Gonzo’s Quest Megaways: Overview
When NetEnt bought out Red Tiger in a deal worth
hundreds of millions; it didn’t take long💷 for the iGaming world to envisage what
mashups might pour forth from the amalgamation. NetEnt’s illustrious back-catalogue
combined with Red💷 Tiger’s Megaways license quickly sprang to mind.
High on the wish
list for a lot of players was Piggy Riches Megaways,💷 which turned out to be a highly
playable game. Even dearer to many hearts is the second NetEnt classic to💷 get the
treatment – Gonzo’s Quest. Well, it has happened, one of the most popular slots on the
planet has💷 been beefed up, redesigned, remade, revamped, blessed a second life,
whatever you want to call it, thanks to Big Time💷 Gaming’s popular Megaways engine.
The
first impressions are pretty much everything you would hope they would be. It’s Gonzo,
but a💷 more modern, attractive looking version. Everything is crisper, sharper, more
defined, not to mention bigger. Thanks to Megaways, players get💷 6 reels, with 2-7
symbols on each. Win ways vary on every spin from 64 all the way up to💷 117,649.
Megaways slots typically use some sort of cascade mechanic, so Gonzo’s inherent
Avalanche feature suits it like a charm.💷 Pour in some sweet jungle sounds, and the
playful antics of Gonzo himself by the reels and you can’t help💷 but smile at the
prospect of firing the game up.
Doing so requires selecting bets first. There isn’t a
huge range💷 of options, but enough to cover most requirements from 10 p/c toR$/€4 per
spin. What cause the next shiver of💷 delight are the stats, starting with an RTP of 96%
which is bang on average and actually higher than the💷 original. Volatility is also
suitably high and has been paired with potential in excess of 20,000 times the stake.
When💷 it comes to figures, Gonzo’s could hardly be any better.
In a nice nod to the
past, most symbols are the💷 same as those in the original. Though there are a few
changes. For one, they look nicer. Secondly, a new💷 mask has been added to the top of
the paytable, which is worth 15 times the stake for six of💷 a kind. This premium is
followed by four more masks of lesser value, and four low pay animalistic looking
icons.💷 Two more special symbols round off the paytable, which are covered
below.
Gonzo’s Quest Megaways: Features
Those who like features will be💷 please to
know there is a bunch available in Gonzo’s Quest Megaways. They frequently appear
during the base game, keeping💷 play nicely balanced while climaxing in a round of free
spins.
Avalanches are the most common, so it makes sense to💷 start there. Each symbol in
a winning combination is removed from the reels, allowing new ones to fall into the
💷 gaps. This means multiple winners are possible on a single spin since Avalanches
continue as long as winning combinations keep💷 landing. When no more winners appear it
is on to the next fresh spin.
Avalanches are intimately tied to the next💷 classic
feature, the Avalanche Multiplier. On each Avalanche, the multiplier increases from x1
to x2, x3, maxing at x5 during💷 the base game. The multiplier resets to x1 on new
spins.
Shaking up the game, literally, is the new Earthquake feature💷 which drops in
randomly at any moment. When it does, all low pay symbols in view disintegrate,
allowing only high💷 pay symbols to fall into the vacated spaces.
The question mark wild
symbols are back. This time as Unbreakable Wilds. Up💷 to 2 can land on a spin - one in
the first three reels and one in the second three💷 reels. As the name suggests,
Unbreakable Wilds do not disintegrate when used in a win but stay on the grid💷 to help
pull in more combos.
Last up is a triggered round of free spins. You’ll need the golden
Free Fall💷 symbols to do so, where 3 award 9 free spins, plus 3 additional spins for
every extra Free Fall symbol💷 in view. During free spins, the Avalanche Multiplier is
increased, having values of x3, x6, x9, and x15. Free Fall💷 scatters still turn up too,
so the feature can be extended with no set limit.
One nice touch is when free💷 spins
end, the last Avalanche Multiplier is carried over and applied to the base game
sequence that triggered the feature.
Gonzo’s💷 Quest Megaways: Verdict
Due to its massive
popularity as one of the most played slots ever released, Gonzo’s Quest was always💷 ripe
for a makeover. When you consider Avalanches come preinstalled, then a Megaways version
had a sense of inevitability about💷 it. Fate is inexorable, as they say, but that
doesn’t guarantee success, so how does the game fare?
Well, anxious fans💷 of the first
can breathe a huge sigh of relief, because the remake is a real treat to play. The
💷 development team have hammered out the details while nailing the big elements to make
Gonzo’s Quest Megaways a superb sequel.💷 Crucially, everything that made the first one
so much fun has been retained, and the sequel builds on the original💷 while taking
nothing away from it. Megaways has simply enhanced the experience, in all respects.
If
there are no major concerns💷 over the gameplay, there are even less about the stats.
Indeed, you could take the numbers, throw them into the💷 air and it would turn to
sunshine. Okay, a slight exaggeration, but the RTP is a-ok, and potential clocks in💷 at
21,000 times the stake, making it really hard not to like the new Gonzo. It might have
taken a💷 few years, and a massive corporate acquisition to achieve, but Gonzo’s Quest
Megaways was well worth the wait.
You can’t please💷 everyone though, so if we had to
stretch for a possible objection, maybe some critics will claim it’s too much💷 like the
original? Same symbols, same characters, and same mechanics, perhaps. However, enough
has been changed, altered, or added for💷 the vast majority of players to think
otherwise.
Yet, it’s still Gonzo at its heart, with all the frivolity that entails.
💷 NetEnt and Red Tiger are to be commended for making full use of what Megaways offers
while not drowning out💷 what made the original special. So, now Gonzo is out of the way,
any guesses what the next NetEnt classic💷 in line might be?
