A faint light glows from the back of a medieval tavern, with a crowd of people huddled around it. They’re all watching one of the patrons at a mysterious machine, built perhaps by a madman or a wizard, enthralled as the contraption whirs its gears at each pull of the lever. Suddenly, the crowd erupts in cheers — they’ve rolled a critical hit!
This is what playing Slots & Daggers, a new fantasy slot-machine roguelike, feels like. The game comes from solo developer Friedemann Allmenröder, who previously brought games like the cozy builder Summerhouse to life. On his website, he says he “wanted the player to feel like they’re in the dark corner of a fantasy pub, playing a weird physical slot machine made from metal, glass and electricity,” and you absolutely do.
The game is a bit like if Slay the Spire and CloverPit had a baby, capturing some of the fantasy combat feel of the former alongside the slot machine rigging of the latter. Beginning with three symbols of their choice — like weapons, shields, and coins — players will travel the machine’s levels fighting monsters with spins. They’ll hear tales of exiled kings and a queen of skulls as they fight one of the most memorable arrays of weird little guys I’ve seen in a long time.
The very first level begins with a fight with a sentient egg, and it only gets stranger from there. Aside from just loving how odd they are, these enemies are a big part of what made Slots & Daggers feel reminiscent of Slay the Spire to me. Just like with the deckbuilder, I began to learn all the different weird little guys and their patterns: “Oh, this is the creepy squid thing that doubles its attack each turn, this is the scraggly sewer possum that steals my coins.”
Even though there’s an inherent level of randomness to the slot machine, there are still many delightful synergies and strategies to be found. A few attack elements are still within the player’s control, since some symbols utilize skill checks when rolled. These are simple, almost Wario Ware-esque, like a gauge repeatedly filling up that you try to press when it’s at the very top, and they add some extra interactivity that keeps the game from feeling like all you do is pull a lever.
Between fights, players are transported to the upgrade shop, where slot symbols and power-ups can be purchased. Some of the power-ups are passive buffs, like health-raising gouda, while others like magic wands can be used during battle for extra effects. Existing symbols and power-ups can also be improved in the store, and the symbol line-up players are using can be tweaked.
Just like most roguelikes, there are certainly a few OP builds for a pretty reliable win, but it’s much more fun to experiment. Strength, magic, and poison paths are all viable, and there’s a lot of unlockable attacks, from ninja stars to a killing curse. There’s also meta progression in the form of permanent modifiers, which are purchased with chips — which are separate from coins — during a run. These vary from smaller improvements like increased damage resistance, to run-changing upgrades like more symbol slots on the machine.
The art direction, music, and overall aura of Slots & Daggers are also immaculate. Allmenröder describes the soundtrack — which he composed himself in Logic Pro — as “a mix of old school hip-hop, arcade synths and weird, slightly out-of-tune drawbar organs,” an eclectic blend of sounds that perfectly captures the anachronistic nature of the fantasy slot machine concept. It’s not just the music, either, but the various sounds of the attacks, coins plopping out, crowd cheers, and more atmospheric noises that really show how finely curated the vibes are.
Visually, the monsters look like something out of a comic book, monochrome themselves but changed aesthetically by the lighting and other visual effects of the environment. In the Cathedral of Smoke level, for example, I fought a sort of flame demon tinged orange by the blaze behind them, with pixelated smoke wafting through the air. The machine itself is also a delight, with plenty of retrofuturistic flashing lights that keep my lizard brain entertained.
Slots & Daggers is less in-depth than Slay the Spire, but it’s supposed to be — the Steam description even calls it a mini-roguelike. Honestly, I don’t think the game would be as fun if it was more complex. It’s more of a bite-sized experience that gets me thinking just the right amount after a long day — the randomness of the slot machine means I don’t need to think super hard about my turn itself, but I still need to strategize between fights.
I beat the main campaign mode in about five hours, but doing so unlocked the arena, an endless mode in which you fight increasingly difficult egg monsters. I still find myself returning to take on beasts like Leggo, an egg with legs, and the magical Eggomancer, and it’s the perfect sort of game to pick up and play in short bursts. It really does feel like you’re in the back of that medieval tavern, getting cozy with a mug of mead as you take on monsters.
