Balatro

This game is incredible to study probablities with! So far I have learned that: 1 in 2 odds can also be written as 100% 1 in 4 odds can also be written as 0%

Now i get it Why Balatro won Game of the Year I thought it was just gonna be a chill little game I’d play once or twice But nope Every time i open my pc, i find myself diving right back into this game. It’s like being addicted to crack cocaine (ofc I’ve never tried it and never will, but I imagine the feeling’s kinda close to this game’s addiction) It feels like being inside a casino but without the real-life consequences. ⸻ There are so many diverse and enjoyable styles. *Unique combos *Fresh strategies *Wild jokers *Upgrades that completely change how you play *Sudden twists that flip your entire run and countless more I can’t even begin to name. It’s the kind of game where every run feels new — where even after hours you’re still discovering wild synergies and crazy builds. Seriously there’s just too much to count, and it never stops surprising you ⸻ Sometimes you feel like a genius. Other times, the game absolutely crushes you. Luck? It can be your best friend... or your worst enemy (especially in the later rounds of the game) A single mistake can destroy everything you've built. And who cares? That’s exactly what makes winning feel so damn good ⸻ bosses? *Totally insane. *Some force you into a specific playstyle. *Some apply brutal negative effects to your cards. *Others drain your coins every single draw. Man...it's pure chaos but a lot of fun. shop? *A trap. *Sometimes it saves you. *Sometimes it ruins everything. *Sometimes it gives good something you. upgrades? Smart, fun, and give you the freedom to craft your own style. ⸻ * No long story * No boring side quests * Just smart, crisp, addictive gameplay ⸻ Balatro brought back that feeling — the reason i fell in love with games You say “just one more run” Next thing you know, it’s 5 hours later lol :) Losing hurts But winning? Bro it’s so delicious ⸻ If you’ve got something important going on in your life… maybe hold off. Or y’know what? I don’t care what you do with your life Play this game or don’t — it’s your decision. ⸻ WARNING: THIS ISN'T JUST A GAME, IT'S A BLACK HOLE DON’T BUY BALATRO DON’T PLAY BALATRO YOU CAN'T STOP YOURSELF Just try to set some limits… ’Cause this game will eat your brain and time ;) ⸻ Rating: 10/10 Definitely recommend it This game is ABSOLUTE PEAAAAAAAK

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.

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"

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

its great, someone finally made a game about traditional cards that is actually good but it really needs that content update

## Presentation and Narrative - It looks very simple with the CRT Graphics and the simplistic solitaire looking board format. - A very calming game that does get hype at times of uncertainty when it comes to rounds where you are all in if you can win it or not. ## Gameplay - Addicting Roguelite Experience that is hard to get into at first until it all clicks and once it does you can’t move away from. - Endless Possibility and Combo that you can theorycraft and try to achieve on every run. ## Technicality and Value - A relatively cheap that offers a whole lot of depth behind it’s seemingly simple “Poker Hands” mechanic. ## Summary - This is certainly one of the game for the history books, a simple looking game that hides many levels of depths and possibilities of its gameplay that is both calming and addictive. - This game is the 21st Century’s “Tetris”. A well-established classic that will be loved today and the many years to come.

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.

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.

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

Addictive but entirely empty. Of all the hours I spent, the only match I remember is the one where I hit 400 billion. It's also WAY more RNG-dependent than any other roguelike I've played. You can go 10+ matches without the shop offering you a relevant or meaningful joker, and then you lose. It's not exactly soulless, but it is a time vampire that gives nothing back.

---{ 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

I enjoy it but, it's like recommending a friend who has compulsion issues tries crack They will very much enjoy it, but there's a moderate risk it will take over their lives

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

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 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.

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

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.

this game is not for beta probability nerds. its simple, you either get the straight flush or you don't. 50/50. stay gambling

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.

Even ignoring the appeal of "number get bigger," Balatro is pretty great. It's fun to think on your feet as RNG shapes your game. Some hands and cards (Joker or otherwise) are more obviously powerful than others, but by working with what you're given, you can uncover some funky synergies that you might not have considered before. The visual design is stellar, too. The slight CRT television-style warping around the edges of the screen really ties the "retro video game" aesthetic together. I didn't catch the initial wave of hype last year, but I'm glad I gave this game a chance! Check it out if you're looking for something to do.

