Gonzo’s Gold

For those of you familiar with the prequel to Gonzo’s Gold, you will be familiar with the lead character of this latest release from NetEnt, Gonzalo Pizarro. In this game, the Spanish conquistador is heading off into the land of the ancient civilization of the Incas in search of their treasures. In that sense, even if you don’t recall Gonzo from the prequel, you will be well aware that the Incas were one of the wealthiest civilisations and that they had a particular interest in gold, so, probably enough there to catch your interest. 

So, whilst Gonzo’s Gold is a sequel to NetEnt’s earlier title, Gonzo’s Quest, the structure of this game has undergone a serious revamp. Whilst the earlier game was set up using a cascading reels mechanism, this game is somewhat more simple, relying on five reels, five rows and cluster pay mechanism. All you need to do to win is find three or more matching symbols in a cluster on the grid, touching vertically or horizontally. 

As one might expect of a game set in the ancient empire of the Incas, the background to the five reels and fire rows is a very impressive Incan pyramid, whilst a haunting soundtrack which suggests that only the brave may enter accompanies the spinning reels. 

In terms of the betting range, this is about as large as one could possibly imagine, with a minimum bet of just $0.10 and a maximum bet of $200. Whilst we don’t imagine many people will be using that maximum, it’s nice to know that this game is ready to cater for those who have the appetite for it. 

In terms of the RTP of this game, it is 96.11%, which is just slightly higher than the original game, which had an RTP of 95.97%, and is more or less in line with the industry average. And as to volatility, this is a medium volatility game, meaning you shouldn’t be waiting too long for winnings and, when they arrive, they will be of a reasonable size. 

And lastly, in terms of the relevant information on betting ranges and winnings, the maximum win is 6,500x your stake, which is substantially lower than its predecessor, which had a maximum win of 37,500x, but is still by no means an amount to be laughed at as, with a bit of luck and a reasonable bet size, that multiplier could definitely result in a sizeable win. 

Last of all, it’s worth noting that Gonzo’s Gold can be played on your desktop as well as your mobile, and the configuration of the game makes it particularly well suited to the smaller screen. 

In terms of the symbols that you’ll see on the reels in Gonzo’s Gold, these are split into lower an higher value symbols.

The lower value symbols include those that you will typically find in most online slots games, being standard playing card symbols – 10, J, Q, K and A.

As to the higher paying symbols, you will see that NetEnt has ensured that these are well suited to the game’s theme, with a series of colourful Incan masks (green, blue and purple), whilst the highest value symbol is the bearded figure of Gonzo himself, which pays 2x your stake. Although, that amount is for a combination of three symbols, so if you manage to fill the grid with 25 Gonzo symbols, you’ll receive an amount of 5,000x your total stake.

As to the other symbols in Gonzo’s Gold, there is something a little different here, as the Incan pyramid is both the wild symbol and the scatter symbol. As a wild symbol, it replaces all other symbols to form winning combinations, whilst, as a scatter symbol, a combination of 3, 4 or 5 will activate the game’s bonus feature.

Now when it comes to bonus functions, NetEnt hasn’t done anything too complicated nor exciting here, which may leave some players feeling a bit underwhelmed. Essentially, the bonus feature on Gonzo’s Gold is a free spins feature, which is activated by obtaining three to five scatter symbols anywhere on the reels in the same spin. 

And as to what’s on offer in this feature, you will receive 10 free spins irrespective of whether you have activated the function with three, four or five scatter symbols, however the difference is in the initial payout on offer. 

-       3 scatter symbols – 2x stake

-       4 scatter symbols – 20x stake

-       5 scatter symbols – 200x stake 

And what’s more, as a nice little detail, before the bonus function begins, you will be shown 9 mystery symbols (represented by a question mark). Depending on the symbol you select, this will reveal a random symbol which will act as the special expanding symbol during the bonus feature. And if you obtain two of that same symbol, they will expand to fill a whole row.

So whilst NetEnt has sought to keep things simple in this sequel to Gonzo’s Quest, it may have gone a bit too far, without avalanches or multipliers that made the original casino game so popular amongst players of online slots. What’s more in lowering the maximum payout, it hasn’t really compensated for the change in approach. Still, there is still plenty to enjoy in Gonzo’s Gold, including a very promising free spins feature, so there is no doubt that there is still treasure in the Incan pyramid to be discovered. 

The question is, are you brave enough to enter? If so, head to PartyCasino and give the reels a spin to see what treasures are waiting to be discovered.