CloverPit review: Let’s go gambling!

Have you ever pondered what punishment serial gamblers may endure in the underworld? 2025’s CloverPit seeks to answer that question while offering an adequate alternative to actually playing on a slot machine. It appears many people have been seeking an experience like this, as the game has sold over a million copies. 

This warranted CloverPit’s Xbox release, additionally being included in the Game Pass, as well as some upcoming DLC (release date currently unknown). We, however, played this on PC before the release of the DLC, on version 1.2 or the “Hard Mode” update.

Coming up, Adventure Gamers’ review of this claustrophobic gambling experience, analysing CloverPit’s gameplay, design, and the story under the hood of this addiction fuel, disguised as a video game.

The odds are not in your favor

You are an unnamed, faceless figure who is stuck in a locked cell. You must meet your “deadline” and submit enough money to get the key to the door so you can escape. The only method in which money can be earned is a solitary slot machine, constantly summoning you back with the alluring call of, “Let’s go gambling”. 

The basis for the entire experience is Cloverpit’s gambling. In fact, about 90% of your time in this game is spent looking at said slot machine as it spins round. All while you sit patiently waiting to see whether or not you win big. With that, the only thing between you and (seemingly) being at the mercy of  Lady Luck is the collection of “charms” you can amass throughout your playthroughs. 

Outside of these charms, there are several other ways of affecting each individual run; these include “memory cards” for run-changing effects (mostly negative) and phone calls, which give one-off buffs or passives. These provide some much-needed variety to each run as they are the only things that actually change throughout the game. With each new item used and unlocked, there are more possible combinations to be made. 

The true aim of the game is to maximize these combinations to amass as much money as possible. This gameplay loop of “buy and gamble” provides a truly entrancing experience, where you are always considering previous items you have seen and ones you’re hoping to see in order to complete whatever build you are currently working on. But we would be amiss to not mention that it can get quite samey, as if we were being honest, a macro could achieve most of what the player does. Other than purchasing or selling items, all you do is pull a lever and hope, perhaps occasionally also pushing a button.

This is where we feel a more in-depth upgrade system to the slot machine would’ve been appreciated, as it’s a missed opportunity to not allow the player to slightly alter the fabric of the main gameplay loop. An example of this could be implementing an upgrade that adds an additional row or column to the slot machine, as opposed to just changing the likelihood of certain symbols appearing or the value of different combinations.   

I say the “true aim” is outrageous combos, as the actual “story” of the game was clearly an afterthought to the gameplay. The plot progression mostly consists of one-off interactions or references to a greater throughline that, unfortunately, never materialises. This is most apparent in CloverPit’s ending, which we won’t go into here (no spoilers, of course). The ending leaves much to be desired, especially considering the ordeal the player must go through to see it. 

“Stone walls do not a prison make”

The game’s simplistic yet effective design is truly where it excels. The setting of the game is cramped and overbearing, which does wonders to encourage you to return to the slot machine. Whether this design choice was an intentional allegory of the inescapability of addiction or simply a consequence of it being an indie game with a small budget, it adds a certain uneasy feeling to every minute of the game.

This is only amplified with some surprisingly stellar sound design. There is no music in CloverPit; the only thing to occupy your ears is the low hum of the electronics in the room, or the occasional footstep made by your character in the rare occurrence you walk around. Paired with the game’s stylised, uncanny graphics, one is easily made uncomfortable with the general air of this game. 

That is, unless you are at the slot machine, of course. This is where the dank room begins to liven up, with merry chimes and bright colours whenever even a small win is made. Like in every game of this ilk worth its salt, the larger the combo you do, the faster the points are scored, causing a cacophony of noise and colors to fill your screen. 

Given outside of these moments, it is a mostly monochrome game, we feel this has to be some subtle message from the CloverPit Developers about gambling and the tunnel vision one can get when on a winning streak. Whether or not it was the intention, it translates exactly onto the player, as we found ourselves sinking hours into this game trying to find the build that worked perfectly. 

Deeper CloverPit analysis aside, the game is fun enough to warrant buying at its low price tag ($10), even if the idea behind the gameplay loop is slightly flawed. With some sick enjoyment to be had with ever increasingly ridiculous charm combinations, and some shockingly good design choices, it is definitely one of the better thought-out rogue-lites released recently. 

If only it had a more interesting throughline in terms of story, had a more fulfilling ending, and allowed for more player interaction outside of just pulling a lever, it would truly be an experience you could quite happily sit in a damp cage and play for all eternity.