The words 'lucky' and 'lighting' aren’t two you naturally associate with each other, but players might need to rethink that assessment if Pragmatic Play partner Wild Streak Gaming has any say in the matter. Lucky Lightning is the name they've given to a slot chock full of features, dynamic reels, and classical motifs. Get it all firing, and bolts of lightning could well be lucky. If not, well, at least lightning never hits the same place twice, or rarely at least.
Lucky Lightning is a slot that alters its layout constantly throughout the game, yet its default configuration is a 5-reel, 3-row game grid, providing 243 ways to win. Its theme is classical Greece, so prepare for deities, temples, mythical creatures, and dramatic music, which shifts to a rock track during features for some reason. Visually alright, the shifting reels and bolts of lightning add a bit of life, plus the stack of features tries their best to distract you from the dated feel running through Lucky Lightning. Wild Streak has even squeezed a bit of humour in there in the form of big win messages such as 'Awesome sauce', 'Hats off to that spin', or 'Oh my, that win is so big', to lighten the mood.
Playable on tablets, smartphones, or desktops, Lucky Lightning allows stakes from 25 p/c to $/€125 per spin to be set. It's a highly volatile game, Wild Streak rating this aspect a full 5 out of 5 on the Pragmatic Play lighting meter. The RTP, in the standard non-bonus buy mode, is a respectable 96.45% (Pragmatic uses flexible RTP, so this number can be lower), while hits come at a rate of 1 in every 4.15, theoretically speaking.
Wins are awarded for left to right adjacent combinations consisting of at least three matching symbols. 10 tiles make up the regular pays, half being 10-A card symbols; the rest are icons of Greek culture. In the latter, higher value bunch is Pegasus, eagles, the Minotaur, a female deity presumably Hera, and Zeus. Landing a five of a kind combination of premiums is worth a payout of 2 to 10 times the stake.
When playing Lucky Lightning, lookout for the golden Money Symbols which trigger the Wild Respin and Collection Feature. The first thing to know is Money Symbols appear on reels 3 to 6, and will display random cash values, or a Silver, Gold, or Platinum Jackpot.
Whenever wild symbols hit on reels 1 and 2, there is a random chance to extend the grid to 3x6, 3x3x4x4x4, or 3x3x4x4x4x4 size, for the current spin. When available, the 6th reel only contains Money Symbols. After any winning combinations are paid, Money Symbols in view are locked, and reels 3 onwards respin. After the respin, the values of all Money Symbols adjacent to each other from reel 3 onwards are awarded. Money Symbols can have values of 1x to 500x the total bet, while the value of the Silver, Gold, and Platinum jackpots is 50, 250, or 10,000x the bet, respectively.
If wilds sit on the first two reels and Money Symbols cover reels 3-5 (or 6 if applicable), the total value of the Money symbols is paid twice. This feature is called the Coverall.
Bonus symbols appear on reels 1-5, and when 3, 4, or 5 of them are in view, they award 10, 15, or 50 free spins. Free spins always take place on the extended 6-reel grid. The same rules apply to free spins as the base game, and the feature can be retriggered in the same manner when 3 or more scatters land.
Free spins can either be triggered organically every 167 spins (on average) or bought from the base game for the cost of 100 times the total bet. Bought free spins are always played on the full 3x3x4x4x4x4 grid, while RTP rises slightly to 96.48%.
As we know, democracy was invented in Greece, lasting for around 80 years before being abolished by Philip II and Alexander the Great. The democratic spirit is alive and kicking in Lucky Lightning which feels like it was made by a group of designers who were each allowed to suggest something, then one by one their ideas were added to the pot. Lucky Lightning has a bit of everything, extra reels, dynamic reels, extra rows, money symbols, money collections, free spins, and three jackpots on top.
Most of the time, the farrago pretty much works; at the least the pace is busy, and the game keeps you second-guessing what might come next. Players who like an ‘everything but the bagel’ approach might enjoy it. On a positive note, Lucky Lightning's stats are good, so there are no numerical concerns. Even the 10,000x for the Platinum Jackpot is enticing. On an aside, it is strange people still insist on putting platinum above gold when gold's price surpassed platinum's a while back now. Anyway, for full disclosure, the game has a win cap of 10,100x the bet, which, if hit, immediately ends the bonus round.
Technically speaking, Lucky Lighting steps up, but its slightly dated look and convoluted rules get a bit fiddly at times. The generic theme limits Lucky Lightning desirability as well in what is a satisfactorily performing game, yet not one that stands out a whole lot.
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