Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays Slot Review
Initially released in 2011 by NetEnt, Gonzo’s Quest became a fan favourite of online casino gamblers worldwide. Indeed, it was so popular that Red Tiger took the slot and gave it the MegaWays treatment in 2020, nearly nine years later. That shows how much people loved the original version! Did Red Tiger succeed with their remake? We’ll take a look in this Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays slot review and see if it’s one of the best slots that Canadians should still play in 2024. Or, are there other online slots at your favourite new slots casino that you should try instead? Let’s dive in to see the answer to that question!
Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays Slot Theme
The theme of Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays is one of the big reasons this slot is so enjoyable. If you have played the NetEnt version of Gonzo’s Quest before, you should know that Red Tiger didn’t modify the theme at all for the MegaWays version.
Unlike some other online slots that have a basic theme, this one is quite detailed. According to NetEnt (when they released the game), Gonzo’s Quest takes place in 1541, off the coast of Peru. Captain Gonzo and you have swum to shore and are standing in front of an entrance. You’re both wondering if this is the lost city of El Dorado, and the only way to find out is, as you may have guessed, to play this slot! While many slots have a theme, very few have as detailed of a backstory as this one does. It’s pretty fun to see! As noted above, Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays keeps the same theme and same storyline.
Even though Red Tiger mainly uses the original graphics from the 2011 version, those old graphics are still holding up – a testament to how well the original designers made this game in 2011! The slot graphics are colourful, the sound is immersive, and Captain Gonzo provides some unique entertainment standing to the left of the reels. While this slot doesn’t have the flash and pizazz that some newer machines do, its theme still holds up well overall. Most gamers will have a fun time playing with this theme!
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How To Play Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays
Playing Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays is pretty simple overall. All you need to do is press the spin button! The old version of the online slot had a somewhat complicated betting scheme where you’d need to select the bet per line and the number of lines you want to play. The MegaWays version does away with all of that. In this version, all you need to do is select your stake and hit the spin button!
The reels will spin, and some symbols will show up. Any winning combination will clear off the board, and new blocks will fall to take the spots occupied by the winning lines. Of course, this makes it possible to win more than once per spin (Red Tiger calls this the Avalanche feature)!
Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays has a decently advanced auto-play system. You can set the total number of spins from 10 to 100. However, you can also choose three other conditions when the game should stop automatically spinning for you:
- If any single win exceeds a threshold you set
- Your total cash decreases by a threshold you set
- If you get the bonus feature
These three choices may not seem like much, but they are remarkably powerful. For example, you can set the following condition “spin the slot up to 100 times but stop if I win $50, lose $50, or if I win the bonus feature.” In this Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays slot review, we’ll see multiple ways in which this slot is a compelling offering – the robustness of the auto-play feature is one way this slot is a masterpiece.
Symbols and Bonus Features
Nine symbols can appear on any given spin in Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays: Silver Face, Blue Face, Green Face, Orange Face, Purple Face, Green Carving, Bronze Carving, Copper Carving, and Stone Carving. There are three features in Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays that you’ll run into as you play the slot.
Avalanche Feature
The first exciting feature that this slot has is the Avalanche. As mentioned above, when you win, the winning symbols disappear from the reels, and new symbols fall into place. This process keeps going until you have a symbol set with no wins. The Avalanche feature also includes a multiplier. For every win that you get, the multiplier increases. It starts at the usual 1x. Then, when you make that first win, the subsequent one has a 2x multiplier. If that’s a win, you’ll go to 3x and finally 5x on your fourth win. Every successive win gets this 5x multiplier which can, in theory, make for some very impressive wins!
Unbreakable Wilds Feature
The question mark symbol is the wild in this slot. It substitutes for any other symbol to form a payline. Up to two wilds can land on the reels in the same spin. The Unbreakable Wilds feature means that these wilds do not break or explode. In other words, when the avalanche happens above, the wild part of the winning combination will remain. Then, any new symbols that drop can, potentially, take advantage of those wilds to form new combinations. Ultimately, the effect of the Unbreakable Wilds feature is that you’ll see more wins thanks to these persistent wilds!
Free Falls Feature
The Free Falls feature is a significant highlight of this slot. If you have three of the golden Free Falls symbols, this feature happens. You’ll see the Royal Wheel. At that point, you can take the number of spins awarded, or you can gamble for more free spins. The choice is up to you. Once the game starts, if you land more Free Fall symbols, you’ll get more spins. Free spins alone are pretty exciting, but this feature is unique because the Avalanche multiplier goes up by three times the original amount. So, instead of the scale being 1x to 5x, it’s 3x to 15x. Having the potential for 15x your win means you can do quite well if you hit the Free Falls feature!
Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays Odds and Payouts
In addition to the Wild symbol, there are seven paying symbols that people may encounter with each spin. Each symbol would pay out the following:
- Silver Face: 15x your bet for six in a row and 1x your wager for three
- Blue Face: 4x your bet for six symbols and 0.7x your wager for three
- Green Face: 2x your wager for all six in a row and 0.5x your bet for three
- Orange Face: 1.2x your wager for six in a row and 0.4x your bet for three
- Purple Face: 1x your bet for six in a row and 0.3x your wager for three
- Green Carving: 0.8x your bet for six symbols and 0.2x your wager for three
- Bronze Carving: 0.7x your wager for all six in a row and 0.2x your stake for three
- Copper Carving: 0.6x your wager for six in a row and 0.2x your stake for three
- Stone Carving: 0.5x your bet for six in a row and 0.1x your stake for three
While these numbers may seem low, you have to remember that with the MegaWays slots, there are 117,649 total ways to win! So you might get multiple 15x your wagers in a single spin! There are only two other symbols, the Scatter and Wild symbols. Both of those don’t have payment amounts on their own. The Wild symbol substitutes for any of the symbols above to form a payline.
RTP and Volatility
While Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays has a lot of fun, excitement, and excellent graphics, the RTP is one area where this slot falls a little short. RTP stands for “return to player,” and it’s the percentage of your bet that, on average, the game returns on each spin. So, if a slot has an RTP of 80%, that would mean the game would pay out, on average, $0.80 for every dollar you bet. The difference (20%, in this case) is the house edge. The higher the RTP, the more money you can expect to get back from this slot over the long haul.
Most land-based casinos have an RTP of about 93%. Some are as high as 95%, while many (especially in areas with little competition) will sit at 91% or below for their slot machines. Since online casinos have less overhead (they don’t have elaborate buildings to maintain as the land casinos do), they often have their slots with higher RTP ratios. It’s not uncommon to see 96%+ and many online slots are even in the 97%-98% range.
Unfortunately, Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays has an RTP of 96%. While that’s higher than many land-based casinos, many others are better. For example, the top-rated Jammin’ Jars slot has an RTP of 96.83%. It’s just a little disappointing that this slot would have a comparatively lacklustre RTP when it otherwise crushes this Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays slot review in all other categories (and is arguably one of the better MegaWays slots out there).
Gonzo’s Quest has high volatility. As such, you should expect to have some periods where you win nothing, followed by periods of bigger wins. Most people find slots of this volatility to be quite enjoyable to play overall.
Who Makes Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays?
The makers of this slot have a rich history. NetEnt produced the original Gonzo’s Quest, and then Red Tiger has reimagined it as a MegaWays slot. Red Tiger was founded in 2014 by a group of industry veterans. In 2019, NetEnt acquired Red Tiger, effectively bringing the MegaWays slot under their umbrella of companies. Then, in 2020, Evolution Gaming bought NetEnt, which meant that Red Tiger also became part of Evolution.
Even though it shows up as a Red Tiger slot, the parent company is Evolution Gaming. Red Tiger has created numerous fan favourite slots, including Dice Dice Dice, Dream Destiny, 7 Neon Links, and NFT MegaWays. If you gamble a lot at online casinos, you’ll almost assuredly have seen one of their slots before!
Is Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays Playable on Mobile?
Yes! You can play Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays on mobile devices, as well as desktop computers. Whether you have an Android or iOS device, you will be able to enjoy this fun online slot. It is worth noting that Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays also works on Android tablets and iPads. As such, no matter where you are or what device you have, you’ll be able to take this adventure to Peru any time you want!
Gonzo’s Quest Megaways Slot Review : This Is a Slot You Should Try!
There’s no doubt that Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays is an entertaining and enjoyable slot machine. The original was a masterpiece among the NetEnt slots, and the Red Tiger enhancements have only made it better. The theme is well-done, the Avalanche feature is remarkably fun, and the depth of the auto-play feature are all great reasons to play one of these MegaWays slots.
While it would have been nice to see a higher RTP, that’s by no means a dealbreaker considering, overall, 96% is still pretty good (or at least it’s likely better than what you’ll find at your local land-based casino!). Therefore, make sure you try this slot machine out at your favourite new slots casino. Win or lose, you will almost assuredly have a great time!
