CloverPit Review
Recently, we have had a ton of Roguelite-type games coming out, and I’ve been playing a lot of them. I originally checked out CloverPit via its very generous demo on Steam, and I have to say I was immediately hooked. The game’s developer Panik Arcade have made something truly special here among the near-endless wave of Rougelite games we’ve been blessed with recently.
Gameplay
At its core, CloverPit is a simple 5-Slot machine simulator. What makes it different from the usual gambling game is that you are trapped in a room suspended above a pit and must deposit a certain amount of winnings into the provided ATM within a 3-round deadline, or else the trap doors will open and you’ll be plummeted into the Pit.
CloverPit’s art direction does a good job at appearing pretty unsettling, looking like it could have come out of a PS1-era horror game, and it’s pulled off very well with textures featuring a little dithering, and there’s even a sort of subtle texture warping when moving around the room.
Rounds consist of 7 spins of the slot machine, and at the end of the third round, you’d better make sure you have enough to deposit, or it’s Game Over for you. Luckily, at the end of each round, you’ll also be awarded tickets similar to ones you get at arcades. Tickets can be used to buy charms from the various boxes behind you, each of which has different effects, such as increasing the probability of 7’s appearing, adding luck buffs, awarding additional free spins, and applying ‘Traits’ to already owned charms, such as additional luck, etc.
There are a ton of different charms to find and unlock, with each costing different amounts of Tickets. This creates a sort of Risk/reward system of whether you should spend 1 or 2 tickets on a low-tier charm that will offer some immediate, small benefit, or should you save up your tickets and buy a higher-tier charm that will offer more benefits.
As you can imagine, charms are essential to surviving in CloverPit, and the combinations you use can make the difference between victory and defeat. To further increase your odds, at the end of a successful deadline, you’ll earn interest on how much you have deposited, and you’ll receive a phone call offering one of three perks. These can include permanently increasing he rewards for certain scoring patterns for the duration of the run, making certain symbols appear more often or simply just awarding more tickets.
These phone call perks between deadlines prove to be essential as you progress further into the game, and can be rerolled, provided you have enough tickets on hand.
As you progress through each deadline, the amount you need to deposit increases along with the cost of each round’s spins. When you reach the third deadline, CloverPit deviously adds a mechanic where you have a small chance to spin a 666, which will forfeit all accrued winnings on this round.
At first, this isn’t too big a deal, but as you progress deeper into the later deadlines, this can be the difference between life and death. Thankfully, various buffs and charms can be equipped, which can lessen the chance of a 666 appearing, although there are a few that offer a very generous perk while increasing the odds of the 666. My best advice I can give to you is to deposit your funds after each round to as close as you can get to the deadline.
As you play more and more rounds, you’ll no doubt notice the key on the wall. This can be used to unlock one of CloverPit’s four draws, which can be used to stash your charms in allowing for better picking and choosing when it comes to your loadout. By default, the maximum number of charms you can have active at any time is 7, so being able to keep some for when the time is right can be a good strategy.
The only real criticism I can give CloverPit is that I often find there’s little you can do to improve your odds of success early in the game. I know this is par for the course, being very typical of rougelite games, but others in the genre seem to start a little fairer or make you feel like you have slightly more agency in your choices, whereas CloverPit really is all about luck. It’s a minor gripe, and jumping into another run literally takes seconds, but it can be frustrating being served dud after dud run back to back with little to know player choice.
I’ve been playing CloverPit between my PC and Steam Deck equally, but I must admit, I do actually prefer playing it on the Deck and the addictive ‘one more run’ feeling you get from games such as Balatro or BALL x PIT is very much present here and having the game handheld makes a lot of sense. I’m happy to tell you that CloverPit runs flawlessly on both the Steam Deck and PC, and I didn’t have a single crash during my frankly ludicrous amount of hours of playtime. I would love to see CloverPit ported over to the Nintendo Switch or Switch 2, as I would happily snap it up in a heartbeat. The game is that good!
Currently, you can pick up CloverPit in a few different bundles listed on Steam, including the Clover Survivors bundle (CloverPit + Vampire Survivors), the THE PIT bundle (CloverPit + BALL x PIT), & The CloverPit + Balatro bundle. You’ll receive a small discount on CloverPit if you own any of these titles, and the chances are, you already do, as they are all fantastic in their own right!
Conclusion
CloverPit manages to make every decision feel weighty and every spin suspenseful, and in a sea of numerous roguelites, that’s no small achievement. It’s as tense as it is rewarding, and I’m sure you’ll soon find yourself addicted. CloverPit is an easy recommendation from me, but just be warned, you will not just lose your in-game winnings, but also endless hours of your life.
8.5
Steam review code kindly provided by Future Friends Games