Balatro is a deck-building roguelite where you must play poker hands and earn chips to defeat enemy blinds. Enhance your deck of playing cards, buy Jokers to modify each hand you play, and discover new and wild synergies to win!
I'm not usually a huge fan of rogue-likes, but I've enjoyed a few, like Hades. I bought Balatro last week and have been absolutely smashing it ever since then. I love the way the game works, each run being so different even within the same framework, and the feeling when your build starts to go off is so incredibly satisfying.
It's crazy how I feel like I barely notice the music when playing but it just pops into my head throughout the day.
I had to play on mute the other day when my headphones died and it was like a completely different game with out the background music and the dings to give me that dopamine rush.
It might be a hot take but I think the bgm is actually the weakest part of the game. Feels too repetitive and too short, like Mementos in Persona 5. I legitimately play on mute and put something else on in the background.
I'm not addicted.
I can stop playing whenever I want.
I definitely don't think about how best to optimize the order of Jokers when I should be working, that's silly, why would you even mention that?
I just got the (first) completionist achievement after 60 hours plus however many I spent on the demo. I might try a few of the challenges and try to win with the final stake at least once, but after that I think I'm done.
It's an absolutely amazing game and has secured its place in my deck building hall of fame beside Slay the Spire and Wildfrost.
Absolutely addicted. Not as addicted as when I first got it, but still addicted. Spent the last few times playing just trying to beat the challenge of beating a game in 12 or less rounds. Only way I could beat it is by the throwback joker being in the shop for the first time. Definitely a fun game.
The hype is real. There's no microtransactions, no multiplayer, it's just about building the best deck with as many synergies as possible and getting the highest score you can. If you played Magic or even Inscryption, you'll feel right at home.
"It's a deck of playing cards. How much more fun can it be, compared to the 50+ other solitaire games? And why would I want to play poker by myself?"
So I got a bit of money leftover after bills, and decided to get it anyway cause I haven't played anything fun this year. Went in blind without reading or watching any reviews.
Turns out it's NOT just your standard deck of playing cards. You can do all sorts of crazy things to your deck. Like playing illegal hands such as five-of-a-kind, or a flush house. It's a lot of fun.
Addicting, fun, loads of builds/options.
I do wish the early game was a bit more reliable. You can get stuck always playing catchup if you dont get a scoring joker in tge first couple shops
Yeah those are the best part. When you find a new "build" you feel like you broke the the game (in a good way). But last two antes can still shut you out like a steel trap
me me me! I started it with my partner, we now have 3 different profiles going - one for me, one for them, one for us together. I can't get enough of it, the mystery of the jokers is so compelling and all the dings and boops and flames are so oddly satisfying.
Fun fact: the game actually isn't based on Poker, but rather the Filipino card game Pusoy Dos, which is a variant of the Chinese card game Big Two.
I played the 2-3 demos before release, and have been continuing that trend since launch. "Nearly" at 100% achievements, though the remaining 3 are the big ones, so dunno how long it will take.
I have found that I enjoy the game more on low stakes (white/red), as the higher stakes are really just more annoying/RNG to me than anything.