

Armenian software provider Peter & Sons takes players into the wilderness with its Native American-themed online slot Thunder Hawk. The first question was what the name refers to, and after checking the game info page and looking up “thunder hawk” elsewhere, we ran into the idea of a “Thunderbird,” which Wikipedia calls a “supernatural being of power and strength.” The slot clearly draws on that mystical angle, and feature-wise it includes instant cash prizes, free spins with power-ups, Super Free Spins with power-ups, a Golden Bet, and bonus buys.

Thunder Hawk doesn’t fully match the “classic” Peter & Sons style seen in many of their releases, yet it’s still a good-looking game with its own character. The wood-bound reel frame sits in an outdoor scene, with tepees off to the side and rocky formations behind. It’s an appealing backdrop, though for players focused on potential returns, the real attention-grabber is the prize ladder showing 10 different values. This 9 Masks of Fire-type ladder will likely be the element that puts some people off while pulling others in to try their luck.

As a highly volatile slot, Thunder Hawk comes with a return to player of 96%, and this appears to hold true whether you’re wagering 20 p/c to $/€50 per spin, using the Golden Bet, or purchasing either free spins option. The Golden Bet ups the stake by 50%, boosting the chance of hitting the bonus game. Set on a 5×3 gaming grid, Thunder Hawk uses 20 fixed paylines for forming winning combinations of 3 to 5 OAK across.

Thunder Hawk’s paytable uses J-A card ranks as the 4 low-paying symbols, while 4 Native American characters serve as the premium symbols. The low pays return 2.5 to 5 times the bet for a 5-of-a-kind line, while 7.5 to 25 times the bet is awarded for landing 5 matching high pays. Skull wilds can appear on all reels too. Wilds substitute for any paying symbol, or they can pay up to 50 times the bet when 5 wilds complete a winning line.

Thunder Hawk: Slot Features

Thunder Hawk includes two bonus rounds – free spins and super free spins. In both bonus modes, as well as in the base game, players can also collect cash from the prize meter.

Thunder Hawk Prize Meter

The Thunderhawk symbol is what unlocks instant cash prizes. When 3-12 Thunderhawk symbols land, they pay anywhere from 1x up to 10,000x the bet.

Free Spins

Hitting 3 scatter symbols activates the free spins feature. On each free spin, a random feature is granted. Features are:

• Multiplier – multiplies the win amount with an x2 to x4 multiplier.
• Extra free spins – 1 to 3 extra free spins are awarded.
• Additional Thunderhawks – 1 to 3 Thunderhawk symbols are added.

Super Free Spins

Whenever the free spins round is unlocked, the meter beneath the reels progresses. Once the meter is full, Super Free Spins begin. In this round, 5 free spins are given where only Thunderhawk symbols or blanks can appear. Thunderhawk symbols are sticky, and when the spins finish, a prize is awarded from the meter based on how many Thunderhawks are showing. On each spin, you can receive 1 to 3 additional spins or extra Thunderhawk symbols.

Bonus Buy

Pressing the Buy button brings up a menu offering two bonus choices. One is the standard free spins round for 50 times the bet, while the other is Super Free Spins for 150x the bet.

Thunder Hawk: Slot Verdict

Yes, it’s another 9 Masks-style title, but with Peter & Sons behind it, Thunder Hawk manages to separate itself from the pack to some extent. As you’d expect from the studio, the visuals and audio work together nicely to deliver a slot with a recognisable identity. It’s not quite as instantly memorable as some of their standout releases like Monster Blox, for instance, but Thunder Hawk still looks unlike most games on the market.

Gameplay-wise, it’s harder to claim the same level of originality, since the core loop largely focuses on landing Thunderhawk symbols to grab instant cash prizes from the ladder. This type of mechanic is so common now that it can feel unavoidable in the slot world. That said, Peter & Sons has included some twists you don’t always see, such as free spins features that can include win multipliers. Notably, during the two bonus rounds, the top value on the meter was hidden under a red cloth, suggesting it might only be available in the base game. Or perhaps it’s adjusted because of the multipliers to keep the game within its 5,000x the bet max win limit. Either way, Thunder Hawk’s maximum win is 5,000x. Also, Super Free Spins didn’t award a feature on every spin. Either the demo needs an adjustment, or the rules text does, so it’s something worth watching going forward.

So, was there really room for yet another 9 Masks-type slot? Possibly not, though plenty of things we don’t strictly need still roll off the capitalist/consumerist conveyor belt every day. Looked at from the angle that more choice benefits selective players, Thunder Hawk may not feel groundbreaking, but it’s a well-presented scatter symbol/instant prize-win slot with a few distinctive ideas that could appeal to fans of this format.