The best online slot: Gonzo's Quest

Slot machines are the driving force behind both land-based and online casinos.

11:57 04 July 2019

They are the games that attract the majority of customers and as a result the highest revenues. In the United Kingdom alone over half of the remote sectors annual £5 billion revenues are made up from slot machines income.

It’s something that would have seemed unimaginable to Sittman and Pitt who released the first mechanical slot machine in New York in 1891. That first slot machine was sold to bars all around New York and consisted of 5 rotating barrels that moved 50 playing cards into a small variation of patterns.

It cost just a nickel to play and quickly gained a cult following among the gambling enthusiasts of New York. Sittman and Pitt’s machine made them rich but it also completely revolutionised the gambling industry.

The best slot on the market right now – Gonzo’s Quest – is based on the same principles at that first slot machine, albeit with added cutting edge technology. Let’s take a look at the online quest of Gonzo and see just what makes it an amazing slot to play.

From a 50 playing card mechanical slot to Gonzo’s Quest, slot machines have come a long way.

Gonzo’s Quest Theme

The slot machine market is incredibly crowded which is great news for the consumer as developers are constantly trying to outdo each other. One area that developers are focusing on is the theme of their games.

A slot machine with just 50 playing cards may have been enough to keep gamblers entertained in New York almost 130 years ago but it isn’t now. When you play Gonzo’s Quest you will do so in the background of a former Mayan empire.

Swedish game developers NetEnt have capitalised on the public’s fascination with lost societies and civilizations with this game. The main character – Gonzo – is on a mission to discover just such a civilization which makes for a stunning background, theme and layout to this slot.

Gonzo’s Quest Layout

Spinning reels are the bread and butter of online slots, and that’s one feature that has barely changed in over a century of slot machines. That was until 2010 however when Gonzo’s Quest was first released by NetEnt.

Instead of having a spinning reel structure, symbols in Gonzo’s Quest fall from the top of the screen in the form of huge carved stones. How they land and stack up on top of each other dictates how much (or if) the player wins.

This simple tweak in the game structure makes Gonzo’s Quest a really engaging slot to play and gives it a unique selling point over its competitors.

Gonzo’s Quest Bonuses

The falling stone system of Gonzo’s Quest opens up new ways to present bonus features to customers, the best of which is the Avalanche System. When snakes, hawks and different masks fall in a winning combination the piled up stones on the screen explode to signal a bonus.

The tetris style animation is visually stunning and unique in the slot machine market, it’s a great sight to see players. Not only because it is visually spectacular but because it signals multipliers of 1x, 2x or even 5x.

Wilds in the game are also well animated and appear randomly to transform the carved stones and boost the player’s chance of hitting a winning combination. Gonzo’s Quest also has the customary free spin feature but in keeping with the theme of the slot they are referred to as free falls.

When these free falls are triggered you will be greeted by an animation of Gonzo walking through a gate that leads him to a shining pyramid in the distance.

Gonzo’s Quest Longevity

As mentioned above Gonzo’s Quest was first released by NetEnt in 2010, yet it still remains one of the most popular (if not the most popular) slot machine on the market. The game’s spectacular design and animations are key in its longevity and continued appeal.

Another factor is the RTP of 95.97% combined with a low variance that results in players winning small sums at a steady rate. Unfortunately there is no progressive jackpot for Gonzo’s quest, but it is still well worth playing to experience the industry leading graphics and theme.