Balatro

Well after 100%ing the game I can say, without a doubt, That this is the worst game I've ever played. You can definitely tell that this was made by a single developer, due to the extreme levels of dedication, creativity, and insane commitment to detail in every godforsaken joker, consumable, and just general vibe. And don't even get me started on this "soundtrack", as it's more of a constant and droning theme to the entire game. It too has obviously been created with love and I can't get enough of it (or seem to get it out of my head while not playing the game. So I guess if you want a great looking, sounding, and enjoyable game (that was obviously created with love) then I guess pick up a copy. As for me I'll be sticking to my AAA titles, and definitely not putting another 900 hours into this "great game"

Good Lord. I sit, having emerged from my cavern, emaciated, barely able to breathe, fingers on my right hand curled into mouse-click position, having ignored all requirements to support basic human life while choking on the dust of addiction. The only thing that stopped me was the inevitable Windows update, forcing itself upon my PC like so many legos into the footbeds of parents only trying to bring a paper plate filled with scrambled eggs (and ketchup) to the living room so some brat kid can continue watching Peppa Pig. And I still haven't unlocked that last stupid deck. I should stop, but I'm pushed onward, a need to experience every deck in the game pushing up from deep down inside of my guts. What have I become? Where will I go from here? Should I forever resign myself to hand after hand, trying to fight an uphill battle against a random number generator that has decided I need Jokers that add one card to my hand, one discard to my hand, one free reroll in the stupid shop, with only a couple of crossed fingers and prayer directed toward my need for multiplication cards that won't lose strength every time I discard one of the 85 4 of diamonds it insists on dealing me even though I've consistently added King after King after King? [b]Why in the hell do I have so many freaking 4 of diamonds cards in this deck, anyway?![b] Who put them there? Was it me? Was it you? Was it the [b]JOKER!??!?![/b] Only time will tell. Maybe I'll know in another 80 hours. --------------------------------------------------------------------- I deleted this game, because 80 hours is enough. I think. I'll reinstall it later and let you know after I play it for another 80 hours.

The Jokerless Challenge was so hard that it taught me the life would face difficulty if there is no joke or joker.

Balatro isn't just a game, it's a lifestyle. Since I started playing Balatro, I've been thinking about Balatring 24/7. My grades in college improved because my math skills are now at a supreme level, as well as my love life. Since I started playing Balatro, women don't even approach me, so I haven't had the chance to be disappointed in love. However, I see this as an improvement, because I was already scared of them anyway. So in short: play Balatro.

Played Balatro for five hours straight. - Psychedelic CRT vibes ? Check. I genuinely stared at the screen wondering if I’d lucid dreamed being transported into a ’70s cursed casino - Roguelike poker hands but make it : I illegally folded a Royal Flush and felt like a genius until the opponent blind beat me to tears... I still don’t know how I scored 212k chips and still lost - Soundtrack vibe : Hypnotic synthwave that haunts your dreams, plus satisfying card-click ASMR, now whenever I hear my phone click, I half-expect a Joker to pop up ! - Endless combos : With 150 Jokers, tarot, planet cards, spectral boosts... every run felt like building a chaotic super-deck. “Just one more round” turned into a 'whoops it’s 3AM' situation Verdict after little more than 5 hours ? I’m officially hooked. Who knew poker math could be this addictively satisfying? If your productivity is on the line, run. But if you’re ready to trade your soul (or at least part of your sleep schedule) for dopamine fueled combos, Balatro’s got your number.

As someone who's a fan of Hearthstone Battlegrounds, Magic the Gathering and many forms of poker (texas holdem, 3 card poker, Omaha holdem, etc) I was absolutely enthralled by this game. I don't think it's game of the year, but it is an innovator in the card game genre. It is well deserving of it's place as a card game titan. If you're a table top card game fan and/or a tcg fan, this is not just a must have for the fun, but also the innovation.

Excellent, wonderfully crafted game. Every sound effect and card visual is just perfect, the engine building is really fun and varied, the flow (time between rounds and things to do in the shop) is just right, and there's just the right amount of cards to force you to branch out and try new things but if you simply *must* have a particular joker or card you can probably land it. Really easy to get into, but enough depth to go toe-to-toe with any other deckbuilder.

