Unusual Suspects (Northern Lights) – Review & Demo Play

The Unusual Suspects Slot Game

Sleuthing has a proper slot twist here. Unusual Suspects runs on 5 reels, 4 rows, and 20 paylines set against a neon city backdrop with a jazzy big band soundtrack. Stakes span 10p to £20 a spin, and the crime caper revolves around Wild Symbols that leave frames, a Golden Wild that can spawn extra wilds, and a Detective Symbol that fills all frames. There’s a Nudging Scatter Respin, a Free Spins Booster, Big Boss Free Spins, plus Bonus Buy and a gamble for Free Spins.

Symbols and Payouts in Unusual Suspects

Symbols and payouts keep it straightforward. The striped 10, J, Q, K, and A pay 1x the bet for five of a kind. Premiums are handcuffs, a pistol, sticks of dynamite, and a suitcase full of cash, paying 2x to 10x for five on a line. Line wins pay left to right from the first reel across the 20 fixed lines. A full line of wilds pays 10x, while wilds also substitute all regular pays but not the Scatter or the Detective.

I find wild behaviour drives the value. Each wild that lands marks its spot with a frame that sticks around. If a wild lands again in a framed position, the frame gains a multiplier that climbs by one step up to 5x. The Golden Wild can spawn extra wilds or even another Golden Wild, helping stack more frames before the Detective shows. I treat this framing as a set-up for the feature bursts rather than a simple one-and-done.

Unusual Suspects Symbols and Paytable

Symbol	Quantity	Payout
	Wild
	5	x10
	4	x2.5
	3	x1
	5	x10
	4	x2.5
	3	x1
	5	x5
	4	x1
	3	x0.5
	5	x3
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.2
	5	x2
	4	x0.3
	3	x0.1
	5	x1
	4	x0.3
	3	x0.1
	5	x1
	4	x0.3
	3	x0.1
	5	x1
	4	x0.3
	3	x0.1
	5	x1
	4	x0.3
	3	x0.1
	5	x1
	4	x0.3
	3	x0.1
	Scatter
	Wild

Unusual Suspects Slot Bonus Features

I rate the Wild Symbols and the Detective Symbol as the core loop. Wilds appear on all reels, leave sticky frames, and a line of five pays 10x. The Golden Wild can create more wilds or another golden, which snowballs framing. When the Detective symbol lands, it populates all framed positions with wilds. In the base game, frames are cleared after the Detective finishes; during Free Spins, frames remain in place for the entire round, letting multipliers stack between hits.

Scatters can land anywhere. Hitting exactly two in view adds one token to the Booster Meter; you need 50 tokens to fill it. If those two sit on the top three rows, you trigger the Nudging Scatter Respin, where reels with scatters are held and nudged down one row while the other reels respin, continuing until a scatter reaches the bottom row or five scatters are present. It’s a neat way to tease bonus entry and feed the meter.

Big Boss Free Spins arrive with 10, 15, or 20 spins for landing 3, 4, or 5 scatters. During the bonus, collecting Detectives advances the Bonus Trail at 3, 6, 9, and 12, awarding +5 spins and win multipliers of 2x, 3x, 5x, and 10x; if the Booster Meter was full on trigger, you start at Big Boss 1. Free Spins are on sale for 38.6x the bet, or you can gamble on an odds wheel for entry, with adjustable chance and price per attempt.

How to Win at Unusual Suspects Slot

Winning in Unusual Suspects is about line building and timing. You need three or more matching symbols on a payline starting from the leftmost reel across the 20 fixed lines. I look to layer frames by catching repeated wilds on the same spots, letting those multipliers rise before the Detective drops in to convert the lot. Because frames reset in the base game after a Detective hit, I’m happy to change stake levels to preserve any saved Booster progress per bet.

Unusual Suspects Slot RTP & Volatility

On the numbers, Unusual Suspects runs with a 96.05% RTP on the default model, with other configurations also in the wild. Volatility sits in the medium bracket, and a hit frequency of 35.27% means a little over one in three spins pays something. The top payout caps at 12,500x the bet, which aligns well with the frame-and-multiplier game plan. Stakes range from 10p to £20, giving a flexible band to manage bankroll while chasing those Detective-triggered screen spreads.

The Final Thoughts on Unusual Suspects

As a crime-themed slot, it isn’t that predictable, and that’s the hook. Frames don’t tick on a rigid cycle; they sit there until the Detective shows, so sessions can build suspense while multipliers brew. In Free Spins, frames never leave the grid, so every Detective arrival can turn a careful set-up into a cracking screen. The city backdrop hums along with a jazzy big band number, and the switch to the office for the bonus phase fits the detective angle.

I like the flow once you embrace the rhythm. Stack frames, seek golden pops, and let the Detective do the heavy lifting. The nudging respins add a fair bit of extra sweat for bonus entries, while the Booster Meter gives longer-term momentum across sessions. The buy at 38.6x is keen, and the gamble option lets you pick odds to taste. Not too shabby a top prize either at 12,500x, so I’m happy to spin this one when I fancy a heist vibe.