Gonzo’s Quest 2 – NetEnt Returns with a 262,144-Way Avalanche in 2025

Launching on September 25, 2025, at the many more and less prominent NetEnt casinos, Gonzo’s Quest II: Return to El Dorado is the developer's full-scale modernisation of the Avalanche classic that first made Gonzo a household name back in 2013. A 6×4 setup that can stretch to eight rows and 262,144 ways, a 15,825x max payout, and a feature-buy worth more than most players’ entire session. Rather than banking on nostalgia, NetEnt has built a slot meant to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with today’s most aggressive grid releases.

Base Game: Classic Avalanches on a Massive Grid

The action now unfolds on an expandable 6x4 layout, bursting up to 8 rows high with each win-triggered Avalanche via the Expanding Reels mechanic. Every Avalanche adds a new row until no further wins occur, at which point the reels reset. Volatility is rated medium, and while the RTP sits at 96.06%, the 15,825x max win tells a tad very different story.

Wilds & Colossal Symbols

Two Wilds make an appearance — the regular Wild and a new Calamity Wild. When the latter forms part of a winning combo, it activates the Random Wilds feature, raining down 3–6 extra Wilds onto the reels before the next Avalanche begins. Add in 2x2–4x4 colossal symbols, including Scatter super-blocks that can grow into colossal Wilds, and suddenly there’s much more than a multiplier riding on each tumble.

Free Spins & Super Free Spins

Landing 3–6 Scatters in succession from the leftmost reel activates up to 20 Free Spins or Super Free Spins, played in a version of the base game where reel expansions stay locked in between spins. Multipliers begin at x2, increasing after each Avalanche.

Super Free Spins require at least one colossal Scatter to trigger. Starting multipliers depend on its size — x2 (2×2), x3 (3×3), x5 (4×4) — increasing at the same rate per Avalanche. It’s a clever escalation that revives the magic of a mechanic copied endlessly since 2013.

Elevate Feature: Five Bet-Boosted Modes

Unusually for NetEnt, Gonzo’s Quest II launches with five buy-in options via the Elevate feature:

• Bonus Hunt (2× bet): Guarantees a Scatter
• Calamity Explosion (10×): Guarantees a Calamity Wild win
• Calamity Max (30×): Starts with 8 rows and a Calamity Wild
• Free Spins (100×): Guarantees 3+ Scatters
• Super Free Spins (1,000×): Guarantees at least one colossal Scatter.

Once exclusive to studios like Pragmatic Play and ELK, NetEnt has not long ago decided it’s playing on the same high-roller turf. You'll also find Elevate in Piggy Riches 3, which is just around the corner.

Final Thoughts

NetEnt’s first Gonzo’s Quest topped out at 3,750× and ran on a classic 3-row setup. Gonzo’s Gold experimented with Cluster Pays, but never fully pushed the format forward. Like their more recent sequels (Jack Hammer 4, Reel Rush XXXtreme, and Finn and the Dragon Tales), Gonzo’s Quest II: Return to El Dorado revisits a proven IP — this time rebuilt to meet 2025 demands.

With its 8-row potential, five buy-in options, and 4× higher max win than the original, the sequel is clearly positioned to reignite the Avalanche conversation around NetEnt. Above all, this is Gonzo’s Quest finally getting a true, numbered sequel, which natually lifts all expectations.