There’s something very appealing about slot machine roguelikes. The mechanics of a gambling device translate well to the genre, lining up matching reels perfectly either for a huge payout or a damaging blow. The flashing lights, pitched sound effects, and chinking of coins are all pleasing to the senses too. Recently, CloverPit and Luck Be A Landlord made good on the concept of letting reels decide your fate. Proving that you can never have too much of a good thing, Slots & Daggers comes courtesy of the publisher of the former. Talk about knowing your audience.
The developer may come as more of a surprise. Slots & Daggers has been created by solo outfit Friedemann, who was responsible for the cosy neighbourhood building game SUMMERHOUSE. Whereas that was a personal project, this is more of a trend following crowd pleaser. The two really couldn’t be any more different, with the only similarity being a retro-style aesthetic. The flavour of the day here is thin, sketchy, line art which together with a dark colour palette consisting of varying shades of grey, gives the experience an eerie tone.
We’re thrown into a fantasy world inhabited by weird creatures, varying from venomous trout to stick-thin skeletons. You’ll need to defeat these sinister beings to conquer plagued lands and move to the next, with ten stages to beat in total. Every run begins by choosing three symbols – a mixture of offence and defence, including swords and shields – which form the slot machine’s reels. Battles then see you stopping reels to cause physical and magical damage, activating shields and healing, with the enemy retaliating after every spin. After defeating a foe – a task that only takes around a minute – you’re awarded a fistful of coins to purchase new symbols, upgrade existing ones, or buy power-ups which are either always active or require a small outlay to use. These include shurikens, arrows, and health bar increasing cheese wedges.
Over time, the starting pool of symbols increases, adding other weapons such as a hammer that can stun and a poison-tipped rusty knife. The shield can be switched for a life steal spell, and there’s a means of earning more money. Permanent upgrades assist further in staying alive, decreasing incoming damage, improving chances of criticals, lowering shop prices and more. Most vital of all is the ability to add extra reels; going from the default three to four, and later five, is a game-changer. Handily, permanent upgrades can be reset, allowing you to reshape and try different tactics.
I was also grateful for the ability to turn off camera shake, as by default the screen pans left and right slightly, as if you’re viewing the slot machine through the eyes of a drunk. Small text does affect the presentation though sadly, making it evident that this was designed for the PC originally.
With its one button gameplay and simple to grasp concept, Slots & Daggers is very easy to get into and the fact that new stuff unlocks after almost every run makes it quite addictive. There’s tact to it too, with some weapons featuring power gauges to carefully time. Trying to find the ideal mix of damaging weapons, shields, and health resorting items makes for something engaging – although once the right balance has been obtained, you’re probably going to blitz through this quite quickly. As you aren’t forced to start a run from the beginning each time, but rather from the land last conquered, progress is mostly straightforward. Indeed, this is one of the simpler roguelikes of late to master, which makes it feel more of a distraction than something that’ll engulf for weeks.
In conjunction with the inexpensive £6 price tag, Slots & Daggers slots in nicely with today’s constantly cluttered release schedules, being respectful of both your time and money. Jump in, spin, walk away a battle hardened hero.
Friedemann’s Slots & Daggers is out now on all formats. Published by Future Friends Games.