If I had a nickel for every time I heard of a roguelike game based on a form of gambling, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s interesting that it happened twice, and I’m not complaining as it’s fun to see how creative people can get with the theme. With that said, Slots & Daggers (S&D) is one of those roguelikes I’m talking about, and as you can probably tell, it’s based on slots.
Anyway, the game is developed by the Berlin-based developer Friedemann, who’s been making indie games for around 10 years or so. Their previous works include SUMMERHOUSE, a chill home-builder game; but with S&D, Friedemann sought to create the opposite of chill, as you can imagine with slot machines being the core mechanic of the game.
With the intro outta the way, let’s get into the how the game works.
Mechanics & Gameplay
As stated earlier, the core mechanic of the game is rooted in slot machines. Like many roguelikes, you are at the mercy of the RNG Gods, and this time, they appear before you as a slot machine. As you begin your run, you have three symbols which you have to spin, in or der to see what you get in every subsequent round.
That might sound easy-peasy for now, but more mechanics will eventually come in. To briefly and simply explain it, the symbols you can roll include money, health, shielding, damage, physical and magical.
Additionally, the symbols you accumulate can also form pairings that either provide really good synergies or counter-synergies. You’ll have to learn them over time, because there’s a fair amount of them, and it’s best for you to test them yourself to really understand how each ability fits in with each the rest.
Of course, you’ll also have enemies to battle and clear for you to progress through the worlds. As you try different strats, especially those you are not sure of or are unfamiliar with, you might fail the run. However, fret not, for even when you perish, the game is pretty lenient as it allows you to restart from the level where you were beaten.
So, generally speaking, you’ll want to start slow and get a feel of the abilities, then play it safe and strategically; though the more adventurous players are always free to RNG their abilities. In that case, may luck be with you.
Verdict
Slots & Daggers is a fun roguelite game that tickles the inner gambler in you, yet remains somewhat healthy, as unlike actual gambling, you don’t lose any real-world money. It’s certainly a game to have on hand when you have a monkey on your back to scratch.
