I’m sure when the average indie developer sets out to make something new and different, while they have high hopes they can’t necessarily envision what massive success may look like. Especially in the case of a title like Balatro, a roguelike poker sim that wasn’t quite like anything I’d ever played before, I don’t think anyone could have imagined the impact it would have. 

Ever since its release though, it feels like there has been a sort of gold rush in the roguelike gambling space, with everyone trying to work out another winning formula that somehow can tap into even a reasonable fraction of Balatro’s success. CloverPit is the newest such title to arrive in my Inbox, this time taking a literal spin with a slot machine roguelike setup, hoping to hit the jackpot and win big. Given the shift to a game that’s practically built on randomness, it unfortunately lacks the moment-to-moment strategy that makes something like poker so much more engaging, but that isn’t to say you won’t get a thrill when you get a bunch of matches and hear the coins plinking away for you to collect.

Lacking that ongoing strategic component, and in order to try to help give you the power to rig the odds in your favor, you’ll have the opportunity to buy lucky charms that have a variety of effects. In that regard, if you’re able to pair a few different ones with the right synergies, the hope is that you’ll be able to try to break the game and get yourself out of the pretty dramatic and dire situation you’re in if you’re unable to pony up the dough to avoid the trap door into darkness. I won’t argue that, at least for a short time, it can’t be diverting, but unfortunately the inevitable reliance on more luck than strategy make it more of a novelty in the end.