Pull the lever to gamble and break the machine in CloverPit, a slot machine with horror vibes

CloverPit from Panik Arcade and Future Friends Games has released bringing you the true horrors of a slot machine rogue-lite as you try to save your life. Note: a key was provided to GamingOnLinux.

A game that could be called a horrific fusion of Balatro and Buckshot Roulette for the gameplay and style, it will have you repeatedly pull that lever in the hopes of paying off a seemingly never-ending debt. Just you locked up in a small room with a slot machine, a toilet and a few other things to keep you busy.

It's another in the list of growing games designed for you to break it as much as possible. You have to spend your money wisely on various special charms to help you earn big to pay off that debt. Pull the lever, play multiple rounds and deposit your cash into the ATM to bank it and repeat as much as possible.

Since it's a rogue-lite, each run through will be a little different on how it goes. Some rounds you may win big, others not so much. The horror theme is certainly an interesting twist on it, with multiple possible endings and a death-drop below you if you don't manage to pay it off. You literally get dropped down a deep dark hole, never to be seen again.

You know, giving you that real feeling of losing big time that some gambling addicts likely feel with the weight of it all. No laughing matter though, it's a real problem but this is still a game with a slot machine in the centre of it. The developer is very clear on their thoughts on it though noting:

"CloverPit is not a slot machine simulator. Our slot machine is designed to be broken and ultimately overcome. If you’re looking for a real gambling experience please look elsewhere. Or better yet, don’t look at all. We don’t really like gambling. That’s what the game is about!"

Check out the launch trailer below:

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Each round you successfully complete, the debt will grow. Not only that, but the cost to play also rises with it as does the amount you have to deposit into the ATM. It's a frightening game of ever-growing numbers. A constant panic between trying to spend coin to make coin, buying up charms to increase your chances of screwing with the odds in your favour to depositing your needed cash to beat the round. Lots of difficult choices, and you will no doubt fail a great many hours before you feel like you're really getting somewhere.

Even just deciding how much coin to put into the slot machine is at times a challenging choice. You can deposit more coin to get more pulls but only 1 charm ticket, or deposit less to have fewer pulls of the lever and more charm tickets. It's the whole risk versus reward, but amplified by the thought of being dropped into the dark pit and having to start again where you can try something different.

There are of course a number of ways you can cheese through it, especially once you get the hang of it. But games are supposed to be about fun right? Not necessarily finding the easiest way to grind through it to complete it quickly. There's hundreds of charms, and with the right combinations, you can do some pretty funny things to the results of each pull of the lever. It's about seeing how far you can push it and watching as all your charms slide into the screen to keep pumping your numbers up as high as possible.

You do have a limit on the amount of charms you're allowed to have in play during each round though, so you have to choose wisely here too. It's not just about stacking as many as possible,

CloverPit does throw some pain your way too, like encountering 666. If you find that pattern, it's brutal, you'll lose all money earned that round and once you into the later rounds it really can destroy you. You do get a little extra help here and there, with strange phone calls where you're offered certain types of bonuses. Some of these can be especially helpful and can really save your ass during a run!

One of the keys is to really focus on certain symbols, and put your charms and phone call upgrades as much as possible into those as well as general luck boosts. So that way you can stack up as much as possible from specific symbols on the machine. Easier said than done, but once you get it you're in for some monstrous winnings where you might end up seeing millions and more from a single pull.

You really do get the firm sense of being required to just have one more round. It's deliciously addictive, but in the non-destructive sense where the only real money you're paying is the single purchase cost. Excellent atmosphere, and really fun to try out all the different charms to try and mess with the slot machine.

CloverPit is Steam Deck Verified and works great on Desktop Linux PCs with Proton.

Another big indie hit too, with it hitting over 100,000 sales in 24 hours. It also has a Very Positive rating on Steam at time of writing.