Gonzo’s Quest
Pretty much every Kiwi loves to explore and feel like a true adventurer. Gonzo’s Quest is one of the many pokies out there that makes the player feel part of a world they have always dreamed of and with max potential payouts of 3750x the bet it is easy to see why. In this all-time classic it’s your turn to join NetEnt’s masterpiece Gonzo’s Quest as the conquistador sets off to look for Eldorado, the fictional — or maybe real — lost city of gold. There are a few online pokies that people will always remember and Gonzo’s Quest is definitely part of everyone’s shortlist for best pokie games that have ever been released.
Gonzo’s Quest Review
Gonzo’s Quest is an online pokie from NetEnt that the online casino industry was introduced to back in 2011. In this pokie you get to follow the notorious explorer Gonzo on a legendary adventure in the deep and dense jungle somewhere what is known today as Latin America. Gonzo is off to a place where he believes to have found the location of El Dorado — the city that is said to be filled with gold. Through a matching combination of impressive graphics, exciting themes and skillfully created features, this pokie would turn out to become one of the most played pokies of all time. Its avalanche multipliers, wilds and bonus games have laid the foundation for this spectacular gaming adventure.
The myth of El Dorado is all about a historical place that has accompanied the stories of people around the world for hundreds of years. The story is all about an undiscovered city in the New World that was filled with gold. This belief was also one of the reasons why the Spaniards made an everlasting pilgrimage to this part of the world as they were in search of riches that were supposed to wait for them somewhere at the other side of the ocean. In this pokie we follow the lucky Gonzo, who — against all odds — did actually manage to find this valuable place. In the game he does need some help to find all the gold. It in fact turned out to be such a valuable place that it would result in more expeditions there and more pokies like Gonzo’s Quest Megaways and Gonzo’s Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt.
Nice to know
| Launched | 11 November 2013 |
| RTP | 95.97% |
| Volatility | High |
| Software | NetEnt |
| Features | Avalanche / Cascading Wins, Free Spins, Gonzo Mechanic, Multiplier, Scatter Symbols, Wild |
| Theme | Adventure |
| Paylines | 20 |
| Grid Layout | 5x3 |
| Min. bet/line | $ 0.20 |
| Max win | x3750 |
| Jackpot | N/A |
Positive points
- ✅ One of NetEnt’s Most Popular Games Ever
- ✅ Great 3D Graphics and Animations
- ✅ Avalanche Feature
- ✅ Thrilling Free Spins feature
Negative points
- ❌ High Volatility
- ❌ Low RTP
Review Gonzo’s Quest
NetEnt’s Gonzo’s Quest gives players an immersive and entertaining experience right from the start. This is mainly thanks to the game’s impressive visuals and bizarre looking main character. Gonzo’s Quest is based on the story of Gonzalo Pizarro, who was a well-known Spanish conquistador and actually caused a lot of damage whilst he was out in Latin America trying to gain himself more territory. Gonzalo Pizarro was also the half-brother of Francisco Pizarro, who is known as the conqueror of the Inca Empire.
Born in 1510 in the Spanish city of Trujillo, the Spaniard was by all accounts a greedy man and nothing would stop him in his quest for gold money and power. In search of wealth, the Pizarro brothers set out on an expedition to conquer Peru as part of the attempt to conquer the Inca capital of Cuzco. Gonzo heard rumours about a kingdom of gold called El Dorado and he had to lead yet another expedition to conquer this part of Peru too. However, he was unsuccessful and died in Cuzco. Despite the city being a myth, you can find your El Dorado if you win the ultimate prize in this very amusing pokie game.
How to Play
Gonzo’s Quest is played in a traditional setting of 5 reels and 3 rows. Winning combinations are formed on one of the 20 different pay lines that are part of this online pokie. You can decide for yourself with how many coins you will bet per win line. The minimum bet that can be placed is set at $ 0,20 whilst the maximum bet goes up to $ 50. Whilst playing this online pokie you will quickly find out that there are seven different symbols with which a payout can be realised. Here’s how to win in Gonzo’s Quest:
- With the Avalanche Reels, winning symbols disappear and make place for new icons to land.
- Avalanche Reels come with an increasing win multiplier, going up to a max of 5x.
- Make sure to land 3 Free Fall Scatters to trigger the Free Fall feature.
- The increasing win multiplier can go up from 3x to 15x after every successive win.
Symbol Wins
Gonzo’s Quest design is made up from an adventure theme where you’ll get to follow the Spanish explorer in the search for the hidden city of El Dorado. In the background of the reels, you can see a temple surrounded by green plants. As you’d expect you’ll be entering a world that has a tropical climate which means you can hear birds and crickets which is still rather mild compared to the other animals that live in this region.
