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Review of Gonzo’s Quest from NetEnt
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One of the most highly recommended slot games in the online gambling industry is Gonzo’s Quest from Net Entertainment.
The main reason for its explosive popularity is that Gonzo’s Quest was the first online slot game to feature avalanching reels with multipliers.
Our Gonzo’s Quest slot review will tell you all about how that feature works and what else to expect when you play this game. But first, here is some information about where to play Gonzo’s Quest.
Online Casinos with Gonzo’s Quest
If you are ready to play Gonzo’s Quest for real money, you need to find a casino with NetEnt software.
NetEnt is one of the most prominent software providers, so it is easy to find several reputable online casino sites with Gonzo’s Quest. Check out our guide to NetEnt slots for our recommendations.
Unfortunately, some countries, including the United States, do not have NetEnt casino sites. The top US casinos do have similar games, though.
Another alternative that is available for everyone is to play Gonzo’s Quest for free. Demo versions are available on the NetEnt website and most online casinos with Gonzo’s Quest.
Gonzo’s Quest Mobile Slot
If you enjoy gambling on the go, check out the Gonzo’s Quest slot game on mobile casinos or real money slots apps. The game has been engineered to work on any device, including Android, iPhone, and Windows devices.
No matter what device you use, the game will automatically adjust to fit your screen. The mobile version of the game also allows you to use left-hand mode to move the spin button to the other side of the screen.
When you play the Gonzo’s Quest slot on mobile devices, we recommend playing in landscape mode.
The game still works in portrait mode, but it removes the Gonzo character to help the reels fit onscreen better. Watching Gonzo is part of the game’s fun, so we think the landscape mode is the best choice.
These minor differences will enhance your experience when you play the Gonzo’s Quest mobile slot.
Other than these simple adjustments to the screen layout, the game will be the same as playing on your computer.
How to Play Gonzo’s Quest Online
The theme of Gonzo’s Quest is based on a Spanish conquistador searching for the lost city of El Dorado.
You can see Gonzo on the left side of the screen while you play. Many games use the same concept to display their characters. However, this game is unique because of its animations.
Gonzo will consult his map, scratch his beard, and watch while you play. If you get a big win or a mega win, he will collect gold coins in his helmet or even do the moonwalk!
His animations bring the story to life and add more entertainment while you play. Your wins feel more exciting because Gonzo is celebrating with you.
It won’t take long to learn how to play Gonzo’s Quest for real money because it is similar to other slot machines.
- The Gonzo’s Quest casino slot uses a standard five-by-three reel structure with 20 fixed pay lines.
- You can adjust your bet amount by changing the bet level, which is how many coins you play per line. Or you can change the coin value.
- There are five bet levels, and you can choose from six options between $0.01 and $0.50 for the coin value.
Remember that your overall bet will be the coin value multiplied by the bet level and multiplied by 20 for all the pay lines. The max coin value is only $0.50, but you can play up to $50 per spin using this formula.
Here is some more essential information about the game.
- Released: 2011
- Manufacturer: NetEnt
- Theme: Spanish explorer, adventure
- RTP: 95.97%
- Layout: 5 reels, 3 rows, 20 fixed paylines
- Limits: $0.20-$50
- Features: Free spins, multipliers, cascading symbols
- Volatility: Medium/high
- Max payout: 1,875x
- Mobile compatibility: Yes
Symbols and Paytable
There are seven symbols on the Gonzo’s Quest slot machine. They are all different colored ruins that help lead Gonzo to the lost city.
It might help you to know that all the ruins that are facing forward are high-paying symbols. The symbols that show a profile view are the low-paying symbols.
In addition to the line pay symbols, there are two special symbols on the Gonzo’s Quest online slot game.
The gold coin is the free falls symbol. In this game, free falls is just another name for free spins. It is crucial to understand that the gold coin is not the same as other scatter symbols.
