After dodging Silksong, this Balatro-style slot machine roguelike smashed even my highest expectations by shipping 100,000 copies in a single day

Screenshot from CloverPit, showing a first-person view of a slot machine with a shining 'Jackpot' announcement lit up.

(Image credit: Future Friends Games)

Balatro was a slow burn success, the Poker-themed roguelike building a thriving audience via gradual word of mouth. So, for CloverPit, a Balatro-esque roguelike that swaps cards for the handle of a one-armed bandit, to shift 100,000 copies in a single day, should tell you just how good it is.

We've written about CloverPit a couple of times, most recently when its Steam Next Fest demo almost completely absorbed me back in June. The premise is simple - trapped in a tiny room with very little other than a slot machine and some lucky charms for company, it's up to you to make sure you make enough money to pay off your debts before you run out of time.

To do that, you'll have to rely on a healthy dose of good fortune, augmenting your odds with those charms (earned by spending your prize tickets while your real winnings go to hitting your deadline). A maneko cat might give you a little cash injection on a good roll, for example, while a lucky coin offers a 10% chance for a bonus spin. But as the amount of money you need to earn spirals quickly out of control, you've got to hope you've got a winning strategy to hand.

Just one of a handful of 'Balatro but a different form of gambling'-type games to appear since Localthunk's roguelike blew up last year, CloverPit seems to be doing very well for itself. Developer Panik Arcade revealed that it had sold over 100,000 copies in just 24 hours - an astonishing milestone for an indie game. And it's not just raw hype - 'Very Positive' Steam reviews sit just beneath the top tier at 92% approval. A 10% launch discount and a $10 price tag mean that you've got very little to lose, but if you're still not convinced, there's a very good demo available that even lets you carry your winnings over to the main game if you beat it.

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I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for news, shaping the news strategy across the team. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.

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