Game Review: Gonzo’s Quest

Gonzo’s Quest is one of the classic online slots of the modern era. Released in 2011, for more than a decade NetEnt’s Gonzo’s Quest slot has been transporting slot players to the Mayan civilisation. Follow Gonzo in his search for the lost city of gold and encounter a string of Mayan masks on the reels set within this Mayan jungle.

How to Play Gonzo’s Quest

Gonzo’s Quest is a five-reel slot with three rows and 20 fixed paylines. A successful spin requires a combination of three or more base game symbols on the same payline. These symbol combinations must begin from left to right.

The Gonzo’s Quest slot has also been a faithful addition to The Clubhouse Casino’s slot library due to its compatibility with low-rollers and high-rollers alike. You can start playing the Gonzo’s Quest slot from as little as €0.20 and up to €50 per spin.

The maximum possible win in Gonzo’s Quest is set at a whopping 37,500x your initial wager, which also serves to add to the drama.

Let’s begin by revisiting the base game symbols you’ll encounter on the reels of the Gonzo’s Quest slot.

The lowest-value symbols are the bird, snake and alligator. That’s followed by a quartet of Mayan masks, with the blue mask proving the most valuable of them all – win 125x multipliers for landing five of these on a payline.

The question mark symbol acts as this slot’s wild symbol. It can substitute for all other base game symbols to improve the value of winning symbol combinations.

Gonzo’s Quest Theme

The theme of this slot is centred around the game’s protagonist, Gonzalo Pizarro. You’ll enter into the Mayan jungle with the conquistador on a quest to uncover the lost city of gold, El Dorado.

Visually, Gonzo’s Quest is a slot that was always ahead of its time. Animations of Gonzo adjacent to the reels keeps things fun and on point. The Mayan masks are also intricate and authentic, as is the jungle-like backdrop of the reels.

Gonzo’s Quest Features

Despite its relatively old appearance in today’s slot libraries, Gonzo’s Quest stands the test of time as an action-packed online slot, with no less than three in-game features.

In fact, the Gonzo’s Quest slot was the first NetEnt slot to feature the Avalanche Reels game mechanic, whereby symbols involved in successful combinations are removed from the reels and replaced by new symbols from above. The old symbols crumble into dust on the screen, leaving gaps to be filled by new base game symbols. It’s therefore possible to create additional symbol combinations from the same spin.

Multipliers

There’s also the Avalanche Multipliers feature which is well worth an explanation. A meter sits in the top right corner of the game screen. Whenever you land a winning symbol combination from an avalanche of new symbols, the meter is filled.

With every avalanche combination, your potential multipliers increase by 1x. If you’re lucky enough to get four successive avalanche symbol wins from a single spin, your wins will be multiplied by a further 5x.

Free Fall Symbols

One symbol we haven’t touched upon yet is the free fall scatter symbol. Whenever it lands on the first three reels in the same spin it unlocks the Free Falls bonus feature.

This credits you with ten free falls (symbol avalanches). Before the feature begins, you’ll also spot that the meter in the top right corner is enhanced. This time the Avalanche Multipliers meter begins from 3x rather than 1x.

In fact, if you’re lucky enough to land four successive avalanche wins, your wins will be multiplied by a further 15x rather than the usual 5x.

Summary

On the whole, Gonzo’s Quest still manages to punch well above its weight even alongside the newest slot releases in 2023. Its slick, immersive animations stay true to the game’s theme, while the Avalanche Reels feature is a game mechanic that’s still used today by many of the best slot developers worldwide.

Gonzo has become such a popular protagonist in NetEnt’s slots that he’s also featured in one of its more recent slot releases, Superstars, which features a string of popular characters including Finn from Finn and the Swirly Spin and Lady Pig from Piggy Riches.

There’s even a new version of Gonzo’s Quest that’s powered by the Megaways engine, giving players even more ways to win with every Mayan spin.

You can try NetEnt’s Gonzo’s Quest slot for size right here at The Clubhouse Casino. Give it a whirl for free using the play money feature. Alternatively, you can log in and hit the ‘Play for real’ button and start spinning Gonzo’s Quest in search of real-money payouts.