Our Unusual Suspects review follows the story of a detective who heads downtown in pursuit of lawbreakers. This slot is the brainchild of Northernlights, a Games Global partner. Help to fight crime and you could claim a potential reward of 12,500x.
The developer introduces a number of distinctive features, like a Free Spins Booster and Nudging Scatter Respins. Read our Unusual Suspects review for more gameplay information.
| Software Provider | Northern Lights |
| Release Date | September 2023 |
| RTP | 96.05% |
| Volatility | Medium |
| Max Win | 12,500x |
| Reels x Rows | 5 x 4 |
| Minimum – Maximum Bet | $0.10 - $20 |
| Number of Paylines | 20 |
| Themes | Crime |
Unusual Suspects Details, RTP and Volatility
Northern Lights opts for a 5x4 slot grid with 20 base game paylines. A sticky frame mechanic is also in play, which we’ll describe later. Players can wager between $0.10 and $20 per spin.
According to the developer, the slot has a medium volatility, indicating that the frequency and size of wins are pretty balanced. In addition, there is a maximum payout of 12,500x up for grabs.
Unusual Suspects has a default RTP of 96.05%, which is just slightly above the average for online slots. However, other casinos may offer lower versions, with 86.79%, 92.13% and 94.06% variants all available.
Theme & Graphics in Unusual Suspects
As mentioned earlier in this Unusual Suspects review, the game features a theme of crime and law enforcement. In the slot’s backdrop, a lifelike depiction of a busy downtown area, complete with bright night lights and heavy traffic, further reinforces its central idea. During the free spins bonus, this background transforms to a detective’s office, with plenty of clichéd crime investigation paraphernalia.
The symbols in the Unusual Suspects slot fit the theme nicely, particularly the human characters. However, these appear slightly exaggerated, especially due to their extravagant facial hair. Other icons include representations of handcuffs and suitcases full of loot.
A cool jazz soundtrack backs your gameplay, reminiscent of the Police Squad! Movie. Occasional police sirens and commands from the Detective remind you of the game’s theme.
Unusual Suspects Slot Features
Moving on, this Unusual Suspects review will now zoom in on the slot’s gameplay and bonus features. The developer settles upon a few rather unorthodox and innovative elements, all of which we’ll unpack subsequently.
Regular Symbols
Playing card icons 10 through A are the base symbols in this slot. These pay 1x your bet for five on a payline. The higher-paying symbols are handcuffs, a pistol, dynamite and a suitcase full of cash. All of these premium icons return between 2x to 10x for matching five.
Wilds
Unusual Suspects combines regular and golden wild symbols. The first is depicted by a moustachioed felon in a silver frame, which pays 20x for a combination of five. On the other hand, the golden wild icon boasts a golden frame and spawns further wilds whenever it lands. Both wilds can substitute for all other regular symbols.
Scatters
Police car lights serve as the scatters in this Unusual Suspects slot. Similar to most casino games, the scatters activate the free spins bonus. Landing three, four or five scatters awards 10, 15 or 20 free spins, respectively.
Sticky Frames
Everytime a wild hits the reels, a x1 frame emerges on that position. This remains fixed in place until Detective symbols appear, transforming the framed cells to wilds. If additional wilds land on the frame, the multipliers increase, up to a maximum x5. A line of five wilds pays 10x your wager.
Detective Symbol
This is a detective’s badge featuring the bust of a police officer. If it appears, as previously explained, it will populate any framed positions. Any multipliers earned are applied to wins on that same payline. After the Detective Bonus ends, any sticky frames are removed. However, during the free spins game, they remain in place throughout.
Nudging Scatter Respin
If you land exactly two scatters on the top three rows, this feature kicks in. While all reels respin, those with scatter symbols will nudge down one reel. This nudging continues until of the scatters reach the bottom row, or five scatters appear.
Free Spins Booster
Having two scatters in view also adds one token to the Booster Meter. Collecting 50 tokens and triggering the free spins simultaneously unlocks the Big Boss 1 mode.
Big Boss Free Spins
The free spins round is activated by landing at least three scatters anywhere on the reels. If Detective symbols hit during the free spins, they are added to the Bonus Trail above the grid and return the following rewards:
- 3 Detectives triggers Big Boss 1, offering 5 additional free spins and a x2 multiplier.
- 6 Detectives triggers Big Boss 2, offering 5 additional free spins and a x3 multiplier.
- 9 Detectives triggers Big Boss 3, offering 5 additional free spins and a x5 multiplier.
- 12 Detectives triggers Big Boss 4, offering 5 additional free spins and a x10 multiplier.
How to Play Unusual Suspects Online
Unusual Suspects adheres to fairly standard slot rules, including counting winning combinations on a payline from left to right. Moreover, it includes a Gamble feature and a Bonus Buy option. With the former, you can enjoy a 50-50 chance of entering the free spins round. While the latter allows you to purchase this bonus at a fixed price of 38.6x your bet.
Try the Unusual Suspects Demo for Free before playing for real money
As we wrap up this Unusual Suspects review, we encourage you to try the slot’s demo. Doing so allows you to enjoy the game for free, ahead of playing for real money at one of our top-rated online casinos. The free Unusual Suspects demo game is available here on this page.
Unusual Suspects Review – Our Final Verdict
Unusual Suspects does well to live up to its name, especially with the eccentric character symbols and features thrown in by Northernlights. There are some innovative gameplay elements here, like sticky frames and nudging scatter respins.
However, compared to more prominent releases with crime themes, like Midnight Marauder, the maximum payout here is fairly low. This makes more sense when thinking about the bet limits, however, with a maximum stake of just $20. It seems like this is really a slot for the more casual gamer.
Given the cops ‘n robbers theme, we’d have hoped for a little more action than we were actually treated to. Nevertheless, if you like mild adventure, or simply want to play at lower stakes for smaller rewards, Unusual Suspects is a great game to try.
Similar Slot Games
Below are a few games culled from our slotpedia that are similar to Unusual Suspects.
- Le Bandit: This 6x5 Hacksaw Gaming slot promises 10,000x your stake and an RTP of 96.34%.
- Hellcatraz: Created by Relax Gaming in 2020, this 96.83% RTP slot reminds us of a simpler time, when 8-bit games were all the rage.
- Midnight Marauder: Another crime-themed slot from Relax Gaming, this title has an RTP of 96.19% and offers a max payout of 30,000x.
