Tech: Balatro review

For a lot of people, the best video game of 2024 wasn't some epic open world action title from one of the major publishers, but a quirky roguelike poker deckbuilding game called Balatro.

"Roguelike poker deckbuilding," you ask? Yes, it's the classic card game of four-of-a-kinds and full houses, remixed with special "joker" cards that can boost your score, reshape your deck, or even change the rules (one joker allows you to make straights and flushes with only four cards, for instance). You'll need these boons, though, because if you fail to hit an ever-increasing target score within a certain number of hands, your run is over.

Balatro was created by an anonymous solo developer named LocalThunk, but it has the sort of gameplay and UI polish that eludes titles with many times the budget.  Playing the cards just feels satisfying, especially when you pull off some outrageous combo and send your score into the stratosphere. The game's use of common poker/casino vernacular also avoids a lot of the learning curve that a new player might otherwise face.

The big knock I have against Balatro is that it isn't as deep as something like Slay the Spire. There are different starting decks, sure, but nearly every one of them contains the same 52 cards.  Likewise, many of the 150 joker cards provide simple flat bonuses that aren't terribly complex.  After a few hours of feeling things out, the experience from one run to another can get pretty similar.  Still, this is a wonderfully designed card game, and one that I'd recommend to anyone who likes roguelike deckbuilders.

Rating: 88/100