You have to get three or more gold coins on consecutive reels to trigger the free spins feature. They don’t have to line up on a payline, but they do have to fall in order from left to right.
Fortunately, the wild symbol can replace the scatter, so you can use it to activate free falls. The wild symbol is a gray square with a golden question mark.
Now that you know how to play Gonzo’s Quest online, let’s take a closer look at the game’s bonus features.
Gonzo’s Quest Avalanche Reels and Multipliers
The primary feature on Gonzo’s Quest is the same feature that made the game famous, and that is avalanching reels.
Every time you win, the winning symbols will explode. The symbols above will fall into the empty spaces, and new symbols will fall on the top row. You get another chance to win based on the new symbols.
NetEnt uses the term “avalanche” to describe this feature, but other software providers call them cascading reels or tumbling reels.
Here are a few examples of other slot games with cascading reels.
When Gonzo’s Quest was released, it was the first game to have this feature. Because of the feature’s popularity, other game developers have followed suit.
Avalanching reels give you a chance to win multiple times on the same spin. On top of that, Gonzo’s Quest also offers multipliers for consecutive wins.
- 1 win = 1x
- 2 wins = 2x
- 3 wins = 3x
- 4+ wins = 5x
Those multipliers have a major impact on your win potential. Of course, you won’t get the 5x multiplier every time, but even double or triple payouts can be significant.
If you are excited about the possibility of a 5x multiplier, just wait until you experience the free falls feature on the Gonzo’s Quest real money slot.
Free Falls on Gonzo’s Quest
Free falls is just another name for free spins.
The way Gonzo’s Quest is designed makes it look like the symbols fall into place instead of traditional spinning reels. NetEnt wanted to emphasize that theme, so they renamed the free spins feature.
You can earn free falls by getting three or more gold coin symbols in a row on consecutive reels. They do not have to line up on a pay line, but you must have the symbols on reels one, two and three.
The free falls reels are the same as the reels on the base game. There is only one significant difference. All the multipliers for consecutive wins will be increased for the free falls.
Here are the multipliers you could win.
- 1 win = 3x
- 2 wins = 6x
- 3 wins = 9x
- 4+ wins = 15x
Thanks to these massive multipliers, you can earn significant prizes during your ten free falls.
The only problem with the free falls feature is that it is difficult to trigger. We played for more than 500 spins during our Gonzo’s Quest review, and we didn’t get three gold coins in a row even one time.
However, the wild symbol can substitute for the gold coin. We never got three gold coins in a row, but we experienced the free falls feature because of a combination of gold coins and wild symbols.
Either way, it is not easy to trigger the free falls feature. You will appreciate it when you are lucky enough to earn the free falls because of the significant payout potential.
RTP and Volatility on Gonzo’s Quest Slot Machine
The overall return to player (RTP) on the Gonzo’s Quest slot game is 95.97%. That is a decent RTP compared to other online slot games, but several other NetEnt games have a higher percentage.
Here are some other NetEnt slots and their RTP percentages so you can see how the real money Gonzo’s Quest slot compares.
High RTP Slots from NetEnt
- Mega Joker – 99.0%
- Blood Suckers – 98%
- Devil’s Delight – 97.60%
- Secrets of Atlantis – 97.0%
- Fairytale Legends: Red Riding Hood – 96.33%
- Starburst – 96.1%
- Gonzo’s Quest – 95.97%
- Hall of Gods – 95.5%
- Arabian Nights – 95.6%
The Gonzo’s Quest slot machine is a medium-to-high-volatility game. It is common to go several spins without any wins, but you can win higher prizes if you get consecutive wins with multipliers.
The bonus features significantly affect the RTP and volatility of this game because of the multipliers. Both the RTP and volatility are pretty standard compared to other games with similar bonus features.
Other Games Inspired by Gonzo’s Quest
Because Gonzo’s Quest was so popular, NetEnt has created other games inspired by the original.
Our review of Gonzo’s Quest is focused on the original game, but we want to introduce you to the other games in this series.
