Balatro

I’m not into rogue likes and I’m not into card games, and Balatro is a rogue like card game. However this game started to appear everywhere in the run up to The Game Awards so I wanted to check out what it was. 

I got it for Nintendo Switch and I think that was a mistake. The screen was all blurry and I don’t think it fits the format. I tried it a couple of rounds and then put it down. A few days later I noticed the game is also on Apple Arcade, and that made it much more accessible to me. Once I started to get into it, my family also downloaded it and it has become this thing we bond around the last week. 

It’s a poker game. You play poker hands to collect points. Once you collect the required amount for the round you continue to the next round where you need to collect even more. Once you’re unable to collect enough points after the run ends, it’s game over and you need to start over. 

Along the way you collect jokers that will help you get a higher score. You modify your card deck with bonuses. You level up poker hands to score even higher. But it will not be enough. You will fail, and when you do, you unlock new jokers, new bonuses, new card decks for the next round which improves your chances of beating the boss blind of ante 8, which is the goal of the game.

It’s not very hard to get there. I did it in a few hours. All you need is a bit of tactics and luck. If you find jokers that work well together you can generate a ridiculous amount of points. It is mostly luck that will get you there, and tactics in recognizing what to do with the tools the game provides.

Beating your first round is however not the end of the game. I had unlocked 10% of the game after my first success, and the goal shifts; now beat it with other card decks to unlock new cards. I think you can probably keep playing this forever. 

I do like it. The constant flow of new cards, new jokers, new tools, keeps it interesting. I just want to play one more round, and it’s hard to put down when you’re in the middle of it. I’m not a fan of the luck aspect, as it feels like most of the failed runs had nothing to do with your performance. You were just dealt bad cards.

I rate this game as GREAT.