Deckbuilders with roguelite elements are a dime a dozen across consoles and PC these days; so much so that they can all begin to bleed together in the mind. This isn’t a problem that Balatro has – its borderline hypnotic aesthetic, music, and power-scaling gameplay all combine to create an intensely memorable experience. An experience that makes it a worthy winner of game of the year in our TechRadar Choice Awards 2024.
I’ll admit that I’m not the biggest roguelite guy. That said, this year I gained newfound obsessions in both Hades 2 and Balatro. And while I’m waiting on the former to be feature-complete (it’s in Steam early access right now) to make a full assessment, Balatro presents a full, complete package that’s fiendishly difficult to put down.
If you’re unfamiliar with Balatro and what makes it such a fascinating game, it bases itself on the rules of Poker. You start out with a standard deck of playing cards with which you’ll play hands to increase your score and your multiplier; the better the hand, the higher your score. But it doesn’t stay that way for long. Play well enough, and your score will continue to skyrocket with each encounter beaten – something accompanied by an immensely-satisfying ‘plinky’ sound effect as feedback. It also helps that most runs are wicked fast, largely lasting no longer than 15-20 minutes. As such, Balatro is ideal for a bit of lunch break gaming, and can also consistently sucker you in for ‘just one more run’.
Between each encounter (known as Small, Big, and Boss Blinds) you’ll get to visit a shop to spend your hard-earned coinage. It’s here where you can purchase run-altering Joker cards – there are dozens of these things, all offering different passive effects. One might boost the multiplier when playing cards of a certain suit, for example, while another can change the properties of your cards to offer various benefits and drawbacks.
You can also purchase planetary cards that level up different types of hands, as well as Tarot cards that can significantly change how you play with your deck. Your deck is basically a hot pot, then, with all these different types of cards forming the ingredients with which you can spice it up. And boy if I don’t end up cooking a different hot pot on each and every run; the sheer amount of run-altering variables is truly staggering even for the typically broad range the subgenre offers on the whole.
Balatro has what feels like billions of variables. You can hold onto multiple Jokers, and much of the fun in Balatro comes from learning how Joker cards can synergize with one another. This creates near-infinite replay value in a game that costs less than 15 bucks and is playable on basically everything now. Balatro is available on PC (via Steam) as well as on Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Android and iOS devices.
It’s clear that game developers are just as in love with Balatro as we are. At the time of writing, two free ‘Friends of Jimbo’ DLC packs have been added, featuring deck designs with characters from Cyberpunk 2077, Stardew Valley, Vampire Survivors, and more. Seriously, if you haven’t played Balatro yet, what’s stopping you?