This is NetEnt’s first platinum video online slot game, designed for all. No matter what type of casino player you are, you should play Gonzo’s Quest. This real money game is based around the historical character Gonzalo Pizzaro, who is setting sail to find Eldorado. It is also available in demo mode, just like most of other slot games from NetEnt.
Moving away from the traditional reel feature, this game introduces the idea of ‘avalanche reels’, where they fall into place as opposed to spin. When there are winning symbols on a payline, these blocks disappear and are filled with new falling bricks, creating the possibility for even more wins. This opportunity for win after win, is what makes it a player’s firm favourite.
Gonzo’s Quest is without a doubt, one of NetEnt’s all-time most popular video slots. It is based around our hero, Gonzalo Pizarro (Gonzo), going in search of Eldorado, the famed Lost City of Gold. Created in 2010 this game remains as popular as when it was first released.
This 5-reel and 20 payline video slot offers exquisite 3D graphics and features the unique Avalanche Reels, where it is possible to win up to a 5x multiplier for every winning spin. As well as this there is a Free Falls Bonus giving you 10 Free Spins with up to a 15 x multiplier. But how do you play Gonzo’s Quest? Let’s go through some basic rules that are important first and then dig into free spins and other great features that this slot has to offer.
How to Play Gonzo’s Quest
Let’s imagine that you deposited some money into your casino account and clicked on the slot. When you play Gonzo’s Quest for free in demo mode, it works pretty much the same. However, just to be sure that everything in this review is correct, we focus on real money slots game mode.
Load Gonzo’s Quest first and wait til the loading message disappears. What’s next? Well, firstly you need set the paylines, bet level and coin value. Simply click on one of the numbers at the side of the reels to set paylines, and then use the arrows to change the values of the coins and bet level. You’re then ready to get spinning.
There are a variety of Incan masks serving as Gonzo’s Quest symbols, along with a blue eagle head, red bull and yellow snake. You need to get these on the paylines to win in the base game. The reels don’t spin in Gonzo’s Quest – they are Avalanche Reels, which will be talked about in more depth later.
However, when you land a winning combination the winning symbols will break away, leaving room for more to fall in and take their place. If this leads to another win, this process is repeated until there are no more wins.
Furthermore, there is a wild symbol represented by a question mark, which substitute for all others apart from Free Fall symbols. The Free Fall icon is a golden tile with a sun God’s face on it. Landing 3 of these will trigger the Free Spins round. This means you can play Gonzo’s Quest for free without even needing to click on the Play button.
As soon as you land 3 or more Free Fall symbols, you will be transported into the Free Fall Bonus round – the Free Spins. You will be awarded with 10 free spins. This is where the Avalanche Features come into their own.
With every win, the winning symbols break away and new symbols are replaced, and every time this happens, the multiplier increases to a maximum of 15 times. This means you could have 10 Free Spins with a 15-times multiplier – big wins aplenty. Gonzo gets so excited about it that he even does a dance.
Gonzo’s Quest Free Spins
Many casinos give away free spins so that players can get the chance to play Gonzo’s Quest for free. This game is great to use as it appeals to everyone and has maintained its popularity throughout the years. When you play Gonzo’s Quest, you will notice straight away that this online slot has a slightly higher variance than Starburst, so any free spins played on this game could see you landing bigger wins.
There are many offers around, both deposit and no deposit free spins, particularly in Welcome Packages. Currently All British Casino are giving away 25 no deposit free spins on sign up, Fruity Casa are giving away 10 no deposit free spins – and there are plenty more to choose from. So shop around and you could get to taste this game for free.
So How Does the Avalanche Feature Work Exactly?
The Avalanche feature is a special feature that is activated when a Gonzo’s Quest player gets 3 or more symbols on a winning payline. When this happens, they will activate the Avalanche feature which makes the winning symbols crumble away.
These winnings still count, but it gives you the chance to get even more. The winning blocks explode then get replaced with new symbols, which cascade onto the screen. This then creates another chance for more wins. This feature kicks in every time you get a win, so it means that for every spin, you could get more than one win.
You could even get unlimited Avalanches cascading one after the other, not eating away at your spins at all. Furthermore, every time this kicks in, the multiplier in the top of the screen will move up from a 1x multiplier to a 5x multiplier in the base game, or a 3x multiplier to a 15 x multiplier in the Free Spins round. So not only do they give you more wins, they give you bigger wins.
Gonzo’s Quest Payout and Paytable
You can play spins on Gonzo’s Quest for as little as €0.20 per spin to €50 per spin. With a RTP of 96% this can lead to quite a few small wins. Gonzo’s Quest has just 7 symbols. The 3 lower paying symbols are depicted by animals’ heads, which could land you between 3 to 100 times your bet when you land 3 or more on one of the paylines.
The other 4 symbols are the higher paying Mayan mask symbols, which can score you between 10 to 2,500 times your stake when on a winning payline. Furthermore, you need to take the Avalanche multipliers into account. The first avalanche gives a 1 x multiplier, the 2nd gives a 2x multiplier, the 3rd gives a 3x multiplier and the 4th gives a 5 x multiplier. These multiplier amounts are all tripled in the Free Spins Round.
Gonzo’s Quest Tips
Gonzo’s Quest is a reasonably good paying video slot to play, which means that you can maybe go for the lower cost spin. You don’t necessarily need to play big to win a decent amount of money. It likes to pay out lots of smaller wins. This is ideal for a casual player looking for low cost spins leading to big time payouts.
If you’re looking for a high roller experience, then you can whack up those spins and experience the big time. The Free Falls Bonus round is great, but you don’t need to get on it for the big wins. Like any game, the house edge is always in the casinos favour, so you should quit while you’re ahead.
Gonzo’s Quest Touch Version
The mobile game – Gonzo’s Quest Touch isn’t optimized for Safari browser, but it does work better on other browsers such as Chrome. The game itself is great when playing on mobile, especially if you turn your tablet or mobile so it’s landscape, and is more like a computer screen.
This mobile casino slot is incredibly clear and easy to play, and all the graphics are smooth and bright. In fact, the animations and gameplay is very free flowing and there is no lag or pixellating at all. The game itself is easy to navigate as the settings are easily located in the bottom right of the screen in the Menu. This is where you can take care of all the technical stuff such as coin value and bet level.
All in all, the Touch version of the game is every bit as appealing and fun as the desktop version, and is well worth a go. If you prefer playing mobile slots, Gonzo’s Quest should be among the very first real money games you try. So, make a deposit, load the game and play Gonzo. We at NetEnt.games are convinced that you will love this online slot.