Gonzo’s Quest 2

Gonzo’s Quest 2 Review

Gonzo's Quest 2: Return to El Dorado takes you on a nostalgic trip, dropping you off at the very same South American jungle spot conquistador Gonzo occupied in the original Gonzo's Quest. NetEnt, somewhat surprisingly, allowed partner studio Red Tiger to develop and release the Megaways version in 2020, but they have taken it upon themselves to deliver the first bona fide sequel to their iconic flagship (yes, we’re looking past the underwhelming Gonzo's Gold from 2021 for the occasion).

As usual, you start by choosing your preferred bet level, which ranges from €0.30 to €30 per spin in Gonzo’s Quest 2. The game plays out on a 6x4 default grid with 4,096 ways to win, and you win by landing matching symbols anywhere on at least 3 adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost reel. The carved stone mask premium symbols have not changed much visually, but in this game, they award between 0.23x and 1x your stake for 6 of a kind wins. The low-value symbols all pay 0.17x your stake for the same.

Gonzo’s Quest 2 Slot - Reels Screen

Wild symbols not only substitute for regular pay symbols to help complete or improve wins, but also pay the same as the top-tier symbol. As in the original game, winning symbols are removed and replaced via the Avalanche mechanic, and the Gonzo multiplier increases per consecutive avalanche, topping out at x5 in the base game. However, in Gonzo’s Quest 2, you’ll also benefit from added rows per avalanche, potentially expanding the grid up to size 6x8 with 262,144 win ways.

In addition, colossal symbols of up to size 4x4 have been added to the mix, including wilds and scatters. Calamity Wilds is also a brand new innovation, spreading wilds to up to 6 positions when part of a win. The grid size does not reset in the regular bonus round, while the Gonzo multiplier also becomes non-resetting in the super bonus feature. Gonzo’s Quest 2 is a highly volatile game, boasting an RTP of 96.06 % as the top RTP setting, and a max win of 15,825x your stake. A brand new Elevate Bonus Buy menu has also been added for eligible players.

Gonzo’s Quest 2 Features

You can look forward to a mix of familiar and new features in Gonzo’s Quest 2 NetEnt, including the iconic Gonzo mechanic with the added benefit of grid expansion and colossal symbols. Below, we’ll give you a complete overview of what to expect, and detail how these mechanics can conspire to land you massive wins.

Avalanche Wins, Gonzo Multiplier, and Expanding Reels

Winning symbols are removed by the Avalanche mechanic, allowing new and existing symbols to drop down to fill the gaps. This means indefinite winning streaks are possible per round, as the process repeats as long as you keep winning. The Gonzo multiplier increases by +1 per consecutive cascade, maxing out at x5 in the base game. In addition, each win and cascading win expand the grid by +1 row, topping out at 6x8 with 4 extra rows added. Both the multiplier and the grid size reset on each new spin.

Calamity Wilds and Colossal Symbols

You can land regular Wild symbols or Calamity Wild symbols in Gonzo’s Quest 2, and both wilds substitute for pay symbols to help complete wins as their core function. However, Calamity Wilds that are part of a winning combo trigger a Random Wilds feature, spreading regular wilds to 3 to 6 positions before the grid expands. Wilds do not cover other wilds or scatter symbols, including pre-activation Calamity Wilds.

Premium symbols, wilds, and scatter symbols can land in sizes 1x1, 2x2, 3x3, or 4x4, and anything above the regular 1x1 size is considered a Colossal symbol. Paying symbols and wilds count as the number of positions they occupy when part of a win, meaning a 3x3 pay symbol or wild counts as 9 symbols. However, a 2x2, 3x3, or 4x4 scatter only counts as 2, 3, or 4 scatters, respectively, which is something to keep in mind. The Random Wilds feature may turn up to 2 premium symbols into colossal wilds per trigger.

Gonzo’s Quest 2 Free Spins Bonus

The Bonus Round triggers when you land 3, 4, 5, or 6 scatter symbols on the same base game spin or in the same Avalanche sequence. This awards 10, 12, 15, or 20 free spins, respectively, and the base game grid size and multiplier reset before the free spins play out. However, when the grid expands during the bonus round, the grid size does not reset between spins like it does in the base game.

