Gonzo's Quest

Gonzo's Quest is one of the most popular slots of all time. The Swedish game studio NetEnt is behind this creation about the charming conquistador called Gonzo and his quest for the golden city of Eldorado, somewhere in a south American jungle.

Gonzo's Quest was released back in April 2010, but due to its success the game has seen continuous updates to ensure that you always get the ultimate Gonzo experience. In one of these updates, Gonzo's Quest became the first of NetEnt’s games to be ported to a mobile-compatible format, which contributed further to its popularity.

The game owes much of its success to a balanced tumbling reels mechanic, what NetEnt came to call “Avalanche”, a trademarked phrase they use to this day for games when wins are removed, and new symbols drop down from above.

Gonzo's Quest is still to this day one of the most entertaining slots you can find on crypto casinos, although we cannot play denominated in any cryptocurrency - conversions to fiat are automatic.

Gonzo is always shown on the left of the screen, in his cute explorer’s outfit. He encourages us to keep going, feeling lost if we stop hitting the play button. He has pretty decent animations and he sometimes celebrates with us when you win, giving us a cheer or a fancy dance move.

The jungle theme is big in this game, with designs that resemble Mayan ruins and plenty of greenery in the margins. What really makes the tropical atmosphere come alive though are the sound effects. Animal cries and insect chirps accompany your game time, frequently interrupted by sweet winning sounds!

The bright sounds of the Spanish guitar are followed by thunderous explosions as matching tiles disappear, and blocky thuds as more tiles drop from above to fill in their places. If you’re into medium-to-high volatility games, ancient civilizations and mighty explorers trudging through the jungle in search of treasure, then give Gonzo’s Quest a go - it will not disappoint.

Gonzo's Quest has 5 reels, 3 rows and 20 fixed paylines. It uses the old-school way of adjusting bet sizes, with levels and coin values. Compared to modern slots, where we simply set the value we wish to bet, it is a little awkward, but In the end what matters is the total bet.

There is no benefit to playing at a higher level compared to a higher coin value. Adjust to a comfortable total bet and start spinning.Once you've decided what bet level and coin value you want to play with, just hit the spin button or set the desired number of auto spins. The advanced autoplay menu gives you a few triggers to stop the automatic spins, allowing for more control over how you play.

FAQ:

The symbols in Gonzo's Quest look like colorful blocks carved out of stone, with Mayan-inspired designs in the stone. The image below shows the high paying ones, as well as the 20 fixed paylines you need to hit to land a win.

There are also two different bonus symbols in Gonzo's Quest. First we have the wild symbol, a silver block with a golden question mark in the center. This symbol substitutes for all other symbols in the game, and can appear on reels 2, 3 and 4.

Last, but certainly not least, we have the golden "Free Fall" symbol, which can be the key to unlocking the Free Fall round, to be described in more detail below.

NetEnt's Avalanche feature was quite impressive and innovative back when it was first launched, and Gonzo’s Quest shows it off really nicely. A winning payline triggers the Avalanche feature, which means that the symbols involved in the win explode and disappear, while the symbols above them drop down. Any empty spots in the grid are filled by new symbols that drop from above. Once more, winning symbols explode and make room for new symbols - and new chances to win.

Avalanches are connected to a win multiplier that increases with each new drop. The first win/Avalanche has a simple x1 multiplier, and triggers a second drop with a multiplier of x2 for any winnings. The 3rd drop has a multiplier of x3 for any winnings, and from the fourth Avalanche onward a multiplier of x5 is applied - the maximum multiplier we can expect in the base game. When there are no more winning combinations, the multiplier resets to x1. The table below demonstrates how this all works.

The current multiplier can be seen at all times on the top right of our screen and it’s made very visible, so we always know what’s happening.

The bonus game in Gonzo's Quest is undoubtedly the main attraction, because this is where you have the chance to rack up even bigger multipliers. When we land 3 or more Free Fall Symbols, 10 Free Falls are triggered. You will see Gonzo enter the legendary Eldorado, where riches beyond measure await the luckiest of players.

Our 10 Free Falls start to roll, and just like in the main game, the Avalanche feature is present - but with bigger multipliers. In the Free Falls game, they are 3x on our first Avalanche, and then increase to 6x, 9x maxing at 15x, if our winning streak lasts that long.

Re-triggering Free Falls

In the Free Fall round we also have the chance to win 10 extra Free Falls by landing 3 more Free Fall symbols. There is no limit to how many times we can re-trigger Free Falls, but at some point we will hit the 2500x hard capped maxwin and the game will end.

After the success of Gonzo's Quest, a sequel was highly anticipated, but it took NetEnt 10 years before they finally released a follow-up adventure. When they finally did, it was in collaboration with Red Tiger and the game Gonzo's Quest Megaways was launched in 2020.

With the first sequel done, it didn’t take long for the next one. Gonzo’s Gold arrived the following year, and in 2022 we got to know his twin sister (?) in Gonzita's Quest. He was, of course, also one of the main characters in NetEnt’s Superstars from 2022, alongside other classic NetEnt characters like Finn from Finn and the Swirly Spinn, mommy pig from Piggy Riches, and the Starburst star.

Gonzo also appears in Emoji Planet from 2017, but there it's more of a cameo.