Thoro

Thoro: Slot Overview

The online slot Wild Toro was one of ELK Studios' popular earlier releases, and after lying fallow for 5 years, was brought bucking back to life in 2021 with a 3 slot world tour, which kicked off with the release of Wild Toro 2. Since then, the wild and crazy dude has mixed it up with bison in Buffalo Toro, sampled Japanese culture in Toro Shogun, and clashed in the arena of Gladiatoro. He's like someone who got a sniff of travel and now wants to see the whole world, ticking destinations off a bucket list as long as their arm. This time, Toro is getting all Norse in the online slot Thoro, with the Matador in tow as Loki, and a hearty shovelling of accompanying features.

First things first, Thoro, huh? Good name, mixing Toro with the famous god of thunder and lightning, Thor. (Sorry for stating the obvious). In this game, Thoro is all set to inherit the throne of Asgard, but his mischievous brother Loki has other plans… Thoro is played on a 5-reel, 4-row gaming grid, set amidst the floating world of Asgard, up there amongst the clouds and the Bifrost. Obviously, Thoro is a long, long way from the sultry Spanish plaza of Wild Toro, but the humorous showdown between man and beast lives on, as do some of the features.

One way of winning a spot of dosh in Thoro is by landing matching symbols on adjacent reels from the leftmost side of the matrix. Symbols in adjacent reels must be connected either horizontally or diagonally to form a combination. As well as five X-iter betting modes, gamblers can choose a stake of 20 c to $/€100 per spin in this medium-high volatile slot where the RTP comes in at 94%.

Glowing runes carved into stones are Thoro's 4 low pay symbols, whereas a horn, a daggered pig, a cup of bubbly, and a helmet are the high pays. Lines of 5 matching runes are worth 0.4 to 0.8 times the bet; hitting 5 identical highs pays 0.9 to 5 times the bet. Wild symbols help complete winning combinations by substituting any regular paying symbol. An all-wild win has the same value as the highest pay symbol.

Thoro: Slot Features

Blasting out of Asgard are Lightning symbol wins, Loki Respins, a Thoro Thunder Strike feature, a Mjolnir feature, free spins, super free spins, and X-iter bonus buys.

Lightning Symbols

Lightning symbols are needed to win prizes from the Lightning paytable displayed next to the reels. Lighting symbols are present on reels 2, 3, and 4. On its lowest level, 4 to 11 landed Lightning symbols pay 2x to 1,000x the bet. However, the Lightning paytable can be upgraded to higher prize values. Hitting 12 Lightning symbols pays the remaining amount needed to award Thoro's max win. Free spins scatter symbols also count as Lightning symbols.

Loki Respin

Landing 2 or more Loki symbols awards a Loki Respin. For the respin, Loki symbols are sticky and remain in position. Getting additional Loki symbols on a Loki Respin awards an additional respin.

Thoro Thunder Strike

Thoro is a walking wild that moves left until spinning out from the leftmost reel, triggering a respin for each step. Only one Thoro can be on the grid at once. Lightning and scatter symbols are sticky during Thoro respins. Any Lightning symbol payout only occurs once Thoro spins out. Hitting a Thoro symbol when there is at least one Loki symbol in view, or hitting a Loki when Thoro is in view, triggers the Thoro Thunderstrike feature. During the Thoro Thunder Strike, Thoro moves vertically and horizontally to knock all Loki symbols off the reels until all Loki symbols have been defeated. Thoro leaves a trail of wild symbols behind when charging and knocking Loki symbols off the reels.

Mjolnir

The Mjolnir symbol is a blocker that only appears as long as it has not been pulled by Thoro. Thoro pulls Mjolnir towards him when both symbols appear on the reels, triggering the Mjolnir feature. For this, Thoro carries Mjolnir, and the Mjolnir feature is active for the rest of the spin. Activating the Mjolnir feature awards a respin as long as Thoro Thunder Strike is not pending. Thoro may randomly upgrade the Lightning paytable or increase his own multiplier on each respin while the Mjolnir feature is active. Thoro pulls Mjolnir towards him, triggering the Mjolnir feature before the Thoro Thunder Strike if Mjolnir and Loki symbols are both on the reels.

Bonus Game

Scatter symbols appear on reels 2, 3, and 4. Hitting 3 scatters triggers the free spins round. Free spins are not decreased by Loki Respins or Thoro respins, and the rules are the same as in the base game. For the super free spins bonus, the Lightning paytable starts at the highest payout level, and Thoro has both Mjolnir and a multiplier.

X-iter

Thoro's X-iter bonus buy menu includes: Bonus Hunt - get more than triple the chance of triggering the bonus game for 3x the bet. Loki Respin - 10x the bet to guarantee a Loki Respin. Mjolnir Feature - 25x the bet guaranteeing walking Thoro carrying Mjolnir. Free Spins (100x the bet). Super Free Spins (500x the bet).

Thoro: Slot Verdict

Funny, there was a five-year hiatus between Wild Toro the original and The Wild Toro World Tour. Since then, Toro has been busy showing up in a wide range of follow-up slots. While the main character might have stayed more or less the same, cosplaying various roles, the gameplay and features are usually quite diverse. From 'book of' mechanics to a hold 'n win, and now an instant prize-winning 9 Masks of Fire game. However, while some things change, some stay the same, and players who got a tickle out of Toro chasing the Matador, leaving wilds about the place, get a repeat in Thoro, so there is a definite feel of familiarity to cosy up to.

In saying that, Lightning symbols and Lightning paytable prizes have shaken things up. For example, when Toro, sorry, Thoro is moving across the reels triggering respins, added wilds, and even Thoro himself can take a backseat to the Lightning symbol collection. It's worth repeating that when respins are active, Lightning symbols and scatters (which double as Lightning symbols) are locked in place on the reels, potentially awarding a cash prize when respins end. Just as Mjolnir helps Thor defeat his foes, Mjolnir in this game is helpful for boosting Thoro's multiplier and upgrading the Lightning paytable. Default prize values aren't bad already, but upgraded Lightning paytable values are obviously a lot hotter.

No matter the paytable's level, Thoro's max win is 10,000x and is collectable by hitting 12 Lightning symbols on the reels - at any stage. While all this is going on, players can enjoy a high audiovisual standard, the likes of which ELK Studios typically cram into its games. There is something rather satisfying about the concatenation of Norse mythology and thundering heavy metal music, which Thoro delivers, along with an equally satisfying blending of gaming components.