Gonzo’s Quest 2 Slot Review
Gonzo, Gonzo, Gonzo…Where have you been? El Dorado has been quite elusive; in fact, more time has passed since we last saw Gonzo than the time between when El Dorado was occupied and when Gonzo first found it…give or take a few thousand years.
The original Gonzo’s Quest is over 15 years old, but Gonzo hasn’t aged a day; in fact, he looks better than ever. After Gonzo’s first foray, we were treated to Gonzo’s Quest Megaways, a creation of Red Tiger, rather than NetEnt. This was followed by Gonzo’s Gold, and then something very different, Gonzo’s Treasure Map Live.
NetEnt has left us Gonzo-less for a fairly long stint. Unforgivable? Yes, but we can let bygones be bygones if the highly anticipated Gonzo’s Quest 2 Return to El Dorado delivers.
Base Game & Features
Gonzo’s Quest 2 is part of an ongoing sequel from NetEnt, consisting of 6 reels, expanding rows, and up to 262,144 ways to win. Wins are established when 3-6 identical symbols land on adjacent reels, starting from reel 1.
The 10 high & low-win symbols each represent Aztec Tiles, awarding fixed payouts between 0.1x and 1x your bet. Additionally, the game reveals Wilds & Calamity Wilds. Both Wilds substitute for all symbols except Scatters when completing a winning combination.
Each time a winning combination occurs, the Avalanche Feature clears all winning symbols from the reels, creating room for new symbols to fall from above. As the avalanche feature takes effect, it increases the Global Multiplier by +x1, up to a maximum of x5.
Each spin begins with 6 reels & 4 rows as standard. Each win evaluation will trigger the Expanding Reels feature, awarding an additional row at the top of the matrix, up to a maximum of 8 rows.
Random Wilds Feature
The Random Wilds feature triggers when a Clamity Wild symbol is part of at least one winning combination. Before the matrix expands and the next Avalanche event occurs, the Calamity Wild will randomly position 3-6 Wilds onto the reels.
Each awarded Wild symbol will either fill an empty position or replace an existing symbol. Wild symbols cannot replace a Scatter, Wild, or Calamity Wild that has not been activated via the Random Wilds feature.
Colossal Symbols
With each spin in the base game & Free Spins mode, paytable symbols, excluding Scatters, Wilds, and Calamity Wilds, can appear on the reels in sizes 2×2, 3×3, or 4×4, acting as separate instances of 2, 3, & 4 symbols, respectively.
During the Random Wilds Feature, each high-paying Colossal symbol can be transformed into Colossal Wilds, up to 2 per spin. When a win is evaluated, all high-paying colossal symbols & Wilds are counted in the following way:
- 2×2 Colossal: Count as 4 symbols
- 3×3 Colossal: Count as 9 symbols
- 4×4 Colossal: Count as 16 symbols
Gonzo’s Quest 2 Free Spins
Triggering the Free Spins mode requires 3, 4, 5, or 6 Scatters to appear on the reels in succession, from left to right, without gaps, awarding 10, 12, 15, & 20 Free Spins, respectively.
Any Expanded Reels or active Global Multiplier at the time of its trigger will not be carried over to the Free Spins mode. In this mode, each avalanche event will cause the reels to expand, up to a maximum of 8 rows. The new reel height is carried over to the next spin until it reaches the maximum number of rows.
At the start of Free Spins, the Global Multiplier begins at x2. Each avalanche event increments the Global Multiplier by +x1, which resets at the start of the next spin. Finally, landing 3 or more Scatters from left to right awards additional Free Spins.
Super Free Spins
The Super Free Spins mode is triggered when at least one Scatter is a Colossal Scatter. In this mode, the starting Global Multiplier, in addition to the value in which it increases, depends on the size of the Colossal Scatter that triggered the mode.
- 2×2 Colossal Scatter: Awards a x2 Global Multiplier, which increases by +x2 after each avalanche
- 3×3 Colossal Scatter: Awards a x3 Global Multiplier, which increases by +x3 after each avalanche
- 4×4 Colossal Scatter: Awards a x5 Global Multiplier, which increases by +x5 after each avalanche
Elevate Feature
Players may purchase any of the following Elevate Features:
- Bonus Hunt: Guarantees to land 1 or more Scatters on the reels for 2x your bet per spin
- Calamity Explosion: Guarantees at least 1 Calamity Wild on the reels as part of a winning combination for 10x your bet
- Calamity Max: Expands the reels to 8 rows, awarding at least 1 Calamity Wild as part of a winning combination for 30x your bet. If the Free Spins mode triggers, the maximum reel height is carried over to the mode.
- Free Spins: Instantly triggers the Free Spins mode with 3, 4, 5, or 6 Scatters for 100x your bet
- Super Free Spins: Direct access to the Super Free Spins mode with 3, 4, 5, or 6 Scatters for 1,000x your bet
Gonzo’s Quest 2 includes a maximum win potential of 15,825x your bet. If a single session reaches this figure, the current mode ends, and the player returns to the base game with the qualifying amount.
Our Honest Verdict
Gonzo’s Quest 2 Return to El Dorado has evolved significantly, just as iGaming and slots have since the original game launched. For its time, Gonzo’s Quest was an absolute titan. Would it be today? No, but Gonzo’s Quest 2 is.
El Dorado has never looked better, and it’s never been a more exciting ruin to explore. The features are those befitting of a modern slot, and it’s exciting at ever turn. It retains the slightly confusing way of triggering free spins, relying on them in a pay way rather than just 3 anywhere, but you quickly adapt.
The Base Game kind of reminds us of some of ELK Studios’ Gold Series slots in a way. Expanding ways, Big Symbols and Progressive Multipliers are simple staples, but highly effective in unison.
Let us not forget the Calamity Wilds, which really ups the ante. These Wilds plant themselves in random positions to make winning combinations more possible. This, together with a big Multiplier, is nothing short of thrilling.
Gonzo’s Quest 2 doesn’t do anything brand-new, but the features that it does have work so well together, and its potential because of that is significant, 15,825x the bet to be precise. It’s lower than its Megaways sister slot, but still very attractive.
Overall, Gonzo returns with a bang; there’s no denying that it’s one of the hottest releases by NetEnt.
*The images found in this slot review are currently from Demo Play. On average, our reviews are written prior to the initial release date and before real play is available.
