Lightning Strike

Lightning Strike Slot Review

A longship sits moored in a Norse fjord at dusk, snow-touched peaks behind it and a bruised storm cloud gathering overhead. Plenty of Megaways games bury one good idea under four filler features; Lightning Strike spends everything it has on a single hammer respin and dares that to be enough. Blueprint Gaming has rarely built a leaner game than this, and the 250,000x ceiling says the restraint was a choice, not a budget.

The maths is plain: 96.50% RTP, a 6×4 grid with variable rows offering up to 15,625 ways to win, and a maximum win capped at 250,000x the total bet. The lean, respin-led approach is familiar ground – we covered Lightning Strike Megaways back in 2019, and the bones of that game are all still here. Readers after more Norse output from the same studio can try Vikings Unleashed Reloaded or Viking Fall.

Base Game & Features

Each spin deals a variable number of rows per reel, and that’s where the ways count comes from. At the base bet the counter reads 720 Megaways, and as reels fill out it climbs, with every reel at full height producing 15,625 ways to win. The count on any given spin can sit anywhere between those points.

That’s the whole rhythm of a Megaways session: thin spins, fat spins, and no way to know which is next until the reels stop. Wins are then awarded left to right and right to left regardless of size. A combination anchored on either edge of the grid pays the same, and on a maxed-out grid that effectively doubles the live paylines on every spin.

The presentation takes the Norse setting seriously. A thick gold frame tooled with Viking knotwork holds the reels, a hammered Valknut medallion clamps the frame’s right-hand edge, and the longship’s carved prow sits in the river below with forested hills behind it. It’s lush, heavily rendered fantasy painting with plenty of gilt, and it suits the weather.

The symbols split into three tiers. Two warrior characters – a male Viking and two colour-variants of a female warrior, green and purple – carry the premium pays, with the male Viking the richest symbol on the reels at 10x for a full six-of-a-kind. The royals A and K fill the middle of the table, with Q, J, 10 and 9 propping up the bottom. Nothing here substitutes for the Hammer.

Payouts are multiples of the total bet, and the full table runs:

• Male Viking Warrior: 0.5x for three, 1x for four, 2x for five, 10x for six
• Female Warrior (green): 0.3x, 0.5x, 1x, 2x
• Female Warrior (purple): 0.3x, 0.5x, 1x, 2x
• A: 0.2x, 0.3x, 0.8x, 1.5x
• K: 0.2x, 0.3x, 0.8x, 1.5x
• Q: 0.1x, 0.2x, 0.4x, 1x
• J: 0.1x, 0.2x, 0.4x, 1x
• 10: 0.1x, 0.2x, 0.4x, 1x
• 9: 0.1x, 0.2x, 0.4x, 1x
• Hammer (wild): 0.5x for two, 1x for three, 5x for four, 10x for five, 50x for six

The Hammer is the symbol doing double duty. It substitutes for all other symbols, it tops the paytable on its own combinations, and it carries the game’s only bonus trigger. One in view is worth watching for three separate reasons.

Mystery Symbol

The Tree of Life icon is the mystery symbol. Whenever one or more land in view, every one of them reveals the same random symbol. There’s no choice involved and no skill to apply – it’s a straight reveal, and a cluster of them can turn into the top-paying Viking just as easily as into a low royal.

Where it gets interesting is in combination. Mystery symbols revealing alongside a locked Hammer can complete lines the base spin had half-built, and because wins pay both ways, a reveal has two directions to work in. It’s a simple symbol with a wide reach.

Lightning Strike Respin & Bonus Features

This is a deliberately small feature set. There’s no free spins round, no scatter symbol, no bonus buy and no second modifier waiting behind the first. The full inventory of what the game offers beyond the base reels is short:

• Hammer in view triggers the Lightning Strike Respin
• Mystery symbols all reveal the same random symbol
• Megaways grid paying up to 15,625 ways, both directions

The Lightning Strike Respin is the entire bonus offering, and it’s tied entirely to the Hammer symbol. Land one in view and the respin fires. That’s the whole trigger, and it’s refreshingly direct – no symbol collection, no meter, no waiting for three scatters to align.

The respin plays out in a fixed sequence:

1. One or more Hammer symbols land in view
2. The Lightning Strike Respin triggers
3. Hammer symbols lock in place on the reels
4. The remaining reels spin again
5. Any mystery symbols in view reveal a single random symbol
6. Wins pay both ways at the end of the respin

With the wilds held and fresh symbols landing around them, a single respin can build combinations the base spin had no right to. Pay-both-ways gives the locked Hammers two directions to connect in, which is what turns a one-symbol trigger into a genuine event rather than a token second spin.

The ceiling is high for a game with this few moving parts. A single game can pay up to 250,000x the total bet, a cap that towers over the typical Megaways offering and gives a modest-looking modifier slot genuine potential. It’s a number that earns its place in the storm imagery.

Our Honest Verdict

Overall Rating: 7.7/10

Sessions here feel like waiting out weather. The fjord stays quiet while the ways counter climbs and falls, and then a hammer cracks the sky and the whole grid gets one violent second chance. That single moment is the reason anybody picks this over a busier Megaways game.

Pay-both-ways is the best thing in it, because it makes every respin with locked wilds twice as dangerous as it looks on paper. The weakness is just as plain: one feature carries the entire game, and when the hammer doesn’t build, there’s nothing waiting behind it.

So it’s for players who enjoy one strong mechanic and don’t need a bonus menu, and it’ll leave anyone who likes variety across a session cold. As a single-storm game, though, the fjord is a beautiful place to wait for it.

Lightning Strike FAQs

• What is the RTP of Lightning Strike?

  The RTP is 96.50%. That figure is the total expected return, based on long-term payback and gameplay.
• How many ways to win does Lightning Strike have?

  The ways count changes with each spin. At the base bet it shows 720 Megaways, and with every reel at maximum height it reaches up to 15,625 ways to win.
• How is the Lightning Strike Respin triggered?

  The respin triggers whenever a Hammer symbol lands in view. The Hammers lock in place and the remaining reels spin again, with any mystery symbols revealing a single random symbol.
• What does the Mystery Symbol do in Lightning Strike?

  Every Tree of Life icon in view transforms into the same random symbol, which can be anything from a low royal to the top-paying Viking.
• Does Lightning Strike pay both ways?

  Yes. Wins are awarded left to right and right to left regardless of symbol count, a mechanic that was a first for Megaways slots.
• What is the grid size of Lightning Strike?

  It’s a 6×4 Megaways grid with a variable number of rows per reel, which is what drives the changing ways count on every spin.
• Does Lightning Strike have free spins or a bonus buy?

  No. The game has no free spins round, no scatter and no bonus buy. The Hammer-triggered Lightning Strike Respin is its only bonus feature.
• What is the maximum win on Lightning Strike?

  The maximum win from a single game is 250,000x the total bet.
• What does the Hammer symbol do in Lightning Strike?

  The Hammer is the wild and substitutes for all symbols. It also tops the paytable on its own combinations, paying up to 50x for six, and landing in view triggers the Lightning Strike Respin.