The Gonze multiplier starts at x2 in the bonus round, increasing by +2 per avalanche. Unlike the grid size, the win multiplier resets to x2 between free spins. Extra free spins are awarded when you land at least 3 scatters on adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost reel, and you win the same amount of additional free spins as the number of retriggering scatters. If one of the retriggering scatters is colossal, you upgrade to the Super Bonus Round.

Super Free Spins Bonus

The Super Bonus Round can also be triggered from the base game, which happens when at least one of the triggering scatter symbols is larger than size 1x1. Triggering the super bonus round with a colossal scatter of size 2x2, 3x3, or 4x4 awards a starting and default Gonzo multiplier of x2, x3, or x5, respectively. This multiplier increases by +2, +3, or +5 per avalanche, respectively. It’s also important to note that, unlike in the regular bonus round, the super bonus round multiplier does not reset between free spins.

Gonzo’s Quest 2 Slot - Free Spins

Elevate Bonus Buy Feature (not UK)

The Elevate Bonus Buy menu is available in some regions, and it’s prominently displayed down to the left. Here is an overview of the features you can purchase in Gonzo’s Quest 2 slot:

• Bonus Hunt - pay 2x your stake for a guaranteed scatter per base game spin, increasing your bonus round chances by an unspecified amount.
• Calamity Explosion - pay 10x your stake for a guaranteed Calamity Wild in a win, triggering the Random Wild feature with up to 6 wilds added.
• Calamity Max - pay 30x your stake for a maxed-out 6x8 grid and a guaranteed Calamity Wild in a win (the grid size carries over if the bonus round is triggered).
• Bonus Round - pay 100x your stake for 3 to 6 triggering scatters (which may include a colossal scatter that triggers the super FS instead of regular FS).
• Super Bonus Round - pay 1,000x your stake for 3 to 6 triggering scatters, with at least one colossal scatter guaranteed.

Theme & Graphics

The Gonzo’s Quest 2 game has added more depth to the visual presentation compared to the original, enhancing the immersive 3D effect. You’re once again taken to the jungle of South America, in the search for the lost golden city of El Dorado. Gonzo himself stands patiently outside the wall leading into the ancient temples of this city, waiting for you to clear the way by triggering the bonus round. His antics and reactions are still charming enough, and the stone symbols drop down with a satisfying thud, creating a weighty and impactful feel as you play. He fills his helmet with raining gold coins when you win big, and overall, the level of detail is exquisite.

Pros and Cons of Gonzo’s Quest 2

Our Verdict

There’s no doubt that NetEnt’s flagship, the original Gonzo’s Quest, was a remarkable achievement back in 2013, an avant-garde release that altered the course of slot gaming history forever. The once leading-edge studio has decided to play it relatively safe with this long-awaited follow-up, and Gonzo’s Quest 2 does not disappoint if you’re looking for a healthy dose of nostalgia combined with highly entertaining gameplay.

The visuals are even better than in the relatively recent Megaways version, at least if you look past the somewhat underwhelming intro. Gonzo himself is as charming as ever, but then again, he has not developed much in terms of looks or personality over all these years. To his credit, he does have a solid repertoire of reactions and mumbling action commentary, which makes him an unpredictable and likable character that never gets boring or annoying.

Tons of studios have “borrowed” what has long since become known as the Gonzo mechanic by now, but it’s still a bit unexpected that NetEnt would choose to borrow so heavily from ELK’s gold series. Such an anticipated and iconic release as Gonzo’s Quest 2 deserves more original features that make it stand out as unique, at least in my humble opinion. However, you cannot argue with the fact that the added colossal symbols and expanding grid feature mesh well with the existing mechanics.

Fans of the original game, and not least, the Megaways version, will probably embrace Gonzo’s Quest 2, despite the somewhat lower max win of 15,825x your stake (compared to 21,000x in the Megaways version). If Gonzo 2 was released in a vacuum, it would stand out as an amazing game, but my excitement was dampened a bit by the overfamiliarity of the features (whether borrowed or not). Still, Gonzo’s Quest 2 is well worth playing, but not quite the milestone sequel some may have expected.