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There’s a Twilight Zone episode called The Fever, in which a wife named Flora Gibbs wins a trip to Las Vegas and her disapproving husband Franklin becomes addicted to a possibly-demonic slot machine while everyone else is flummoxed by his behavior and assertions about it. CloverPit reminds me of The Fever not only due to the unsettling element, but because it’s the sort of game where some will find themselves captivated and others will try it and not see the appeal. Just like real life gambling!
In CloverPit, players are locked in a room with a slot machine and an ever-growing debt. Your goal is to meet certain debt repayment hallmarks within a certain number of rounds before time runs out. Sometimes, a phone beneath a message that says not to trust anyone rings. Occasionally, you may hit a 666 on the slot machine that wipes out your money and ends up a death sentence. If you gamble your way to hitting a milestone, you’re rewarded with increased debt and a new deadline. Is there ever any way out? Or are you there to gamble away for eternity?
So, since this is a slot machine simulator, how do we as players actually interact with it or influence things beyond deciding how many coins to feed into slots or the nearby ATM? Well, we can buy charms and select which called-in option alters conditions. When we choose to use the machine, we can opt to spend as many coins as possible and get seven spins and one ticket or chip in a little less for fewer spins and two tickets. The tickets we get can be spent at the vendor at the back of our small room on charms that influence conditions and certain types of wins. The phone call typically arrives between rounds, giving you a chance to alter conditions.
Here’s the thing. CloverPit’s ambiance is interesting, and the game runs well on the Switch. There are a few things you can mess around with and investigate as you play. There’s a locked key in a box. You can check out charms and details at a terminal. And if you do hit the end of a round without meeting the limit, you get a few seconds to try and do some last-minute cashing in of items or shopping to see if things could make a difference when repaying debt.
However, it’s also a roguelike that leaves things up to RNG more than any other. There’s not really a story to it, though you can start to infer what’s going on and eventually move toward a resolution of sorts after some specific conditions are triggered by playing. It means it does end up feeling more like a horror slot machine simulation than an actual experience where your choices change things and influence progress. Sure, some charms do experience synergy and the offers from phone calls can combine with them for bigger rewards. But the degree of chance does make it very difficult to feel like anything a player is doing matters much. Still for folks who like gambling, there is a “numbers go up” appeal and ways it triggers a dopamine hit that could be satisfying and enough for some people.
CloverPit is the type of game that could scratch a particular roguelike itch, but might not hook folks in the way Balatro or Luck be a Landlord do. And that’s fine! Some people might appreciate a more effortless entry in the genre that is about mindlessly hoping for higher numbers. It’s heavily dictated by RNG, as is common. The thing is that it really is a gambling simulator that gets challenging and tries to hook someone with numbers going up with little actual skill or input on your party. So I feel there isn’t the same satisfaction that comes from winning, even if some of the ideas are interesting.
CloverPit is on the Switch, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.