This game is digital crack. The multiplayer mod gives it endless replay value

I mean yeah it's fun, but after 10 hours I literally cannot fathom playing Balatro any longer. I expected this game to have more complex mechanics; the gameplay loop got so stale so fast. But I mean yeah it's just poker, so... how much do you like poker, I guess is the question.

It's no Vampire Survivors, but its the next best chill-out-on-the-couch game for the Steam Deck.

I'd bring this with me on a deserted island and gamble for coconuts and bananas with other survivors. I crave this game when I'm away from my pc. I see it in every deck of tarot cards and playing cards I see in the world. I can't get this game out of my head. I have a gambling addiction.

Addictive and well designed roguelite, slight criticism might be that it starts feeling repetitive after a while tough

---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☑ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ Can count pixels ---{ Gameplay }--- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Umm ☐ You can just sit in silence instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☐ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ A toaster can run this ☑ Potato ☐ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{ Game Size }--- ☑ Floppy Disk ☐ Old Fashioned ☐ Workable ☐ Big ☐ Will munch on your 1TB hard drive ☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it ☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data ---{ Difficulty }--- ☐ Just press 'W' ☐ Easy ☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master ☑ Significant brain usage ☐ Difficult ☐ Dark Souls ---{ Grind }--- ☑ Nothing to grind ☐ Only if you care about leaderboards/ranks ☐ Isn't necessary to progress ☐ Average grind level ☐ Too much grind ☐ No sunlight or touching grass needed! ---{ Story }--- ☑ No Story ☐ Some lore ☐ Average ☐ Good ☐ Lovely ☐ "But Thats just a theory, a Game Theory! Thanks for watching." ---{ Game Time }--- ☐ *Blinks* Wait thats it? *credits roll* ☐ Short ☑ Average ☐ Long ☐ To infinity and beyond ---{ Price }--- ☐ It's free! ☐ Basicly free ☑ Worth the price ☐ If it's on sale ☐ If u have some spare money left ☐ Not recommended ☐ You could also just burn your money ---{ Bugs }--- ☑ Never heard of ☐ Minor bugs ☐ Can get annoying ☐ Bugs everywhere ☐ Cyberpunk 2077 ---{ ? / 10 }--- ☐ 1 ☐ 2 ☐ 3 ☐ 4 ☐ 5 ☐ 6 ☐ 7 ☐ 8 ☑ 9 ☐ 10

More and more games try to replicate what balatro did, but while they can easily adopt the gameplay mechanics to a different type of game, like constructing words, they usually don't have unique and striking art direction. Most jokers in Balatro are iconic by now, I highly doubt that some perks or whatever they are called in other games will reach the same level.

way too addicting honestly, you can always come back and it has really varying playstyles, 10/10, peak

The greatest solitaire replacement I've ever played.

does not look interesting at all, until you play it, sock and buskin. 8/10.

Im already addicted. Apparently mobile is cheaper go get that... ima go seek mental help rq

I've heard really great things about this game for a while and was hesitant to try it out because I have no background experience or knowledge of poker. I figured I'd finally give it a shot as I've been looking for games I can quickly pickup and put down recently. I also figured I'd just return it if I found it too complicated, but that was never the case. The information you need to make plays is always available and I was surprised at how much fun I had from the very start! This is a great game and I see myself putting many more hours into it.

I love getting a higher score than there are atoms in the universe to be rewarded with $4

