Gonzo’s Quest slot is nothing short of a legendary video game, and it has long since established a worldwide cult following. The game, with the charming conquistador Gonzo in the lead role, has become synonymous with NetEnt, and acts more or less as the unofficial logo and ambassador for the famous Swedish game provider.
The 3D animated short film intro is stunning, and guides you right into the action from the get-go. The authentic historical figure, Gonzalo Pizzaro, is the inspiration for this game, and you can join Gonzo on his quest to find the lost city of gold – Eldorado. Gonzo himself will be by your side all the way, encouraging you to go for the big treasures hidden in these reels.
First released in November 2013, Gonzo’s Quest online slot was the first game to introduce NetEnt’s innovative Avalanche feature. The heavy stone block symbols fall from above, and winning symbols explode, to be replaced by new falling symbols. This feature, along with the excellent visual experience, high variance and a bunch of exciting bonus features, makes this an unforgettable gaming experience that will make you keep coming back for more.
Before we delve deeper into all the fun bonus features this game has to offer, let’s have a look at some technical data:
Gonzo’s Quest RTP is more or less exactly on the average mark. Most slots have an RTP around 96%, so in that sense this is an “average game” (but not in most other ways). RTP stands for Return to Player, and is a theoretical measure of how much a given slot will pay back to players in the long run.
The high variance of Gonzo’s Quest casino slot is almost as legendary as the game itself. This is a perfect game for players who can handle some fluctuations on their bankroll, as they go for the big win. Keep a cool head, and this game will reward you plenty for it, but be prepared to wait a little between the bigger payouts.
There is no doubt that Gonzo’s Quest slot is NetEnt’s flagship game, and it will also be the first slot in the world that is converted to the Virtual Reality (VR) format, presumably some time in 2018. The search for Eldorado has always been a symbol of man’s search for wealth and happiness, and therefore it’s a perfect theme for a slot machine with high enough payouts to change your life.
The Avalanche feature makes every spin exciting, and the 3D graphics – and the level of detail – is still stunning, even 5 years after the game was first released. Having Gonzo by your side as you play is both fun and encouraging, and you’ll never tire of his little antics. Look out for his victory dance as a sign that you’re doing well.
The heavy stone block symbols are beautifully and intricately carved with inspiration from the Mayan culture of South America. Outside of the ever-present Avalanche feature, the main attraction of the game is the Free Fall Free Spins feature. We will discuss the bonus features in some detail below. To sum it up, we can say that NetEnt has succeeded with this game on every level, and Gonzo’s Quest will hold its position for many years to come.
The first thing you notice when playing Gonzo’s Quest game is the structure of the reels, or perhaps we should say; the absence of reels. Instead of the spinning reels we are used to seeing on most slots, this game has symbols crashing down from above to stack on top of each other. This was sensational when the game was first released, and has since been copied by many other game providers.
The carved Mayan stone block symbols fall down, and stack on top of each other to form winning combinations. All symbols in the winning combinations then explode, and leave room for more symbols to fall down from above. As long as you keep hitting new winning combinations, this avalanche feature continues until you don’t hit a winning combo anymore.
On the top right-hand side of the screen you’ll see a multiplier meter. Keep an eye on it, because for every consecutive avalanche your multiplier will increase from 1x up to 5x. This, of course, means that your winnings will keep increasing the more consecutive wins you get.
The wild symbol on Gonzo’s Quest is animated, and it appears at random on the reels. It can mimic all other symbols, including the Free Fall symbol, to increase and maximize your winnings on all of the 20 paylines.
The free spins feature on Gonzo’s Quest is called Free Falls (since the symbols are falling, rather than spinning). Land at least 3 Free Fall symbols on a payline, and you’ll be awarded with 10 free spins (or free falls if you wish). You can also be awarded with 20 free spins, if you’re lucky enough to land 3 or more free fall symbols on 2 separate betlines at the same time.
The free fall feature also comes with an animation, where you can see Gonzo go through the gateway, and towards the shining golden pyramid in the background. You can re-trigger more free spins by landing 3 or more free fall symbols in the free fall rounds. The feature comes with a multiplier up to 15x, and at the end of the free spins feature, you’ll see another animation.
Checking out the Gonzo’s Quest paytable is always wise – before you start playing – as this gives you a nice overview and tells you what to be on the lookout for. You find it by clicking the info icon down in the left-hand corner, and it’s not a dynamic paytable that changes value according to your chosen bet level. Instead, it displays how much you win per line bet with bet level 1.
To find out how much each symbol is worth per total stake, you’ll therefore need to divide the paytable values by 20 (which is the number of fixed bet lines in this game). We have taken the liberty of doing that for you, to give you a quick overview of the real value of each symbol:
Clicking the small wrench icon in the left-hand corner takes you to the game settings, but the only thing you can choose here is to turn off the intro movie and use the spacebar to spin. No fast play option in other words, which is a bit sad. The “?” icon in the same corner takes you to the game rules screen. Here you can scroll through an overview of how Gonzo’s Quest slot works, and some of the stats are also revealed here.
