Thunder Birds Power Zones Slot Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

Thunder Birds Power Zones Review

Developer Playtech and its partner studios Ash Gaming expand the Power Zones suite of games with a new exciting release. With the Thunder Birds Power Zones slot, which is the fifth installment in the Power Zones series, the devs have switched the format and now introduce the innovative mechanic to the Cluster Pays-loving audience. The system allows you to score additional payouts by transforming symbols inside those special areas, and it's capable of paying up to 9,000x the stake.

Thunder Birds Power Zones - Slot Outlook

The first thing that catches the eye is that the birdy release is somewhat of an odd duck in the Power Zones franchise. While the previous games have all come with a mythical subtext, the Thunder Birds slot takes a completely different approach and has a much jollier atmosphere. Despite a brutal title, you aren't seeing any magical powers and supernatural thunderous birdies here. Thunder Birds Power Zones takes us to a lovely windswept meadow, and dominating the view is a massive 8x8 grid set on power lines. That's where the birds are sitting, though, only until you score a win and zap the whole flock to turn those into delicious fried chicken.

Pretty cruel indeed, but that's how the Power Zones meter works here, which we'll discuss shortly.

Thunder Birds Power Zones Slot - Reel Screen

The Thunder Birds Power Zones slot comes with a rather standard Playtech's betting range, and players can place wagers from £0.1 to £200 per spin, which should appeal to many. The game is powered by a highly volatile math model, and the RTP is solid above average at 96.42%. Wins of up to 9,000x the stake are possible, which is achievable in the Free Spins.

As we head over to the paytable, we see all sorts of birds down there, including chickens, pigeons, owls, and parrots. There are 10 pay symbols in total, and they pay in groups of 5 or more vertically or horizontally adjacent matching symbols anywhere in view. Bigger wins are achieved with clusters of 25+ symbols, which are worth from 3.2x to 4.2x your bet.

Oddly enough, Ash Gaming has omitted Wild symbols, so substitutions aren't available.

Thunder Birds Power Zones - Bonus Features

The 4x4 area in the middle of the grid is the Power Zone, and it's activated when the Power Zone meter on the left is filled. The mechanic is linked to the Tumbling Reels feature, which removes winning symbols from the grid to allow new ones to tumble down and fill empty spaces. Each win fries a bird cluster and adds 1 drumstick to the meter. Then, for every 4 drumsticks collected, the meter reveals a random bird symbol on a losing cascade, and all instances of that symbol in view will receive a Power Zone. If the revealed symbol is already in the Power Zone, all positions inside the zone will transform into that symbol. The Power Zone meter and additional Power Zones reset between the spins.

Keep an eye for egg Bonus Symbols during the base game, as 4 or more anywhere in view trigger the Free Spins feature. Depending on the number of triggering symbols, players receive from 8 to 12 free games. During the bonus game, a Multiplier symbol can land anywhere on the grid to multiply your current spin win by up to 100x.

Possible Multiplier values are 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 10x, 20x, 25x, 30x, 50x, and 100x, and it's possible for multiple Multiplier symbols to appear on a single spin.

Thunder Birds Power Zones - Slot Verdict

With Thunder Birds, Ash Gaming continues to experiment with its innovative Power Zones mechanic, and it works excellent combined with the Cluster Pays engine, giving players more opportunities to win on each spin, both in the base and the bonus games. Add an exciting Free Spins round with random Multipliers of up to 100x, and you get a pretty decent slot. All up, Thunder Birds Power Zones has a lot for players to get stuck into, and those into the birds-theme won't leave disappointed.

Pros

• Power Zones mechanic combined with Cluster Pays
• Free Spins with random Multiplier of up to 100x
• Possible wins of up to 9,000x the stake

Cons

• Might be too volatile for some players