Sticky Bandits Thunder Rail Demo
Sticky Bandits Thunder Rail Slot Review
Set within the scorching Arizona Desert, Sticky Bandits Thunder Rail by Quickspin throws us into a heart-pounding train heist!
Meet the notorious Blackwood Gang – The charismatic Ezra and his pal, Colt McKenna, whose daring plan to rob the Governor’s train is as thrilling as it is dangerous. Each spin pulls you deeper into this wild adventure, revealing a group of anti-heroes with a unique skill set that can alter the course of your heist.
Quickspin returns to our screens with a gripping Wild West expansion to their popular slot series, Sticky Bandits. Each release has showcased many improvements throughout the series, but will Sticky Bandits Thunder Rail deliver in ways we never imagined? Let’s play on and find out!
Base Game & Features
Sticky Bandits Thunder Rail takes us on an epic Wild-West adventure across 5 reels and 26-53 fixed pay lines. Players can choose from a range of bet sizes, between £.€0.10 and £.€100 per spin. Other noteworthy attributes include an overall RTP of 96% and a sizable max win cap of 10,000x your bet.
Wins occur when 3+ matching symbols land from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel. The game consists of 10 High and Low-paying symbols, each able to produce payouts between 0.2x and 80x your bet, where applicable. In addition, there are 8 Wild symbol functions available, with a 9th Mystery Wild present when the Extra Bet function is active.
Expanding Reel Area & Respins
Each time a Feature Wild symbol lands during gameplay, its respective feature will trigger, granting 1 Respin. In addition, when a Reel and/or Row Expansion Wild hits, it will expand the grid to a maximum of 7×7. After the Respin function, the expanded reels/rows will return to their original state for the next spin.
Wild Features
As mentioned previously, this game has 9 individual Feature Wilds available, each equipped with a unique function from the following:
- Tall Wild: Fills all non-Wild positions in its column with Wilds
- Diagonal Wild: Fills all non-Wild positions in a diagonal line with Wilds
- Big Wild: Expands to a 2×2 area and fills all its positions with Wilds
- Random Wild: Positions 2-4 Wild symbols on the reels
- Multiplier Wild: Applies a random Multiplier between x2 and x100 to itself. The multiplier remains on the Wild symbol for the entire feature
- Cash Wild: Applies a random cash value between 1x and 100x your bet to itself. This value remains visible throughout the feature
- Row Expansion Wild: Adds +1 row to the reel set, up to a maximum of 7
- Column Expansion Wild: Adds +1 reel to the main grid, up to a maximum of 7
- Mystery Wild: This function is only available when the Extra Bet is active. Once active, another Feature Wild is picked at random, and all Mystery Wilds convert and follow the selected Wild’s ability.
Extra Bet & Bonus Buy
- Extra Bet: Awards the Mystery Wild feature for double your current bet per spin
- Blackwood Gang: Activates a random Feature Wild (5x your bet)
- Train Heist Free Spins: Triggers the free spins round with 3+ Scatters (60x your bet)
- Train Heist Fully Loaded: Triggers the free spins round with 5 Scatters (155x your bet)
Sticky Bandits Thunder Rail Slot Free Spins
Landing 3 or more Scatters in the base game triggers the Train Heist Free Spins mode, awarding a 7×7 expanded grid and 3 Lives. The number of triggering Scatters determines your initial play area:
- 3 Scatters: The initial play area consists of only the centre symbol
- 4 Scatters: The initial play area consists of the left, right, and centre symbols
- 5 Scatters: The initial play area consists of all of the above, as well as symbols above and below the centre symbol
In this round, whenever a new symbol hits, it will remain in position and be held for the entire feature, resetting all remaining lives to 3. The active play area is defined by where the Character can walk. This is determined by where the symbols land and connect on the grid. Whenever a new symbol connects horizontally or vertically to a play area, it will automatically become part of it.
All symbols in this round reveal a Cash Value which are added together and applied to your total win at the end of the feature. All initial symbols will begin with a 1x, 3x, and 5x cash value for 3, 4, or 5 Scatters, respectively. In addition, each corner of the grid begins with a special symbol worth 50x (top left), 100x (top right), 100x (bottom left), and 150x (bottom right). These positions do not begin as part of the play area.
Each collectable symbol has a special feature attached to it, with an internal status of fresh, consumed, or refreshed. Each symbol is considered ‘fresh’ when it appears on the grid, until it executes, after which, it is classified as consumed. Alternatively, a symbol can be classified as ‘refreshed’ when targeted by the Re-Activator feature.
If a Guard Character hits, your character must use ammunition to wipe it out. If Guard symbols hit on 3 consecutive spins, your character will run out of ammunition, causing the free spins round to end. The special symbols available include the following:
- Grabber: Adds the value of all affected symbols to itself. The added values are copied, whilst the other symbols do not lose their value
- Doubler: Doubles the value of all affected symbols
- Booster: Adds its value to all affected symbols, without the other symbols losing their value
- Re-Activator: Resets the status of all affected symbols to ‘refreshed’, whilst Re-Activator symbols are unaffected
Our Honest Verdict
The Sticky Bandits series, thus far, has been fairly consistent. Sticky Bandits Thunder Rail is a nice alternative, and something promising from Quickspin, who have been a bit quieter and lower on the radar than they once were.
The appeal for us comes from the sheer volume of Wild Features, of which there are 9. There is a lot to experience, and it’ll keep players keen and encourage lengthy sessions for those who wish to experience it all. As we mentioned, Sticky Bandits Thunder Rail deviates from the norm with just about every feature – it’s not the gritty tale of revenge like Sticky Bandits Trail of Blood, nor is it quite as appealing if you’re of the opinion that 5 reels and paylines are better than quirky mechanics.
We think it’s a noteworthy addition both to the Sticky Bandits series and the Quickspin catalogue. It ticks all the boxes with graphics, diversity and potential with 10,000x the bet as a maximum win.
It’s clear to see that Quickspin wanted to inject something new into the series. The Train Heist Bonus Game might divide opinion, especially among longtime fans, but there’s no denying it’s a fresh take on the hold ‘n’ win mechanic, which we believe to be mind-numbingly boring if done incorrectly.
All aboard or not, Thunder Rail proves that Quickspin still has the spark to surprise – and that alone makes it worth a spin.