Next up is the somewhat complicated NetEnt bet level system. You need to choose your bet level between 1 and 5, and then the coin value. This combined will determine how much valuta you actually stake per spin, and you can see this in small fonts right below the spin button. Bet level 1 and coin value 0.05 will make each spin cost £1, for example.
Finally, before you start spinning, you can choose to set up the autoplay feature (if you’re too “lazy” to spin the reels manually (we usually are)). Click the autoplay button right next to the spin button, and you can set up between 10 and 1,000 autospins. You can also choose from the advanced options menu, where you can decide different criteria for when the autoplay feature shall stop. That’s about it when it comes to how to play Gonzo’s Quest slot, and we wish you the best of luck!
We have just given you a pretty thorough rundown on how to play Gonzo’s Quest casino slot, so now the question is where to play it. Given the enormous popularity and timeless quality of Gonzo’s Quest, you will have no problem finding casinos that carry this game. Most have it placed in prominent positions in their respective lobbies, as it is the most iconic NetEnt game by far. You essentially have 2 options when it comes to playing this game, and we shall present you with them here.
If you want to play for real money right away, you literally have several hundred online casinos to choose from. We scan all the casinos on the market every day, which means you get a total overview of the casinos that carry this game right here. All you need to do is follow the link to the top of the page, and you can get started playing Gonzo’s Quest for real money with a nice welcome offer.
It’s always a good idea to test a new slot for free with a couple of hundred spins before you play for real. This way you will get a feel for what kind of bankroll you need, and what the ideal bet level is to stay afloat for a longer period of time.
You will also find out if you actually like the game, which is not a given just because it’s one of the most popular titles on the market. The good news is that we have the free Gonzo’s Quest demo version installed right here on this page. Simply follow the link to the top of the review, and check out Gonzo’s Quest demo game and play for free right away.
For being a medium volatile game that leans towards higher volatility, we had surprisingly few dead spins in our 200 spins test session. Even without any fast play option, the pace is relatively high as long as you don’t win, as it is the Avalanche feature that slows down the gameplay here.
We set the bet level to our usual £1 per spin, and the autoplay feature to 250 spins (as 200 is not available). Our first 100 spins turned out to be quite eventful to say the least, and we kept winning smaller cascading wins more or less all the time. These were not memorable wins in any way, but enough to keep us somewhat afloat and motivated.
The biggest cascading win happened when we maxed out the base game multiplier, and won 10.95x our stake. Not long after we triggered the bonus round, and was allowed entry into the legendary city of gold. Even though we reached the 15x multiplier once during this free spins round, our total winnings were a measly 12x our stake.
After around 100 spins we managed to trigger the free spins round once more, and again we were awarded with 10 spins inside the portal. This time we got a lot more action, and maxed out the boosted multiplier meter 2 times in a row. In the end we won 122.5x our stake, which made Gonzo do his dance of joy before he was chased out by the big stone wheel that reminds us of a trap from an Indiana Jones movie.
We also had several “mega wins” above 100x right after the Gonzo’s Quest bonus round finished, but the remaining 80 spins, or so, were not all that eventful. We still came out with a profit of around £200, which means we basically won £1 per spin. If one spin takes on average 4 seconds, that’s not a bad hourly wage at all, but we don’t recommend that anyone quit their dayjob. The golden city of El Dorado in the background is the perfect symbol for the big win players hope for, and we hope your beginner’s luck with this game is even better than ours was.
There is no progressive or local jackpot to be found on this game, but you can still take home some serious winnings on Gonzo’s Quest slot. The maximum coins you can win is 187 500. If you play with the maximum bet of £50, you can win as much as £125,000 on one single spin.
Like all modern NetEnt games, Gonzo’s Quest video slot is fully optimized for mobile and tablet. You can play anywhere you like, as long as you are connected to internet or wifi. Play with Android phones or tablets, or use iPhone or iPad if you prefer that. The game flows perfectly on any device, and playing on the go has never been more fun.
Gonzo’s Quest online slot is a game that works on every level. Graphically it’s still one of the most beautiful slots out there to this day, and the 3D intro and animations are of almost cinematic quality. The “good luck” charm of having Gonzo by your side is pure genius, and adds to the aliveness of the game.
The – at the time – revolutionary Avalanche feature is perfect for the Mayan theme of this game, and it keeps you on your toes at all times. Excitement abounds, as you never know what the next spin is gonna bring you, or how long the round is gonna last. The many multipliers increases your winnings at all times, both in the main game, and in the free fall feature.
Overall, Gonzo’s Quest slot is a very entertaining and well-balanced game that most people fall in love with almost immediately. Of course, you need to handle the high volatility of this game to be able to enjoy it. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea to wait longer periods of time between wins. If you have the patience and the bankroll however, this game will reward you plenty for it, and the Free Fall Free Spins feature is always there waiting to be triggered.
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Gonzos Quest
