Most fantasy roguelikes ask players to sharpen swords, learn spells and prepare for battle. Slots & Daggers has a slightly different approach. Here, survival often depends on spinning slot machine reels and hoping the universe decides to be kind for once.
Now available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC with Xbox Play Anywhere support, Slots & Daggers comes from Future Friends Games and solo developer Friedemann – the same creator behind SUMMERHOUSE.
And while SUMMERHOUSE focused on peaceful creativity and cosy building, this one heads in the complete opposite direction with goblins, dungeon fights, crunchy beats and a lot of ‘pling pling pling’.
At A Glance
- Game: Slots & Daggers
- Developer: Friedemann
- Publisher: Future Friends Games
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, Play Anywhere
- Price: £6.69
- Genre: Roguelike / RPG
Slot Machines Meet Fantasy Roguelikes
Slots & Daggers mixes roguelike progression with slot machine mechanics, creating a game where spinning reels directly determines combat outcomes, upgrades and survival.
The setup sounds ridiculous on paper. Players journey through a strange fantasy world packed with crude hand-drawn creatures, retro-inspired visuals and arcade-style gameplay built around randomness and rapid decision-making.
Friedemann describes the game as a combination of “weird fantasy worlds”, “strange little guys”, old-school hip hop drum machines and classic arcade design. Somehow, all of those ingredients ended up inside the same game. Against all odds, it mostly works.
Built As A Smaller Solo Project
Like SUMMERHOUSE, Slots & Daggers was created as a deliberately smaller-scale experience rather than a massive endless RPG.
The campaign runs around four to eight hours depending on playstyle, with additional modes like the ‘Egg Arena’ included for players chasing higher scores and tougher challenges.
That shorter structure actually helps the game stand apart slightly within the increasingly crowded roguelike space. Not every run-based game needs to demand hundreds of hours and ten different progression systems before things become interesting.
We Have Already Taken It For A Spin
We recently reviewed Slots & Daggers ourselves, awarding the game a respectable 3.5/5 score.
Our verdict praised the game’s early momentum and unusual ideas, while also noting that some of the later grind could become repetitive: “For a time, Slots & Daggers looked like it would fit that category. But even this short roguelike overstayed its welcome.”
If nothing else, Slots & Daggers proves Friedemann has absolutely no interest in repeating the same project twice. Going from calm city building to slot machine fantasy combat is certainly one way to avoid being predictable. For players interested in smaller experimental indies with unusual mechanics and a lot of personality, Slots & Daggers may be worth a few spins on Xbox and PC.
Just do not blame the goblins when the reels refuse to cooperate.
Find Slots & Daggers on the Xbox Store right now.
