We’re venturing into the world of pink elephants in the latest episode of Beyond the Reels, as Thunderkick’s Slot Creator, Viktor Johansson, “felt drawn back” to complete his trilogy.
Joining SBC’s Multimedia Delivery, James Ross, Johansson showcases Thunderkick’s latest slot title, Pink Elephant Trilogy, as he returns following a three-year spiritual retreat to complete the finale of the Pink Elephants series.
Johansson, who originally joined Thunderkick in 2015, described his comeback as a creative completion of the story arc that began with the first Pink Elephants title nearly a decade ago. The new release, Pink Elephants Trinity, is positioned as the culmination and “meeting point” of the two previous instalments in the franchise.
“I went away for three years and felt drawn back to finish the story,” said Johansson. “There was always a little bit left to express in the earlier games. Trinity brings that full circle.”
The original Pink Elephants was among Johansson’s first creations at Thunderkick and became one of the studio’s top-performing titles, helping define its early reputation for distinctive art direction and innovative gameplay.
In Pink Elephants Trinity, Johansson set out to blend the psychedelic tone of the first release with the Himalayan mysticism of Pink Elephants 2, lifting the experience into what he calls “a new level or dimension.”
“Pink Elephants Trinity feels like a creative and spiritual synthesis of the journey so far,” Johansson explained. “It’s about merging opposites, light and shadow, sound and silence.”
The game employs a 4,096 ways-to-win format, where symbols pay left to right, two or more elephants or three or more of other symbols trigger a win. The symbol set includes six low-pay icons across the colour spectrum and four mid-pay monkeys, all accompanied by an evolving soundscape.
As the spin button is pressed, the ambient background shifts into a drum-circle rhythm, accentuating the game’s ritualistic and shamanic aesthetic.
A new mystery feature serves as a key innovation in Trinity. Activated randomly before or during a spin, it injects between one and five scatter symbols (peanuts) onto the reels. Since three to six scatters are required to trigger the bonus, this mechanic plays a crucial role in engagement and pacing.
Visually, the feature channels a “thunder and lightning” motif, with bolts converging on a pyramid keystone to release added scatters. Unlike previous entries, the Mystery Feature continues to influence the bonus game itself, a first for the Pink Elephants series.
Thunderkick’s Bet Plus (Antibet) options integrate directly with the mechanic, allowing players to “charge” the clouds and increase their chances of triggering the bonus round.
The bonus game, triggered either naturally or via the mystery feature, revolves around collecting peanuts to progress through multiple levels. The number of triggering scatters determines the Peanut Multiplier. For example, three scatters yield a x3 multiplier, meaning three collected peanuts are worth nine.
Every elephant symbol landed in the bonus game carries an additional peanut, accelerating level progression and boosting win potential.
While Pink Elephants Trinity represents a personal and narrative conclusion for Johansson, the creator hinted that the franchise’s universe remains ripe for future exploration.
“The sandbox is so unlimited,” he said. “There’s room for all kinds of spin-offs, maybe a Pink Elephant three-pot game with the meerkats, lemurs, and monkeys returning.”