[h1]🎴 Balatro – Review[/h1] Balatro is the wildest poker-based roguelike you didn’t know you needed – and once it gets its hooks in, it’ll refuse to let go. It plays like a high‑altitude mashup of poker, solitaire, math, and deck‑building chaos. [hr][/hr] [h2]Strengths[/h2] [list] [*][b]Addictive gameplay loops[/b] – Each run, known as an "ante", is broken into rounds where you must craft poker hands using your limited hands and discards. The mix of chips, jokers, and multipliers pushes you into ever-more creative strategies. [*][b]Approachable, but deep[/b] – Even if you don’t know a straight from a flush, Balatro teaches its mechanics fast and then throws you into the deep end. It’s a game that teaches you poker by rewarding experimentation and risk. [*][b]Controlled chaos[/b] – Joker cards twist the rules in absurd and satisfying ways, letting you build strategies around synergies, luck, and occasionally, sheer nonsense. [*][b]Endless replayability[/b] – Multiple decks, modifiers, tarot cards, boosters, and an endless mode mean you’ll always have new combos to discover and new builds to chase. [*][b]No greed, just game[/b] – No microtransactions, no gacha, no loot boxes. Balatro is a love letter to pure gameplay, not your wallet. [*][b]Playable anywhere[/b] – Whether you're on PC, console, or mobile, Balatro is buttery smooth and dangerously portable. [/list] [hr][/hr] [h2]Weaknesses[/h2] [list] [*][b]Late-game grind[/b] – Once you reach high ante levels or aim for completion, the difficulty and repetition can be punishing. [*][b]Not for poker haters[/b] – If you really can’t stand card mechanics, even Balatro’s genius won’t change your mind. [*][b]Minimalist style[/b] – It has charm, but the pixelated visuals and lo-fi aesthetics might not appeal to players looking for something more visually impressive. [/list] [hr][/hr] [h2]Overall Impression[/h2] Balatro is a [i]beautifully unhinged[/i] roguelike that nails the joy of experimentation. It rewards creativity, smart planning, and sometimes just sheer luck. It’s the kind of game where you think, “I'll just play one more run,” and then it’s 3 a.m. Some runs will frustrate you. Others will make you feel like a genius. That tension—that razor-thin line between chaos and control—is what makes Balatro so brilliant. [hr][/hr] [h3]Score: [b]9.0 / 10[/b][/h3] Balatro is a near-masterpiece. Smart, fair, and dangerously fun. If you like deckbuilders or roguelikes, this is an easy recommendation. If you don’t… maybe this is the one that changes your mind.

How can a card game be so fun and addictive? I came for the memes, wondering, [i] Is Balatro really as good as they say? [/i] And it turned out to be way better than I expected. Those positive reviews speak for themselves, it’s a 10/10. Give it a try, you won´t regret it. Canio my GOAT. [spoiler] [h1] ¿Sale Balatrito? [/h1] [/spoiler]

This game is like Tetris You hold your incomplete straight flush until you get that 10, settle for a full house when you run out of discards, and then get all of those 10s in one hand In other words, I love it

Now i understand why old people like Cards(teen patti) so much. It's addicting. Will i continue playing ? 1/4 chances that i continue ;)

I was hesitant to try this game, all it had to show for was it's cover art, I'd never seen any game play, nor trailers. It caught my eye with it's stellar art, which it followed through in the game as well. Not only did is exceed my expectations in illustration, it obliterated the scale for it's game play! Satisfying, addicting, and near perfect. It is not longer a question "to play, or not to play", this game will be played, and it will be enjoyed.

For the longest time, I saw people raving about this game, and I never really understood why. It's just making poker hands, over and over. Then I got the game. Now I get it. Now I have it on my phone, and my tablet, too. Get it.

At first I thought that flushes were the way to go, but the burnt joker has taught me that high card is eternal and if you think otherwise I will nail you to a ceiling fan and turn it on.

I have Ed and the only way to get my dihh up is Jimbo from the hit game Balatro that should have won game of the year

I bought both versions on steam and mobile and it was worth every cent. Best rougelike I have ever played would recommend.

Very good game. I would say that there is slightly too little variety in jokers if you're strictly playing to win on high stakes, but overall, very minor gripes.

Great game, very fun i will definitely keep playing it lots of variety and winning your first run is exciting if you suck lol

i love cards i love this game the numbers keep going up makes my monkey brain go bananas just like gross michel thank you to whoever made this game

What time is it? How long have I......? WHAAAT!?!!?? I wanted to get one good run in on Friday night and now I am late for work on Monday. Seriously though, this game is equal parts incredibly fun and a black hole that eats time with no remorse. Absolutely everything Localthunk put into this, from the visuals, sounds, and gameplay, to the incredibly accessible way the app was put together that makes it so easy for modding makes my brain go BRRR. If you have a touch of nostalgia, a love for math, or just the "happy sounds make my brain make happy juice" type of autism like I do, play this game at your own risk because you might not stop.

this game fueled my raging gambling addiction and now i'm begging for cash on the streets of chicago

cured my crippling gambling addiction

This game is amazing. The cards are unique and all 150 jokers are perfectly balanced. The consumables are also fun to use and the decks are interesting too.