Casino games Based on Gonzo’s Quest
- Gonzo’s Quest Megaways – When NetEnt acquired Red Tiger Gaming, they re-released Gonzo’s Quest in the popular Megaways format. This version has six reels, up to 117,649 ways to win, and two new bonus features.
- Gonzo’s Quest VR – NetEnt released a virtual reality version of Gonzo’s Quest in 2017. This immersive game allowed players to look around Gonzo’s world with a 360-degree view of El Dorado.
- Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt – Evolution Gaming acquired NetEnt in 2020. The merged companies brought their expertise together to create the world’s first live dealer slot game show. You can join Gonzo and a live host in this exciting and unique game.
If you enjoy playing the Gonzo’s Quest slot online, you may also enjoy these other games. The Megaways and VR games never became as popular as the original, but they are still enjoyable nonetheless.
Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt is the first game of its kind, but it seems promising. If it performs well and gets good reviews, Evolution and NetEnt will undoubtedly continue creating more games with this game-show style format.
Gonzo’s Quest Slot Review Verdict
It is easy to understand why the Gonzo’s Quest slot game became so popular. The game intrigues players because it offers unique bonus features.
At the time when Gonzo’s Quest was released, no other game had avalanching reels with multipliers. Today there are plenty of other games that have these features.
Yet, Gonzo’s Quest is still one of the top-performing games, even though it is more than a decade old. Clearly, there is something that keeps players coming back for more.
Here is a breakdown of the different parts of the game that we think makes it so popular.
Graphics and Theme
The Spanish explorer theme is a unique concept for a slot game. It creates a distinctive combination that includes Spanish exploration, the folklore of the city of El Dorado, and the history of Mayan cultures.
You can see the theme portrayed throughout the game. For example, all the symbols are based on Mayan ruins.
Gonzo wears the traditional armor that many Spanish conquistadores wore. The background image features a jungle with the ruins of a Mayan temple.
There is no background music, but the sound effects that play when you spin the reels and win also enhance the theme. They are simple sounds, like a guitar strumming, but they fit with the theme.
The symbols are large and bulky, but that fits the theme because they are supposed to look like the stones of an ancient temple. They are so detailed that they even have cracks to show their age.
Gonzo’s animation is an integral part of the game’s design features. The animations are far more advanced than other games that were released around the same time.
Watching Gonzo dance and celebrate is one of the best parts of the game. These high-tech animations are definitely one reason that Gonzo’s Quest is so popular.
Bonus Features and Payouts
The avalanching reels feature on the Gonzo’s Quest slot game was the first of its kind. This game’s success inspired dozens of other games with cascading reels.
NetEnt could have created the avalanching reels feature and stopped there. The game would have still been successful because the feature gives players extra chances to win.
But they took it a step further by adding multipliers for consecutive wins. Those multipliers are the reason that the Gonzo’s Quest online slot has been wildly popular for more than a decade.
You will also appreciate those multipliers when you play Gonzo’s Quest online for real money. There are very few other games that give you a chance to earn payouts with a 15x multiplier.
The paytable offers decent payouts with a max prize of 250x for five of the highest-paying symbols. But the possibility of earning those high payouts with massive multipliers makes this game stand out.
There’s only one thing we didn’t like about the features on the Gonzo’s Quest casino slot machine. It can sometimes be too difficult to trigger the free spins feature. But, other than that, the bonuses are magnificent.
Overall Experience
Gonzo’s Quest is an excellent online slot machine because it has everything you could want in a slot game. We loved playing it while writing this Gonzo’s Quest slot review.
It has fantastic graphics and animations, valuable bonus features, and an entertaining theme.
You can play the game with a variety of betting options. So, it will appeal to all players, regardless of the size of your bankroll.
Don’t be surprised if you lose track of time while you’re playing Gonzo’s Quest online. It is easy to get so caught up in this entertaining game that you forget about everything else.
