The trials and tribulations that Balatro developer Localthunk went through to get his hit roguelike an appropriate age rating are well-documented. Sometimes, ratings boards don't really look past the idea of gambling to find out if that gambling is actually present. In the case of Balatro, common sense eventually prevailed. But for CloverPit, which seems to have taken plenty of inspiration from Balatro, I don't think it's beating the allegations.
CloverPit is comfortably one of the biggest roguelikes in Steam Next Fest, sitting in the top ten across all three major charts. I can instantly see why. It's a game that immediately plugs into all of the horror stories you hear about how casino designers get punters to stay in place for hours at a time. Before you sits a traditional slot machine, and it's your job to use it to make increasing quantities of money, before the trapdoor floor beneath you opens up and sends you off to an unpleasant fate.
