CloverPit | PC Review
Ever since Balatro released last year, there have been countless attempts to capture that same lightning in a bottle. Most have failed while others have come closer. CloverPit from developer Panik Arcade might be the closest I’ve played thus far. Instead of chasing poker hands, this one revolves around yet another gambling vice: slot machines. It also adds a slight element of mystery as well. I’m not sure I’d go as far as calling it a story, but there are definitely questions that need to be answered, and those questions are very ominous.
Now You See Me
How do you make a game about playing a slot machine dark in theme? As it turns out, a number of ways. For reasons unknown, you find yourself trapped in a tiny room covered in grime. You have access to the following tools: an ATM, a ticket dispenser, a shelf of ever-changing items available for purchase, a red telephone, a toilet, and of course…a slot machine. A voice tells you that your only way to get out is to play rounds of a slot machine and earn enough money to survive to the next plateau. Come to think of it, a better comparison might be the game Luck Be a Landlord. This game, however, feels more like something out of the next Saw movie. If you don’t make the deadline, a trap door opens beneath your feet, and you fall into a pit of spikes.
As expected, you’re not merely playing slots and hoping things fall your way. The formula should be familiar to video game fans by now. Your goal is to purchase various items that “break” the game in ways that tip the scales of luck in your favor. Each time you hit one of the required plateaus, you’ll receive a reward in the form of extra money towards the next round and/or tickets that can be used to purchase temporary upgrades. On top of that, the phone rings each time, which grants you one of three permanent upgrades for that round.
Now You Don’t
There are so many moving parts at play in CloverPit, it’s legitimately difficult to keep track of them all. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. On the contrary, it’s impressive how many different options and strategies you have at your disposal. Your choices play a huge part in what kind of run you’re going for. Perhaps you want to focus one specific emblem on your slot machine. If the items are available, you can increase the consistency of their appearances. You can also manipulate the multipliers for different patterns of matches on the machine. If the stars align correctly, you could be looking at exponential growth when it comes to payouts. Remember those times in Balatro, when your score would go so high that the system had to provide exponents in order to keep track of it? Imagine that, but with the dopamine hit of slot machine lights going crazy. It’s very satisfying when you’re gifted a solid run.
The more you progress, the more options you unlock for yourself. Even doing mundane actions like using the toilet (both ways, mind you) will yield new items available to you in the shop. Granted, you’re still tied to RNG when it comes to appearing in your shop, but the more options the better. You also have the ever-impending appearance of the number “6” on your slot wheels. If three pop up in a row, your money drops to zero immediately. Rest assured, however, that there are ways to mitigate that from happening. You inevitably create runs where you actually want that to happen, but you’ll have to play to learn why.
CloverPit Final Verdict
CloverPit works better than it sounds on paper. There’s a lot of luck based on this one, but there’s a ton of strategy as well. That strategy is admittedly hard to nail down to the luck-based nature of this title. In my humble opinion, that makes starting your next run far less painful. More often than not, your failures feel like you’re a victim of luck of the draw or lack of options instead of your own choices. Because of this, it’s “just one more” nature is entirely addictive, especially since each one only lasts a handful of minutes at the beginning of the game. It’s a very easy game to get into, but it will take quite a bit of experimentation to fully understand what the game really wants you to do. That discovery is genuinely what makes this game fun.
This is a particularly easy recommend, especially at its price point. It’s not going to blow you away graphically or with its “story”, but it’s quite a bit more in-depth than one might think on the surface. If this genre does anything for you, I have a hard time believing you’d be disappointed with this one, provided you have the patience to learn where it wants you to go.
To hear me talk more about CloverPit, be sure to listen to the November 19th, 2025 episode of The Gaming Outsider Podcast around the 1:03:39 time stamp.
This review is based on a PC copy of CloverPit provided by Future Friends Games for coverage purposes. It is also available on Xbox (including Game Pass).
CloverPit
$9.99
Pros
- Clever, Intriguing Set Up
- Dopamine Hits Are Satisfying
- Deceptively Deep Concept
- Runs Are Appropriate Length
Cons
- Takes Some Patience
- Muddy Graphic Style
