Balatro is a game that I have bought on two different platforms, put time into on every control scheme available for, started to learn LUA so I can create mods for the game, and has made me absolutely love a game in a genre I tend to disagree with.

Balatro is not like other roguelikes in the sense that each failure genuinely feels like a failure for the player to predict an upcoming challenge, or choose the correct Jokers for a situation, or entirely misreading a situation. It offers tons of replayability, lots of decks that are even customizable within the gameplay loop, and opportunities for the player to learn entirely new play styles and techniques on the fly. When you first start you will feel like you are fumbling around, but within your first few hours you will start to really click with the game and it likely will become an addiction you can't help but give in to.

Despite my Steam play time only showing roughly 5-6 hours at the time of writing, I initially bought Balatro on iPhone and put in hours upon hours while having down time at work, from the date of release until the very end of October I played at minimum 1-3 hours on iPhone. I then bought the game for my Steam Deck/PC and proceeded to put another 5-6 hours into it, only having taken a break because I have been busy playing other games with my partner.

Balatro is an absolute 10/10, a masterpiece in the indie space and worth every penny. I've bought it 3 times over, and will likely buy it more times to make friends enjoy it as much as I have!

Balatro is a game that I have bought on two different platforms, put time into on every control scheme available for, started to learn LUA so I can create mods for the game, and has made me absolutely love a game in a genre I tend to disagree with. Balatro is not like other roguelikes in the sense that each failure genuinely feels like a failure for the player to predict an upcoming challenge, or choose the correct Jokers for a situation, or entirely misreading a situation. It offers tons of replayability, lots of decks that are even customizable within the gameplay loop, and opportunities for the player to learn entirely new play styles and techniques on the fly. When you first start you will feel like you are fumbling around, but within your first few hours you will start to really click with the game and it likely will become an addiction you can't help but give in to. Despite my Steam play time only showing roughly 5-6 hours at the time of writing, I initially bought Balatro on iPhone and put in hours upon hours while having down time at work, from the date of release until the very end of October I played at minimum 1-3 hours on iPhone. I then bought the game for my Steam Deck/PC and proceeded to put another 5-6 hours into it, only having taken a break because I have been busy playing other games with my partner. Balatro is an absolute 10/10, a masterpiece in the indie space and worth every penny. I've bought it 3 times over, and will likely buy it more times to make friends enjoy it as much as I have!