Gonzo's Quest VR Slots
One of the latest technological crazes has been the move to bring virtual reality into our everyday lives through the use of wearable devices. Whether it’s the Samsung Gear VR, the PlayStation VR, the Oculus Rift, or even something as simple as Google Cardboard, headsets that can bring users into fully immersive worlds have become increasingly more popular, more affordable, and more powerful. From video games to therapeutic use, it seems that virtual reality is here to stay.
This means that you can expect to see a lot more VR experiences coming to the online gambling industry in the years to come. One of the first examples of this is Gonzo’s Quest VR by NetEnt, which is slated for release in August 2017. This title has long been one of NetEnt’s most popular games, and that makes it a perfect choice for experimentation in a new world of gaming. But more than that, there are many aspects to this slot machine that make it idea for a virtual environment, and we expect that more than a few gamblers will love coming back to this machine with a brand new way to play.
Look Around You
The Gonzo’s Quest video slot takes place in a world where conquistador Gonzalo Pizzaro is searching for the mythical city of El Dorado. Even in the original version of this machine, players were treated to a world filled with Mesoamerican carvings, lush jungle environments, gorgeous pyramids, and an animated version of our main character, who stands alongside the reels and cheers your wins while regularly checking his map to see if he can figure out exactly where he’s supposed to be going.
But this world is truly brought to life in the VR version of this title. Even in the early demos that were made available to viewers at trade shows like the International Casino Expo, it quickly became clear just how much more immersive this experience would be than any normal slot you may have played in the past. It all starts with a true 3D experience that sees characters (including not only Gonzalo, but also a rather excited parrot) move around the player’s view, truly standing in front of the reels which now sit between two walls to form a sort of gate. There’s a real depth to the world that’s mesmerizing the first time you see it.
If that doesn’t impress you enough, you’ll be sure to take notice the moment you decide to turn your head. Players have the ability to look around their world in a full 360-degree view, one that allows them to look back on the rainforest behind them. You’ll even see some animals crawling around back there, along with plenty of brightly drawn plant life. Look over to your left, and you can see the pay table and a basic explanation of the rules, a nice feature that lets you get all the information you need without ever entering a clumsy menu or pulling up a help screen.
Carved in Stone
In terms of gameplay, we expect that the Gonzo’s Quest VR video slot will play out just like the original version of the game found at online casinos, as that’s what has been shown off in preview versions of this machine. This is a five-reel machine with 20 paylines of action, all delivered in the traditional 3x5 layout. The object of the game is simple: just match identical icons from left to right, and you’ll get prizes in return.
The normal symbols on this slot are not the standard, generic characters you may be used to saying. Instead, all the possibilities are thematic, ranging from carvings of animals to various masks. While some of these might be a little hard to distinguish from one another on looks alone, each carries a different color, making them easy to tell apart at a glance. There are seven prize winning symbols in total, along with a question mark icon that acts as a wild, substituting for any other prize winning symbols to complete winning paylines.
If you haven’t had the chance to play Gonzo’s Quest before, play for free versions are available online. Of course, many online casino sites featuring software by NetEnt also offer versions that you can play for real money if you wish to do so.
Survive the Avalanche
The most important feature on this machine comes following every winning payout a player receives. After any win, all winning combinations crumble and are removed from the screen, allowing new symbols to fall into place from above. This is known as the avalanche feature, and allows gamblers additional chances to win. Better still, there is an increasing multiplier after each winning combination triggers a new avalanche: though the initial spin starts with normal payouts, the first additional round pays out at 2x, followed by 3x and 5x for additional avalanches.
These bonuses get even bigger when the Free Fall feature is triggered. This occurs whenever three golden icons appear in a winning combination on any payline. That earns the players 10 free spins, during which the normal multipliers are greatly increased. All wins are tripled, meaning that initial spins come with 3x payouts, while avalanches can increase in value to as much as 15x a normal spin.
A New Way to Enjoy a Classic
NetEnt has created some of the most beloved slots in all of iGaming over the years, but few have had as much staying power as Gonzo’s Quest. Making this their first VR game is an excellent choice not only because of its popularity, but also because the machine is relatively easy to play, with few special features, no second screen bonus rounds, and a fun avalanche feature that looks particularly great when placed into a virtual world. Whether you’ve loved this title in the past or you’ve never played it before, we think that any gambler with a VR headset will want to give this great game – hopefully the first of many to be ported over to this format – a try as soon as it is released.
