The Invisible Man is a horror-thriller-themed slot from NetEnt, released in December 2014. Based on the classic H.G. Wells novel and the 1933 Universal Pictures film, it runs on a 5-reel, 3-row grid with 20 paylines and a bet range of 0.20 to 100 per spin. The defining mechanic is a walking wilds system where two types of wild, Police and Griffin, move across the reels in opposite directions. When they meet on the same position, they merge and trigger 10 free spins with two bonus meters that unlock additional features. With a 96.3% RTP, a 29% hit frequency, high volatility rated at 6.9 out of 10, and a 500x maximum payout, The Invisible Man layers multiple bonus mechanics on top of each other in a way that few NetEnt slots attempt.
The visual design draws heavily on the 1930s film aesthetic. The reels sit against a foggy village backdrop with period-appropriate buildings and street lamps. Symbols include characters from the story: the bandaged Invisible Man, Flora Griffin, Police Chief Kemp, and various villagers. The art style uses muted sepia tones with splashes of colour, creating an atmosphere that feels closer to a period drama than a typical slot. The walking wilds are animated with character-specific movements, with the Police wild marching rightward and the Griffin wild drifting leftward across the reels.
Walking Wilds: Police and Griffin
The base game features two distinct walking wild types, each with fixed behaviour. The Police wild always appears on reel 1 and moves one position to the right on each subsequent re-spin. The Griffin wild always appears on reel 5 and moves one position to the left. Both substitute for all regular symbols. After each wild is evaluated for wins, the reels re-spin while the wild shifts one reel in its direction. This continues until the wild walks off the opposite edge of the grid.
A Police wild entering on reel 1 will re-spin four times as it walks across reels 2, 3, 4, and eventually off reel 5. A Griffin wild entering on reel 5 similarly walks leftward through reels 4, 3, 2, and off reel 1. Each re-spin is a free evaluation at your current bet, so a single walking wild effectively gives you four bonus spins with a guaranteed wild on the reels.
When both a Police wild and a Griffin wild are active simultaneously and they land on the same reel position, they merge. This merger locks them in place and triggers the free spins feature. The merging mechanic is the primary route into the bonus round, making it distinct from scatter-triggered free spins in most other slots.
Free Spins
The merger of Police and Griffin wilds awards 10 free spins. If additional wilds merge during the free spins round, each new merger adds 4 more free spins. During free spins, both Police wilds and Griffin wilds can appear on any reel rather than being restricted to reels 1 and 5 respectively. This dramatically increases both the frequency of wild appearances and the likelihood of further mergers.
Two meters sit above the reels during free spins, one for Police and one for Griffin. Each meter has 8 spaces. When a walking wild moves off the edge of the reels without merging, it fills one space in its corresponding meter. A Police wild walking off the right side fills a Police meter space. A Griffin wild walking off the left side fills a Griffin meter space. Filling either meter completely triggers its corresponding bonus game after the free spins end. Both meters can be filled in the same free spins round, awarding both bonuses sequentially.
Police Spins Bonus
The Police Spins bonus triggers when the Police meter is filled during free spins. It awards 3 spins on a modified reel set. On each of the 3 spins, 5 wild symbols are placed in random positions across the reels before the spin result is evaluated. The wild positions change with every spin, so each of the 3 spins has a different wild configuration.
With 5 guaranteed wilds out of 15 total reel positions on every spin, one third of the grid is wild before any additional symbols are considered. This creates extremely high win probability across all three spins. The Police Spins bonus is the more consistent of the two end-of-feature bonuses, delivering reliable payouts through sheer wild density rather than multiplier mechanics.
Griffin's Rage Bonus
The Griffin's Rage bonus triggers when the Griffin meter (labelled as the bonus game meter) is filled during free spins. It plays as a pick-and-click game across 3 locations. At each location, you pick 1 of 5 items. The items contain three possible results: a coin win, a multiplier increase, or an end-of-stage item that advances you to the next location.
A multiplier starts at 1x and can increase up to a maximum of 4x. Each multiplier pick adds to this running total. All coin wins collected throughout the three stages are multiplied by the final multiplier value at the end of the bonus. The strategic tension comes from the pick order: finding multiplier increases early means they apply to more coin wins, while finding coin wins early means they may only be multiplied by 1x. However, since all picks are random, there is no actual player control over the outcome, only the sequence in which prizes are revealed.
Burning Wild
The Burning Wild is a special wild type that appears exclusively during the Police Spins bonus. It functions identically to a regular wild for substitution purposes but has a distinct visual treatment. The Burning Wild does not appear in the base game or during standard free spins. Its presence is limited to the Police Spins bonus where it forms part of the 5 random wilds placed on each spin.
RTP, Volatility and Session Character
The 96.3% RTP is in the average range for a NetEnt slot. The 6.9 out of 10 volatility rating places The Invisible Man in the high category, the highest on this list of games. The 29% hit frequency provides roughly one win in every three to four spins during the base game, but the walking wilds extend productive sequences beyond single spins through their re-spin mechanic.
The 500x maximum payout is modest relative to the high volatility, which reflects a design where the variance comes from the layered bonus structure rather than from extreme top-end wins. Sessions revolve around the walking wilds creating mini-sequences of re-spins, with the long-term goal of getting Police and Griffin wilds to merge and trigger free spins. The dual meter system within free spins then adds a secondary accumulation goal, where filling one or both meters unlocks the end-of-feature bonuses. For players who enjoy mechanically complex slots where the features interact with each other rather than operating independently, The Invisible Man is one of NetEnt's most layered designs from the 2014 era.
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