I personally think that this game could be studied for how well it executes everything it presents to the player. Dynamic music, dynamic movements, intuitive game play, deeper mechanics, I could go on. Everything from the sound, to the art, to the animations is what I would consider perfect. It is insane to me that this is an indie game, and that this concept hasn't been done before. GOTY

This game is insane. Probably the best deckbuilder I have ever played. I am addicted

Balatro is one of those rare games that hooks you within minutes and refuses to let go. It takes the familiar mechanics of poker and reinvents them with a roguelike twist that feels both intuitive and endlessly deep. Every run presents new synergies, combos, and wildcard strategies that keep the gameplay fresh and constantly evolving. What really stands out is how perfectly it balances accessibility and challenge. You can jump in and start playing without much explanation, but the more you play, the more layers you uncover — from optimizing hand values to discovering busted combos with jokers and deck mods. It’s addicting in the best way possible, with each run pushing you to go “just one more” to see how far you can stretch your luck and planning. Winning in Balatro isn’t just satisfying — it’s earned. Behind the flashy combos and slot-machine dopamine hits lies a real need for strategy, risk management, and adaptation. It’s a game that respects your time and intelligence, and it’s easy to lose hours chasing the perfect deck. One of the most fun and inventive roguelikes I’ve played in a long time.

When I initially got recommended this game by my boyfriend, I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did. The game's design is very appealing, the gameplay is extremely addicting. You tell yourself that it's going to be the last round and find yourself an hour later on your tenth run. Every round, you get a new set of jokers you can utilise to get a higher score, you can power up your playing cards with unique tarot cards. Each round is different, the game doesn't feel very repetitive, even though the principle is the same every time. Another small thing I also liked about the game is that you can pace it yourself. There is no timer to limit how much time you have left in the shop or in the round to lay your hand. Overall, I got absolutely hooked, especially the first week, when I was less busy. I can definitely recommend this game to anyone of any age, and no matter if you usually play games or not.

Balatro hits that sweet spot between depth and accessibility. The core loop—crafting poker hands to beat blinds—feels strategic, not random. With so many Joker types, decks, Tarot and Planet cards, every run offers genuinely fresh combinations. Boss Blinds introduce tense mini-challenges without ever feeling unfair, and victories in them just feel earned. The stylized pixel visuals and synthwave soundtrack set a unique tone that keeps you hooked. Props to LocalThunk for delivering a fully featured experience with zero DLC or microtransactions—a rare treat. Works flawlessly on Steam Deck and mobile. Overall: Deep without overwhelm, endlessly replayable, with charm and polish. Highly recommended for any deckbuilder fan—or anyone looking to get lost in a rhythmically satisfying card game. Balatro isn’t hype—it’s a finely tuned, meticulously crafted card roguelike that keeps you coming back not because it’s flashy, but because it’s smart.

Wheel of Fortune.... One in Four Chance..... I highly doubt that. But this Game has a high chance of getting addicting once you start it. Highly recommend it, if you are into "casual" card games ⊙▽⊙

A fun addicting game. There are a few issues that bug me though: 1. no cross platform sync of player progress, I got this on playstation, bought on pc expecting some sort of sync from playstation profile, nope, brand new, no history transfer. Really killed the PC mood for me and refunded until I learn of profile syncing being added. I also intended to buy it on other platforms, android, switch (I assume there's a switch version) so I'm paused there and just going to play on the platform I have the most playtime currently. Issues I've encountered: - Jokers that give bonus when you have a 3 of a kind, trigger, when you score a 4 or 5 of a kind, but if you are required to play a 3 of kind, and play a full house or 4 or 5 of a kind, you don't get credit. This is important when the boss blind says "only one hand type this round" if you first play a flush, playing a royal flush later doesn't count and gets discarded. This needs to change, that royal flush should be scored/counted as a standard flush, if royal flushes are invalid. So we have two opposite mechanics: Jokers trigger matching sub hands, while challenges do not accept sub hands. - You can't buy a +1 card slot card (called negative effect) if card slots are full. You have to sell one of your cards, and then you can buy that negative card, and then sit there a few rounds with an empty card slot until you can fill it. As you can see some nuanced situations that end runs if encountered, but for the most part are not encountered every run. Despite refunding here on steam, I continue to play multiple games a day on PS.

