Slots & Daggers - Casino Battle Royale (Review)

Slots & Daggers

Released: October 24th, 2025 (PC), May 15th, 2026 (Switch)

Developer: Friedemann

Publisher: Future Friends Games

Systems: PC, Switch/Switch 2 (reviewed)

Despite my rather outspoken opinions on monetized gambling, I must confess my susceptibility to the slot machine’s colorful dopamine promise. I have for a long time wanted to work on an ethical slot machine concept, and now I have to be mad because Slots & Daggers is a significantly better idea than any I’ve had. 

This cute little game consists almost entirely of turn-based combat with a gambler's flair. While there’s a dusting of roguelite features, much of the fluff is cut out in favor of sequential battles fought via slot machine. The process is, as one might imagine, quite straightforward - spin the slots, stop each one in turn, and watch as the icons you get are played in order. Icons include different weapons, coins, status effects, and heals, randomly arranged on each slot reel.

Some of the more powerful attacks and abilities require skill checks - these consist of rudimentary minigames based on timed button presses. Critical hits are achieved by either perfectly nailing a skill check or matching three of the same symbol. Between fights, you can spend your coins on new slot symbols and pay-per-use powerups, the latter of which can provide such useful things as quick heals and extra attacks independent of spins.

Damage types lend a little extra strategy to the simple combat system. Physical attacks have to get through any shields in play before they can touch HP, while magic attacks tend to be weaker but bypass the shields. Poison damage also ignores shielding and stacks to potentially devastating degrees. There are any number of indie games that use this system of damage types, so I doubt I needed to explain it so laboriously. 

Slots & Daggers doesn’t get much more complicated than that. For the most part, runs consist fully of spinning slots, defeating monsters, and buying upgrades. You’ll earn chips at the conclusion of a run and spend them on permanent upgrades, which is a crucial part of doing well - until you unlock more than three slots and beef up some basic stats, you’ll likely find runs suddenly ending within one challenge spike of a fight. 

It won’t take long to get some good upgrades. In fact, it won’t take long to get them all. Slots & Daggers is not made with longevity in mind, being remarkably brief when compared to what one usually expects from roguelites. You could acquire all the permanent boosts and complete the campaign within a night of somewhat dedicated playing, though a significantly tougher Arena mode provides a bit of post-game material. 

Really, my only complaint with the brevity is how much I was enjoying the progress. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with making a smaller game, especially as a solo developer, but when it’s a really fun one I can’t help feeling personally disappointed to not have more of it.  

The main takeaway is my enjoyment though. It’s such a good idea, done well enough to hit that “one more run” vibe while it lasts. Like a microcosm of the genre, it gives you a full roguelite experience without the need for tens of hours of dedication, and the fun doesn’t suffer as a result. Getting past a particularly tough fight still feels very rewarding, putting together a powerful build is still engrossing, lucking out with good weapons or abilities is still exciting. 

If I had only one main criticism of the gameplay, I’d say it’s the clear disparity between upgrades. Even with shields being a factor, magic damage just isn’t all that good for either players or enemies. I actually feel relieved whenever I face a magic user, the exponential damage dealt by opponents between turns doesn’t hurt anywhere near as bad when it's not physical. The Bow and Crossbow are so powerful they outshine anything else - both use a target shooting skill check where a critical hit can ruin a monster. They’re so good as to feel damn near mandatory. 

A borderline monochrome art style isn’t what one might expect from a slot-fueled game, but it’s a striking look. Presented as a personal gadget on some sort of tavern table, the slot machine itself is something I almost wish was an actual thing, and its screen hosts an array of cool, imaginatively designed monsters. The presentation’s capped with some catchy music - that everything was done by one person is impressive, especially given how good it all looks and sounds. 

Slots & Daggers is one of the breeziest roguelites out there, but it’s no less absorbing. Its slot-based combat is both terrifically conceived and executed, and there’s some fun humor attached in a vaguely defined story between boss fights. It’s a low cost and cute genre entry that I would love to see more of, but I very much appreciate what’s there. Plus you can fight egg men.

8/10