Since its release in 2011, Gonzo’s Quest has been one of the most popular casino games at online casino sites the world over. Now with three additional variants in what has essentially become a franchise, it’s a good time to explore these hugely successful slot games.
Gonzo’s Quest
Still one of the best online slots out there, the 5-reel, 20-payline Gonzo’s Quest was first introduced to players in 2011. But why has this game proven so popular over the years? Here are four reasons:
- Superb graphics and 3D animation engage players from the get-go with incredible attention to detail. The lovable character of Gonzo is in fact based on Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Pizarro who lived from 1510 to 1548. In real life, he arranged an expedition to the legendary El Dorado, or City of Gold, but never managed to find his fortune.
- The visual effects are supported by a soundtrack that has been described as “a multi-layered sonic production” that combines perfectly with the game’s action.
- At the time of release, NetEnt’s “avalanche” feature was an online casino slots innovation. While other games had spinning reels, these symbols fell onto the reels, adding more movement and visual excitement to the game. Avalanches are triggered whenever a winning combination is created on the reels. The rocks (symbols) in a win disintegrate and turn to dust before being replaced by other symbols that fall from above. Each consecutive win sees the multiplier increase.
- The maximum win is 2,500x your total stake for a winning combination of 5 of the most valuable paytable symbols and has resulted in a number of big wins for lucky players.
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Gonzo Quest Megaways
Gonzo’s Quest was revamped with Megaways mechanics by Red Tiger in 2021. This added an additional layer of excitement to an already popular game. Here’s what changed:
- This time, players were invited to accompany Gonzo on his action-packed adventures with the prospect of winning 20,000x their stake. The grid was bumped up to 6 reels and 2 to 7 rows with a varying number of paylines from 64 to a whopping 117,649!
- The developers were clever not to mess with the winning formula of graphics, soundtrack and 3D animations, or the story behind the slot. In this game, the reels are still set against the Mayan temple backdrop but there’s been a bit of an upgrade when it comes to some of the details in the Mayan drawings and architectural ornaments.
- Two new symbols were added to the paytable with a total of 9 regular symbols (5 high-value and 4 of lower value). Winning combos are made up of 3 matching symbols while the top payouts require 6-of-a-kind combos.
Gonzo’s Quest Megaways RTP remains unchanged from the original game but offers a slightly increased winning potential of 21,000x your stake and a max payout of £84,000.
Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt
In 2020, NetEnt was taken over by Evolution Gaming, which merged two of the largest casino software companies. Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt was the first slot title to come out of the partnership the following year. This is how the game has broken new ground and added to the success of the franchise:
- It’s a unique offering that combines the concept of a live game show with the Gonzo’s Quest slot game. This means you can expect a live game host who engages with players throughout the game. While they have no impact on the mechanics or outcomes, they do add an exciting, social element to the game. Conversation is held through a chat box but the live host does have the ability to verbally respond to both players and the character of Gonzo. Since they can see all the tiles and multipliers, they’re able to point out winning tiles and other information, making this a truly interactive casino game.
- Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt can be played on VR (virtual reality) devices as well as desktop, Android, iOS and Windows.
Gonzo’s Gold
In 2021, Evolution’s NetEnt brought us the latest installment in the series – Gonzo’s Gold. Exciting additions include:
- The bet lines that Gonzo’s fans are familiar with transform into a cluster-pay slot. This means that winning combinations, instead of appearing in the usual payline formation of left to right and vice versa, are activated in clusters.
- Land 3 or more scatter symbols (the golden pyramid) and you’ll be awarded 10 free spins and a bonus win. Once the free spins feature has been triggered, players participate in a pick-and-click game that transforms one symbol into an expanding symbol. If you’re lucky enough to get 2 or more expanding symbols on the reels, they’ll swell to cover the entire reel or row and award an additional win.
- You’ll need to land 3 higher-value or 4 lower-value symbols to create a winning combo in a cluster (symbols must touch vertically or horizontally). If you’re lucky enough to land a full cluster of 25 symbols, you’ll be awarded the maximum win of 6,500x your total stake.
- At 96.11%, the RTP is a bit higher than the 95.97% in the original Gonzo’s Quest slot.
Play Gonzo’s Quest Megaways and get free spins at Mecca Games
Whether you’re completely new to online slots or you’ve been playing for some time now but have never tried the Gonzo series, we’d highly recommend giving these exciting games a spin!
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