The low value symbols are carved stone blocks showing animals that look like a bird, dragon, and a snake. If you land 5 similar symbol types, this will award you between 2.5x to 5x the bet. The high value symbols are recognised by the stone blocks that show masks in different colours such as purple, yellow, green and grey. If you land 5+ of the same symbol types, this will give you payouts of between 10x to 125x the bet. The golden question mark is the game’s wild and the gold decorated mask is the scatter. Below, you;ll find an overview of what the different symbols mean and what they pay out:
| Symbol | Payout for 3 | Payout for 4 | Payout for 5 |
| Bird | 0,15 | 0,5 | 2,5 |
| Dragon | 0,2 | 0,75 | 3,75 |
| Snake | 0,25 | 1 | 5 |
| Purple Stone Block | 0,5 | 1,25 | 10 |
| Yellow Stone Block | 0,75 | 2,5 | 25 |
| Green Stone Block | 1 | 5 | 50 |
| Grey Stone Block | 2,5 | 12,5 | 125 |
| Wild Symbol | Question mark: replaces all symbols | ||
| Scatter | Triggers 10 free spins. | ||
Bonus Features
Gonzo’s Quest is a highly entertaining online pokie. You will quickly find out whilst playing that you can frequently count on nice payouts. However, it only becomes really interesting when you have to deal with one of the various features such as the Avalanche feature. Here’s what the different features do:
Avalanche Multipliers
When you spin the reels and create a winning combination, the Avalanche Multipliers feature will be activated. All symbols part of the winning combination will then disappear from the reels after which new symbols will fall down to fill up the empty positions. This process continues as long as new winning combinations are created. The good thing about the feature is that you also get to take part in a win multiplier. This win multiplier starts at 1x and then increases when avalanches occur. There are different sized multipliers that you can take part in within the Base game and Bonus game, where the following applies:
- Start Avalanche: 1x base game = 3x bonus game.
- 2nd Avalanche: 2x base game = 6x bonus game.
- 3rd Avalanche: 3x base game = 9x bonus game.
- 4+Avalanches: 5x base game = 15x bonus game.
Gonzo’s Quest Free Spins
The shining stone with a kind of a shield on it serves as a bonus symbol and the moment three of these symbols fall down you can unlock the Free Falls. The bonus game is started with a multiplier of 3x. Five blue stones will consequently award a maximum amount of $ 31,250 instead of the usual $ 6,250 per payline. The Free Falls naturally become even more interesting when you manage to play several Avalanches in a row as with every avalanche that hits the screen, the multiplier also increases.
For example, the second Avalanche already provides a multiplier of 6x. In this case, you will be paid 9x normal winnings when the 3rd Avalanche takes effect. From the fourth Avalanche, you can play with an impressive multiplier of 15x. With the Free Falls, it is possible to claim up to a maximum prize of $ 93,750 per payline.
Payout Metrics
There is one specific mask amongst the regular symbols in the game that rewards up to 2,500 coins for five of a kind and deserves close attention. If you manage to fill all the cells with this particular mask, you will get a total of 50,000 coins. The maximum amount of coins you can win in this game, however, is 187,500. If you happen to play with the maximum bet of $ 50, you can win as much as $ 125,000 on a single spin. The Avalanche reels and the increasing win multiplier will help you land large payouts, especially during freebies. Gonzo’s Quest’s RTP is set at 96%. In Gonzo’s Quest, there are 117,647 ways to win, of which the potential is based on the number of symbols that appear on each reel.
Summary
Gonzo’s Quest is a high variance pokie with a return to player of 95.79 percent which is slightly lower than average. Despite its relatively low RTP it has managed to become one of the most played games of all time and it is found in a lot of online casino for New Zealanders. A remarkable characteristic of Gonzo’s Quest is that this pokie doesn’t come with spinning reels. The symbols literally fall from the top whilst you’re playing which is definitely a fun factor of the game. After each fall, winning symbols explode, after which open spaces are filled by new symbols. It goes without saying that the multiplier will only increase.
The little conquistador is depicted as a bearded man sitting to the left of the reels welcoming you in his world. This is a 3D world and the 3D imagery is quite impressive, as everything in the game looks very realistic — which you’ll especially see when Gonzo keeps scratching his beard. Gonzo doesn’t mind staring intently at the reels, which are made up of different local symbols. All together, in Gonzo’s Quest you really feel like you’ve stepped out of your normal environment and gone back 500 years to join the bearded explorer on his journey to the Latin American jungle. And whether or not El Dorado exists, we’re sure you’ll have the trip of your life.
