At a first glance, Balatro doesn't seem like a very interesting game. "Make poker hands to score as much as you possibly can" It doesn't have incredibly realistic graphics, nor any "engaging looking" mechanics to play with. I mean, how fun is it look at someone select cards to make poker hands and pick up some cards from the shop? I say nay.

But while at first glance it may look boring, it makes up for it in sheer DEPTH. The systems are simple, easy to understand for many who've touched playing cards. Yet the game adds so much more to its simple system with its jokers. Synergies and dis-synergies with other jokers, deck modifications to suit the jokers and manipulating your playstyle in accordance to the deck's conditions that you yourself drafted.

And while you immerse yourself into Balatro's gameplay, the simple graphics of points pinging numbers into the flaming hot CHIPS x MULTS gives so much more dopamine than you'd expect; as you anxiously see whether your final number manages to pass the blind.

On a final note, Localthunk is a cool game dev.

At a first glance, Balatro doesn't seem like a very interesting game. "Make poker hands to score as much as you possibly can" It doesn't have incredibly realistic graphics, nor any "engaging looking" mechanics to play with. I mean, how fun is it look at someone select cards to make poker hands and pick up some cards from the shop? I say nay. But while at first glance it may look boring, it makes up for it in sheer DEPTH. The systems are simple, easy to understand for many who've touched playing cards. Yet the game adds so much more to its simple system with its jokers. Synergies and dis-synergies with other jokers, deck modifications to suit the jokers and manipulating your playstyle in accordance to the deck's conditions that you yourself drafted. And while you immerse yourself into Balatro's gameplay, the simple graphics of points pinging numbers into the flaming hot CHIPS x MULTS gives so much more dopamine than you'd expect; as you anxiously see whether your final number manages to pass the blind. On a final note, Localthunk is a cool game dev.