Lightning Storm Live Game Review

If you’ve played Evolution’s game show titles before, in particular, their money wheel-based games, then you may think you’ve seen it all. After all, there isn’t much to separate Dream Catcher from Crazy Time. Sure, Monopoly Live breaks the mold a touch, but that’s about it – until now.

Lightning Storm offers something different, with its five bonus rounds, emphasis on electricity, multipliers, and more unique gameplay than some of its predecessors. If you’re ready to try playing game show releases that stand out, let’s introduce you to Evolution’s Lightning Storm with our in-depth guide. Let’s begin with its theme and design.

Theme and Design

Right from the start, you’ll see that Lightning Storm’s big wheel has a very different interface from Monopoly Live, Dream Catcher, Crazy Time, and other money-wheel games. For starters, the wheel is divided into just two key sections – instant win segments and bonus sectors. Unlike some of its predecessors, it isn’t immediately apparent how you’ll bet. Do you bet on the bonus or the instant win options?

As it happens, you can bet on the leaf-shaped Evolution symbols. These are the instant win options, and if the pointer lands on one of these, you’ll win a straight-up payout worth even money. When it comes to the bonus segments, they are numbered from one to twenty. These will potentially allow you to enter a bonus round, where you can make full use of the multipliers present to win epic prizes. Let’s explain that in more detail next.

Specs and Gameplay

This a wheel of fortune-style game, and you’ll be eligible to wager on Evolution symbol spots and bonus numbers. Unless you fancy even money prizes, you’ll want to consider wagering on the bonus segments. You can also choose the Storm Chaser bet, which guarantees that you’ll get into the bonus round if you choose the segment with a Lightning Storm bonus. Meanwhile, the X Chaser bet ensures that spots that have received a bonus symbol and multiplier will be covered in your bet. Note that these still won’t guarantee a win for players. They simply cover the bet spots associated with bonuses and entry.

Once your Lightning Storm bets have been placed, the game begins, and the host will spin the Lightning Storm wheel. Before that, random multipliers may be added to several of the bonus spots. An even money payout is awarded (see below) for successfully landing on a basic betting spot. However, if you bet on a bonus segment and your number is called, then you’ll move on to one of the five bonus rounds in this game. There are five up for grabs, including Hot Spot, Monster Mash, Battery Charger, FireBall, and Lightning Storm. Which one you get will vary, depending on “which bonus symbol” appears on the winning segment (which is random). Here’s how each works:

Hot Spot Bonus:

A wall appears 9×12 in size. Multipliers are shuffled across the wall. You’ll get to pick a tile, and potentially, it’ll be a big one. A Hot Spot will then appear at random, covering nine multipliers. It then doubles their value. Any multipliers from the wheel part of the game are then applied to whatever you’ve won.

Monster Mash:

In this round, there are three reels containing body parts, each with a multiplier. Blue body parts feature (1x to 50x multipliers, and gold ones have (4x to 6x multipliers). You’ll then see the reels spun, resulting in a Frankenstein’s Monster-style body being constructed. Again, any multipliers applied to the bonus segment in the wheel-based part of the game are applied before your winnings are paid out.

Battery Charger:

In this feature, you’ll find nine batteries that need testing. Each will be attached to a battery charger. If the battery explodes (turns red), it is ejected, and the next one drops down. If it flashes green, you’ll win a multiplier. The bonus ends when you either run out of batteries or when a battery flashes green. Again, multipliers from the base game carry over.

FireBall Bonus:

This is the only real live bonus in the game that doesn’t involve RNGs. You’ll find 149 pockets on a sloping table featuring double or multiplier numbers. A ball is dropped, and it will bounce around (like pachinko) until it lands in a pocket. If the ball lands in a double pocket, all multipliers will be doubled. If it lands on a multiplier, that prize is paid out, along with whatever multiplier (if any) you had in the base game.

Lightning Storm:

The final mode has the best prize. Here, you’re met with a billboard of multipliers. You’ll get to pick one of three “lightning strikes”. Each strike will highlight various multipliers. Again, base game multipliers are added to the mix.

How to Bet and Win

Lightning Storm uses a betting board that isn’t too different from what you’d expect to see in a roulette game. You can use this to place bets on any of the Evolution symbol segments. You can also use it to bet on any of the numbered bonus segments or place bets on All Odds or All Evens. You can also place your Storm Chaser or X Chaser bets here.

While wagering will cost anything from 0.10 up to 10,000.00, so there’s plenty of room for high-roller action if you fancy it. Storm Chaser bets will set you back an additional 2.7x your total stake, while you can expect 7.8x bet costs for X Chaser bets.

If you’ve wagered on a basic Evolution logo or leaf symbol, then expect a return of 1:1 if the pointer lands on such a segment. However, if it lands on one of the bonus numbers, then the amount you can win varies based on the bonus you triggered. Random multipliers may be worth 2x and 50x for those bonus segments, while prizes range from 10,000x in most of the bonus rounds up to 20,000x in the Lightning Storm Bonus. That’s not a bad return for a game that is sporting an RTP rate of 97.44% for basic bets and around 95.12% for bonus bets.

Bonus Features

While there are bonus rounds (five of them) in Lightning Storm, they are all part of the main game and don’t require additional side bets. It is true that you need to bet on bonus segments to trigger them, but you’ll receive cash prizes via multipliers for those anyway. Therefore, we don’t consider Lightning Storm to have bonus features in the true sense of the term.

GOSU Verdict

Lightning Storm does things a little differently than other Evolution money wheels. Yes, there are similarities between Crazy Time and Monopoly Live in terms of bonus segments. However, these have been refreshed, expanded upon, and made far more enjoyable than in this game’s predecessors.

Initially, Lightning Storm looks like a confusing game show release from Evolution. If you’ve not played these types of games before, this one requires a bit more of a learning curve than, say, Dream Catcher. However, if you’ve played wheel of fortune style live casino games and you’ve enjoyed them, then Lightning Storm is the next rung on the ladder and a decent way to progress to something more challenging and rewarding. Expect to find it at all good Evolution-powered crypto casinos featured right here on our site.

Best Bitcoin Casinos with Lightning Storm

Relevant news