Like poker? Have zero idea how to actually play it? Well have I got a game for you. Play hands that shouldn't even remotely work due to some insane joker card. Score enough chips to circle the planet in a single hand play. Learn to hate certain blinds that ruin your entire run! *scowls at the Plant* Use tarot cards to infuse your deck with even more absurdity! Find out just how high you can raise the scoring level of a particular hand. Oh, and be prepared to lose H O U R S 11/10 Wheels of Fortune* *wheel of fortune will never actually score

>Be me >Hear about Balala >Download Balala >Play Balala and say "Wow this game is really fun" >10 hours straight of Balala >"Wow my eyes hurt a bit" >10X multiplier >each face card gives 1.5 Xmult, each face card also has a red seal which also gives 1.5 Xmult, i also have a joker tha- >Mental Asylum

This is the most addictive game I have ever played. You probably shouldn't buy it if you value your time not gaming. I think they took hints from a casino... However, if you don't mind spending every waking hour trying to get every achievement, go right ahead.

Very Epic gambling,needs more antes that dont have Inf score

Rogue-like poker-themed numbers game. It's real good, real addictive!

275 hrs in I can safely say that this is bang for the buck when it comes to value for entertainment. Each run feels different, particularly when hunting the gold stickers for the 100% achievement (currently missing 5 jokers). The game seems very balanced, even though a part of it is heavily based on RNG. Every win feels earned. Very recommended.

I play a lot of Texas Holdem so I thought I would really love this game and judging by the reviews a lot of people do. I have to wonder if they are big card players or not though as I just really could not appreciate this game the same as them. I'd say give it a shot, I had enough time to judge it well enough and get a refund. I'm still giving it a positive review because I think it's fairly well made, it's just not for me and not my style. Maybe I'll try it again some day.

An incredible blend of addictive gameplay and unique aesthetics. Infinitely fun, infinitely replayable – and for a game that encourages you to 'go infinite' with your combos, that seems appropriate. Balatro is on par with Slay the Spire in the hall of fame of groundbreaking deckbuilding games.

+ 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.

Balatro. What can be said, that hasn't already been said. Honestly one of the greatest rogue-like/rogue-lite/rogue-whatever you want to call it genre games since the likes of Slay the Spire. It combines a simple concept of poker which many are familiar with, and the alluring draw of rogue-like elements in a perfect helix like combination to deliver a smooth game play experience regardless of your knowledge on rogue-likes (or poker, for that matter) I haven't met someone who *hasn't* liked Balatro, and for good reason - it is a game created that has near infinite replayability, can be played by nearly anyone and everyone, and is *fun* to boot.

At first I didn't know what the hype was about, then I decided to get it and try it. 5 hours later I see the hype and really enjoy it, I've only beaten 2 of the white stakes so far.

Numbers, colors, yes. Only feedback I have: please integrate steam workshop because the modding community is great!!!

Started out on mobile, then I got it on Steam because I couldn't stop playing Balatro. Big numbers go up, lots of dings make brain go yippee. 100% a must buy if you have a gambling addiction.

i dont think i can accurately describe how this game has genuinely entranced me. i havent felt so involved and so addicted to anything since i discovered other people. the hoy of Watching Number Go Up, hours spent just listening to the soundtrack while I decide whether $50 is worth another chance to spin the wheel and probably fail and losing myself in the sway of the cards and the potential of my choices. it's magic and it's one of a kind.

It's like gambling but more fun and there are no negative consequences! Except for the many hours I won't get back from my life trying to get achievements...

One of those games that sounds like complete nonsense when you explain it in person but is addicting and brilliant and will hook you within 10 minutes of playing.

Ballot, 2x on first face card, and smiley my beloved Or ceremonial dagger and egg Fr tho, this game is so addictive and fun to play, while also keeping you on your feet about the best strategy. And ignore the number of hours played here, I used a github repo to create an Android copy of the game for free, without having to buy it on the Play Store. I have probably sunk in more than 10 hours on my phone. A definite recommendation for a chill game

Just got completionist++. This is one of the most addicting rougelikes/rougelites of all time. 10/10, buy this game at your own risk.

Too much RNG on higher stakes really ruins the fun of what's otherwise not a bad game.