Gonzo's Quest from NetEnt is a journey of discovery to find the lost city of Eldorado and (more importantly) its many riches. The Gonzo character appears alongside the reels, while a backing track of birdsong and jungle sounds accompanies the gameplay.

The action takes place across 20 fixed paylines and uses an avalanche system instead of traditional rolling reels. The game's key symbols are all inspired by Mayan legend.

With its unique approach to online slots play our team couldn't wait to see how the game compared to other slots titles in the action and adventure genre. In this Gonzo's Quest review, we take you through what we discovered, including:

• How the avalanche feature can multiply your wins
• What happens when Gonzo's Wild card crops up
• How to unlock the game's 10 Free Falls feature

It's nice to come across a slot that isn't afraid to throw out the rule book

It's hard to appreciate just how differently Gonzo's Quest plays out compared to other 5 reel video slots unless you've played it. Sure, there are some familiar elements - it's still a slot machine after all - but the avalanche approach is a welcome change to the rolling reels in slots titles still being released today.

Forget seeing symbols spinning and locking into place. With Gonzo's quest online slot the 'reels' are stacked blocks, which drop down each time you press the spin button. If you hit a payline (there are 20 fixed ones) the blocks explode, everything shifts down, and new ones fill the gaps. Every time this occurs you receive a multiplier, up to 5x the value of your winning spin, so even in Gonzo Quest's base game there's serious money to be made.

Mayan symbols dictate how much you stand to win with each spin

The Gonzo's Quest slot is based on the historical explorer Gonzalo Pizzaro, who set off in search of Eldorado's lost gold. The symbols in the game are those you'd commonly find associated with Mayan mythology, from snakes, spirits and eagles to divine sacred gods, the most high value of all symbols.

There's no shortage of multipliers and free spins in this epic action slot

As well as the awesome avalanche multipliers our team discovered in their Gonzo's Quest review, there's also the possibility of triggering a free spins bonus feature when you land 3 of the gold Free Fall symbols on a payline.

When this occurs, you'll get 10 instant free spins, which will play out automatically back-to-back. With every avalanche that occurs you can build up your multipliers again, as well as landing more Free Fall symbols. Hit 4 or more avalanches in this mode and you'll receive ax15 multiplier on your highest winning payline.

Wilds Substitute any symbols to complete winning paylines

When Wilds crop up in the Gonzo's Quest online slot you can complete any gaps to form a winning payline. These symbols start out as a silver emblem bearing a gold question mark, but you'll see them magically change before your eyes to replace whatever symbol it is you're missing.

Wilds can replace any other symbol in the game - even Free Falls.

Mobile as well as desktop friendly

Gonzo's Quest is one of the more entertaining real money 3D slots we've played, so you could be forgiven for thinking this rules out mobile gaming. But you'd be wrong.

Despite its excellent graphics and unique avalanche feature, the Gonzo's Quest slot is still compatible with tablet and smartphone devices across multiple iOS and Android platforms. And performed well under scrutiny from our team who tested out the compatibility with Android and iPhone devices of all generations to bring you this Gonzo's Quest review.

A triumph in modern video slots - one for other developers to aim for

Gonzo's Quest is one of those rare gems in online casino gaming, a video slot that still has the ability to surprise you. We can't tell you how refreshing it is to play a game that challenges the status quo and presents a different way of doing things.

The avalanche feature we discovered while conducting this Gonzo's Quest slot review is definitely one we'd like to see more of. In our opinion it raises the bar for other game developers to push the boundaries when it comes to slot machine design.