Very fun gambling inspired rogue like. The only time I lost money was when I bought the game, so that is great! 120 x 1.359e38 /10 game

I've never related to Zelenskyy more in my life than playing this game. Sometimes you have the cards and sometimes you just don't have the cards.

I have a confession. I never learned how to play Poker at all in my entire life. Heck, I never even bought the Poker Night at the Inventory games from Telltale well before they were delisted from Steam. However, if you, like me or even solo developer LocalThunk for that matter, also fall into the same boat on the first part, rest assured, no prior knowledge of Poker is required to play Balatro. The only thing that carries over from Poker into this game are the types of Poker hands (Pair, Two Pair, Straight, Flush, Full House, Straight Flush/Royal Flush, etc.) and thankfully, you can check to see how to play a Poker hand anytime in the Run Info section of the UI. The core gameplay loop of Balatro is simple, but addictive: Earn enough chips with the amount of hands and discards you have during each round to beat the blind. Each Ante has a total of three blinds (Small, Big, and then a Boss Blind with a unique effect that you have to play around in order to clear, each with a stop to the in-game shop to purchase things to help you in your run), and once you get to Ante 8 and defeat one of five Finisher Boss Blinds, you officially win the run (But you can continue into Endless Mode if you wish to see how far you can go on your current run before getting a Game Over). However, you also have many different kinds of Joker cards that act as abilities for your run (150 of them currently exist in the game at the time of this review) as well as consumable cards such as Planet Cards (which level up your Poker hands), Tarot Cards (which let you modify the cards in your deck, add more consumables or Jokers, or even give you some extra money), and Spectral Cards (which are more powerful than Tarot Cards, but also carry more of a high-risk, high-reward factor). Finally, besides all of these, there are also vouchers you can buy that act as permanent upgrades for the duration of the run, ranging from giving you extra hands and discards per round to reducing shop prices and the cost of re-rolling the shop to increasing the chances of Planet and Tarot Cards appearing in the shop. In case you haven't noticed by the amount of hours I put into Balatro and the fact that I got all of the achievements, I do love this game and definitely recommend it, even at full price, and with mods, you can add a massive amount of additional content (More Jokers, more types of consumables, more decks, new mechanics, more card packs, etc.) and can even pull off longer runs than normal thanks to Talisman (By default, once you hit the vanilla score cap of 1e100, it would automatically calculate as naneinf). However, depending on what mods you do install, your results may vary as I personally reached that point where I was fed up with the game constantly crashing due to how many mods I had installed combined with my lack of coding knowledge that I could rarely win a run without a crash or even a soft-lock. Mini-rant of my Balatro modding experience aside, the game is still worth it on its own merits. Furthermore, unlike actual gambling at a casino, the only real things you'll probably lose are hours of your time and your productivity.

Exceptionnaly good until you find that godlike joker combo + ideal deck composition... After that you keep chasing that miraculous setup forever and ever !

this is genuinely one of the greatest video game experiences to ever grace this existence we all share

I am sure I don't need to tell you that this is an amazing game. LocalThunk and other Indie Developers are the lifeblood of the industry and it is always awesome to see a smashing hit like Balatro.

+ How did they make one simple music track continuously interesting to listen to for 75 hours? + SFX game on point, so addictive, so pleasing, when that fire gets going hooo doggie + Oh yeah, the entire game. TwiStEd Poker. Yep so good. + Great jokers, great art, great roguelike. Not as addictive as Vampire Survivors for me but still VERY enjoyable as a poker fan. A.