
A masterclass in strategy design, Balatro delivers an unforgettable experience from start to finish.
95
Verdict
98%
Steam
91
IGDB
Verdict score based on confidence-adjusted Steam reviews?
Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam (98% positive from 185K reviews)
Active community with 7,628 concurrent players
Critically acclaimed (91/100 critic average)
Standout indie gem
Steep difficulty curve may not appeal to casual players
Balatro is a poker-themed roguelike deck-building game developed by solo developer LocalThunk, and published by Playstack. It was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on February 20, 2024, with a port to macOS on March 1. Ports for Android and iOS were released on September 26, 2024. In the game, the player must score a certain number of points by playing poker hands from a starting 52-card deck, with a limited number of hands and discards each round.

Runs well on modern hardware.
Last updated 2d ago
At first I played Balatro on my phone for months. After I bought it on steam I kept playing. During the boring classes or my free times I played Balatro so sorry mme Bottero in advance. My girlfriend is a poker nerd and she started to watch me play Balatro while complaining ''This is not Poker!'' ''You cannot do that in Poker!!'' ''Poker is not like this, this game does not make any sense its stupid''. Later on I caught her playing Balatro and she was constantly rage quitting because she kept losing the runs. We have been playing it together when we eat, before bed, on weekends when we have to do nothing etc. She became progressively better in the game and stopped complaining about it. Sometimes I watch her play sometimes she watch me play Balatro and she also watches Balatro streamers or videos on youtube to fall asleep. It has been a very nice thing between us we like it and most likely continue to play for many times. It is not as addictive as people are saying but the system of the game in itself is quite nice and I have been enjoying it a lot. When I have more time I will %100 all the achievements but at the moment me and my girlfriend are just casual players.
It took me only 244 hours to 100% the game , yes i played at work , no i don't feel bad about it . THAT ONES FOR YOU JIMBO
Number go up. Arguably the mother of the gambling roguelites, or at least their inappropriate aunt. It's genuinely good though, and it's quite fair on the whole. Usually. As with most roguelites, it will just kick you in the teeth sometimes. But it's very satisfying to beat, and as with most good luck-based games, most of the challenge is in your ability to manipulate luck and account for the odds. Gambling in real life isn't much fun, based as it is in manipulating the human weaknesses with statistics. Do this instead. You'll spend less money and feel better and maybe even make a friend.
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