Unusual Suspects (Northern Lights Gaming)

Unusual Suspects Review

They look like the usual suspects rather than Unusual Suspects, but the title is somewhat “unusual”. A detective confronts a gang of bank robbers, and arresting them can be rewarding. A thug acts as a wild or golden wild, adding a frame to the position. Frames build up until the Detective Wild appears, turning all framed positions wild.

The frames can be upgraded with multipliers, which can lead to payouts in the base game. Sirens wail, and there's action commentary. Wild frames build in the bonus round, and the Detective Wild is collected to progress you along the multiplier and extra spins trail. The volatility is manageable, despite the solid 8,000x potential, and Unusual Suspects is enjoyable and engaging.

Unusual Suspects Slot Features

The premium symbols, handcuffs, pistols, dynamite, and cash, pay between 2 and 10 x your stake for 5 of a kind. Wild symbols can substitute for any pay symbol, and wilds pay 10x your stake for 5 on a payline.

All wilds leave a position frame, and Golden Wilds spawn more wilds or golden wilds. The frame multiplier increases by +1 per wild, up to x5. Frames carry over into the bonus round.

The Detective Wild symbol fills all framed positions with wilds when it appears. Multiplier positions boost line wins, and sticky frames are removed after being activated by the Detective Wild, at least in the base game. Let's see how it works in the bonus round.

There is a Free Spins Booster meter, and 1 token is collected for every 2 scatters. You need 50 tokens to fill it. If 2 scatters appear on the top 3 rows, they become sticky, nudging one position down per respin.

This can trigger the Big Boss Bonus Round, awarded for 3, 4, or 5 scatters. This gives you 10, 15, or 20 free spins, and Detective Wilds are collected in the Bonus Trail. Framed positions never reset in the bonus round, and below is an overview of the Bonus Trail upgrades:

• 3 collected detective wilds unlocks Big Boss 1, giving you +5 FS and an x2 win multiplier.
• 6 collected detective wilds unlocks Big Boss 2, giving you +5 FS and an x3 win multiplier.
• 9 collected detective wilds unlocks Big Boss 3, giving you +5 FS and an x5 win multiplier.
• 12 collected detective wilds unlocks Big Boss 4, giving you +5 FS and an x10 win multiplier.
• You start with Big Boss 1 unlocked if you triggered the bonus round with a full Booster meter.

Non-UK players, and anyone eligible, can purchase the bonus round for 38.6x the stake. This is below the average bonus buy price, and you can also Gamble to win free spins. You can choose a success rate between 10 and 90 %, and the price ranges between 3.86x and 34.84x your stake.

The 200 Spins Unusual Suspects Slot Experience

You get to see the golden wild in action, before we purchase and trigger the bonus round. We got the minimum of 3 triggering scatters, and you can see for yourself how we fared.

Review Summary

Kudos for doing something new with the framed positions concept. Usually, you get a wild reveal after some spins, but not in this game. Unusual Suspects lets you build up frames for an indefinite number of spins, until the Detective Wild appears. The results can vary, but more wild frames can be accumulated.

The golden wild spreads more wilds, and getting multiplier frames is something to aim for. The frames never stop accumulating in the bonus round, which can lead to tense rounds. Extra spins from the multiplier trail can keep you going, and you need a decent win multiplier to approach the 8,000x potential. It’s safe to say that Unusual Suspects grew on us as we played, and it comes with fun action commentary.