While visually appealing, Raccoin didn't really live up to my expectations. What sounded like a unique idea turned out to not be very well flesh out. It feels like neither a good coin pusher nor a good Balatro-like.

PROS:
+ Beautiful graphics and artwork. Visually I was impressed.
+ It has a lot of fun ideas. Coins can combine with other coins, boost the surrounding values of other coins, or transform into something else entirely new. There are enhancements you can apply to your coins to make them do wacky stuff too, like return to your hand when scored or create copies of itself every round.

CONS:
- Fun at first, but quickly loses any sort of magic. You don't have a lot of control over the coin pusher itself so it's hard to play it as a game. You can decide on whether you want to shoot your coin to the left, right, or middle of the machine but other than that you just... watch. With all the crazy effects going on it doesn't feel like placement really matters all that much, so the coin pusher aspect doesn't really feel like a coin pusher. And because you're confined to this strict placement, you're left to the whims of chaos. These two aspects form a gameplay loop that isn't very fun or engaging.
- Tries to do a lot of things, but feels like it also doesn't do enough. There's 150 different coins but they can only be used for specific purposes depending on which character you're playing. And even then some coins, like the wolf coins or lotus coins, aren't something you want to buy for most characters. They'll show up in your run but you can't feasibly cater to their gimmick every time. Other coins do one thing and then they're done, like the glue coin which adds a flat value to the coin it sticks to. There's not a lot of reasons to take most coins unless you're basing your strategy around them, so you end up ignoring a lot them.
- Some strategies require a bit more precision than the game will allow. For example, there's a few plant based coins. You have to water them and give them nutrients in the form of water coins and poop coins. To get water coins you either need to buy a coin that generates them or buy them directly from the store. Poop coins typically come from coins that hunt other coins, so you need a steady, reliable supply of both these hunter coins and also the coins they hunt. And of course you'll need the plant based coin itself. You need 5 or 6 different types of coins just to pull off this one strategy, and then once reach the end of this combination and cash in the coins... they get scored and you have to do it over again. There's a few strategies like this that requires a fair amount of precision for one large payout. The first time you manage to activate these combos it's pretty gratifying but then you immediately realize you've gained nothing to help you with further rounds, which is important for a game like this that constantly builds upon itself. A disproportionate amount of work goes into getting a one time effect.
- 13 hours in and I've already seen 75% of all the game's content according to the in-game collection progress.

Honestly, for $10, I can't really complain too much. Two months after release I still open this up every once in a while and play a run or two. I still wouldn't recommend it though as there are dozens of other roguelikes out there that are more engaging.

This is basically what happens when someone takes the addictive brain chemistry of arcade coin pushers and turns it into a roguelike.
You drop coins, trigger combos, activate ridiculous synergies, unlock upgrades, and slowly turn the machine into complete visual chaos where coins, effects, and rewards are exploding everywhere on screen. It sounds simple, but it is dangerously good at making you say "just one more run."

The core gameplay loop is incredibly satisfying. Watching huge chain reactions happen after carefully building your setup hits the same kind of dopamine as games like Balatro or Vampire Survivors. Once your build starts working properly and the machine starts spitting out massive rewards, it becomes hard to stop playing.

What helps a lot is that there is actual strategy underneath the randomness. Deciding when to spend resources, which upgrades to stack and how to build synergies gives the game more depth than a normal arcade-style coin pusher would ever have.

Visually, it is also just fun to watch. The constant physics chaos, coins falling everywhere, bouncing multipliers and absurd combo chains make every successful run feel satisfying even when you barely understand what is happening anymore.

The good:
- Extremely addictive gameplay loop
- Coin pusher mechanics are weirdly satisfying
- Great roguelike progression and synergies
- Huge dopamine-heavy combo chains
- Strong "one more run" energy
- Fun visual chaos and physics
- Surprisingly strategic underneath the randomness
- Upgrades and builds are enjoyable to experiment with
- Fast and easy to jump into
- Very satisfying when builds come together

The bad:
- Heavy RNG can ruin runs
- Visual clutter becomes overwhelming sometimes
- Gameplay can become repetitive during long sessions
- Some builds feel far stronger than others
- Progress can snowball too hard
- Limited gameplay variety outside the main loop
- Balance feels inconsistent in places
- Can become mindless after many runs

1/16 STORY
✅ No story
🔲 Not main aspect
🔲 Bad story
🔲 Average
🔲 Good
🔲 It'll replace your life

2/16 GAMEPLAY
🔲 Lifeless / static
🔲 Poor UI
🔲 Average
✅ Good
🔲 Excellent

3/16 DIFFICULTY
🔲 Playing asleep
✅ Some brain usage
🔲 Easy to learn / Hard to master
🔲 Difficult
🔲 Dark Souls

4/16 GRIND
🔲 Nothing to grind
✅ Isn't necessary to progress
🔲 Average grind level
🔲 Only if you care about leaderboards/ranks
🔲 Too much grind

5/16 GAME TIME / REPLAYABILITY
🔲 Long enough for a cup of coffee <1h
🔲 Short 1:30-5
🔲 Average 5-15
🔲 Long 15+
✅ To infinity and beyond

6/16 MULTIPLAYER
✅ No multiplayer
🔲 Trashy servers
🔲 Some hiccups
🔲 Smooth and pleasant experience
🔲 Co-op
🔲 PvP
🔲 PvE

7/16 GRAPHICS
✅ Stuck in the last century
🔲 Low Effort
🔲 Average
🔲 Good
🔲 Reality 2.0

8/16 AUDIO
🔲 Earrape
🔲 Bad
🔲 Not too bad
✅ Good
🔲 Eargasm

9/16 AUDIENCE
🔲 Kids
🔲 Teens
🔲 Adults
✅ Everyone

10/16 PC REQUIREMENTS
✅ Potato
🔲 Decent
🔲 Fast
🔲 Rich boi
🔲 > NASA

11/16 PRICE
🔲 It's free!
🔲 Not recommended
🔲 Wait for sale
✅ Worth the price
🔲 Best investment ever done

12/16 FREQENT UPDATES
🔲 Abandoned
🔲 Last year
🔲 Once every year
🔲 A couple per year
✅ Frequent

13/16 BUGS / CRASHES
✅ None / Not discovered
🔲 Minor bugs
🔲 Can get annoying
🔲 Frequent crashes
🔲 Complete mess

14/16 MISC
🔲 Steam Workshop
✅ Steam Trading Cards
✅ Steam Achievements
🔲 Content for Steam Points Shop

15/16 {?/10}
🔲 1
🔲 2
🔲 3
🔲 4
🔲 5
🔲 6
✅ 7
🔲 8
🔲 9
🔲 10

16/16 VERDICT
✅ Recommended
🔲 Not recommended

Balatro with coins and Raccoons.