CloverPit allows you to feel like you're in the shoes of a "gambling Paramosha." You need to constantly pull the one-armed bandit to get satisfaction from winning. The Devil is in charge of this abomination, encouraging the main character's bad habits. It's good that at least the currency is purely in-game, and the game doesn't require you to deposit your own hard-earned money – otherwise, there would be another scandal in the industry!
The game takes place in a remarkably miserable and gloomy little room. The main character suffers from a serious mental illness that prevents him from breaking away from gambling. He is comfortable in a room with cigarette butts, empty bottles, and a broken toilet – the latter can be used to "spew filth." He is ready to put up with any inconvenience as long as there is a slot machine in the room, which slowly sucks all the juices out of his soul.
The so-called "establishment" is run by the Devil. His voice explains the rules and tries in every way to encourage the hero to continue playing. His efforts are not impressive, and his presence is almost imperceptible – the Dealer from Buckshot Roulette or the Leshy from Inscryption do a much better job of hosting than the literal lord of evil!
The protagonist starts with a small amount of debt that must be paid off by the deadline. For the coins on hand, you can purchase a round in the slot machine with many spins and one clover ticket, or fewer spins but two tickets. The maximum number of spins depends on the amount of money on hand, but it is easy to collect the required amount. At the beginning, it only depends on luck whether enough combinations will fall out during the allotted number of rounds. Subsequently, various talismans will help to win.
Talismans are purchased with clover tickets. These are special items that greatly simplify life during the game:
- Activated talismans give temporary bonuses, after which they recharge. The effects of the rest are passive, or activated randomly;
- The main part of the talismans increases the chance of a certain symbol falling out, re-activating a combination, increasing the value of symbols and combinations;
- Luck-related talismans increase the probability of a combination of symbols falling out – up to the jackpot;
- Specific talismans add slots to the storage, protect against death, and increase the flow of clover tickets.
The game features 160 talismans that are unlocked as you progress and complete special conditions. There are not so many really useful ones, and the chance of them falling out depends on the mood of the gods of randomness. Already in the second run, I managed to collect a powerful combination that helped me live long. But the next few runs were boring and did not last long.
After purchasing talismans and playing the slot machine, the money earned must be spent on paying off the debt. If you don't make it by the deadline, the protagonist will be sent straight to Hell. If you succeed, the Devil will pull another debt out of his "circle of hell," which must be paid off again. You need to play until you have the opportunity to open one of the boxes. After opening four boxes, you have the opportunity to reach the ending. But for this, you need to combine the bones into which the talismans left in the boxes turn.
Paying off the debt is accompanied by a phone call. Someone on the other end offers various bonuses. The player is free to double the number of coins or clover tickets; increase the value of symbols or talismans; decrease or increase the chance of certain symbols falling out; give talismans new properties; increase the size of the talisman storage. The proposed bonuses depend on randomness and may be useless with existing builds – fortunately, tickets allow you to update the selections.
Over time, the Devil will add the "three sixes" combination – the number of the Beast. It takes away hard-earned money, and its improved version – all earnings. The initial chance of the number of the Beast falling out is minimal, but I often came across it twice in a row. Some talismans give bonuses when the number of the Beast falls out, but the randomness of the game can spoil the chances, which makes you not want to complicate your life unnecessarily.
If you manage to earn enough to pay off two debts in a row, the hero will be offered to spend the money immediately and receive memory cards as a reward. In the new run, the cards give powerful bonuses and penalties that can be combined with talismans. The problem is that the cards fall out randomly and disappear after use. Not only do you have to be seriously lucky to get them, but the run can also be unsuccessful – you'll just lose a valuable item!
Diagnosis
In CloverPit, they took a creative approach to such a simple process as playing a one-armed bandit. A large number of talismans inspires you to come up with creative ways to cheat the system. This is a fun game that is interesting to immerse yourself in for several hours.
The problem is the randomness, which often forces you to restart the run, or the necessary bonuses simply refuse to fall out in the later stages. Not to mention the number of the Beast, which falls out much more often than it should. And the game itself feels raw — it doesn't have enough tools to feel tension when losing or satisfaction when succeeding.
It strongly affects the role-playing that you can't empathize with the main character. He is just an addicted person who mindlessly fuels his addiction. The Devil who incites him minimally makes himself known, and his "achievements" can only be attached to the refrigerator with a magnet – so that the horned one is not offended.
Pro:
- A large number of mechanics for interacting with the slot machine
Contra:
- We need more mechanics for interacting with the slot machine!
- The gods of randomness should be appeased
- Ending cards
- The Devil turned out to be some kind of rickety
