While I wouldn’t presume that it’s a game for everyone, I’ll happily admit that I’m still completely hooked on the mix of card-based gambling and roguelike unpredictability that is Balatro. The frustration of being burned by chance tied to simply playing cards can often be high enough, but when you throw in a boatload of potential perks and the many ways they can be combined, it’s a game of high highs and low lows. I suppose looking to capitalize on that idea, we have Luck be a Landlord, another gambling roguelike that in this case pairs with the classic slot machine to get its inspiration.

While I’ll admit that the first few runs are going to inevitably be a confusing mess, since you don’t yet have a grasp of what all of the symbols and their various perks mean, things thankfully do improve. What you’ll find is that many of the available symbols have synergies or direct relationships to other ones, so you’ll begin to try to get as many that align with each other as possible. Where it gets more wild is that there are quite a few multi-stage synergies where two symbols interact to then create another, which will then pair again with others you may have down the line. If you give it the chance to reveal all of this to you, what starts out feeling a bit frustrating, and all over the place, really begins to come together.

That said, while it’s sort of easy to make some comparisons to Balatro since they’re both roguelikes that involve gambling, this is clearly a few steps behind the level of refinement and depth that it has. No doubt some of this has to do with the slot machine being the vehicle for play instead of cards. They both certainly involve a fair amount of randomness, but the opportunities Balatro had to then exploit different decks and modifiers to further extend play and enjoyment aren’t nearly as prevalent here. Instead, it’s a distinct roguelike with its own flavor, and plenty of ups and downs as luck smiles on you, but it won’t likely have that much staying power once you burn out from hitting the limits of the depth it offers.