Balatro

"A roguelike deckbuilder debut already worth of joining Slay the Spire and Monster Train at the King&s;s table. Essential."

"Balatro is a must-play for those seeking a unique and rewarding gaming experience. Its blend of poker strategy with roguelike unpredictability creates a game that is easy to learn but difficult to master. Whether you’re a seasoned strategist or a …"

"It&s;s impressive how long Balatro&s;s simple gameplay can keep you entertained so be sure to play it if you enjoy a good ol&s; game of poker."

"Balatro ends up straight and with merit in the strokes of genius category. The recipe from which its sexy gameplay is born is simple and elaborate at the same time, and this is precisely the great strength of an original, …"

"Balatro&s;s ingenious combination of poker and roguelite gameplay creates an intoxicating combination that&s;s hard to pull away from."

"Now, please, let me play my Balatro in peace. I got an idea for a sick flush strat that I want to try out. So I&s;ll y&s;all later."

"Balatro’s genius is exposed when you take the simple individual components of a run and combine them in the perfect mixture to create something far greater than the sum of its parts. And then you start trying to see how …"

"A game that consistently feeds players with such raw dopamine hasn’t come along since Vampire Survivors initially released, and it shows that indie developers can turn anything into a fun roguelike experience. If you are still in the fence about …"

"Poker goes into the blender and emerges in fine form."

"Balatro is excellent all around. The concept is simple, and while the various card types seem overly complicated, the game remains easy to understand no matter how many rules there are. It&s;s utterly enjoyable to the point where you&s;ll keep …"

"While the idea of a poker roguelike might sound like a niche game, the flair and fun found within Balatro makes it an absolute must-play for fans of the genre. Breaking the rules of poker to score millions of chips …"

"Balatro is fast and addictive, a game that takes familiar ideas and adds enough twists and turns to keep players engaged. Take a look at the Collection to see how many potential jokers, booster packs, tags, and more can influence …"

"The time has come to put the scales and find out if Balatro is really worth it. Believe us when we tell you that it is a game that fulfills its main objective, which is to entertain you and keep …"

"Though I have no doubt anybody who likes cards, poker, video games, or joy will have a great time with it, I feel I should also note that it does wear itself out significantly faster than most of its brethren."

"It&s;s easy to get a kick out of seeing how high the scores can get, but the game is as much about the gambles you take and the planning along the way. There&s;s a deceptive simplicity to Balatro due to …"

"Wielding nothing more than a deck of cards and a poker-themed twist on proceedings, developer LocalThunk has conjured something incredible and awe-inspiring with Balatro. What starts as a relatively-novel twist on the deckbuilding format quickly blossoms into an experience that&s;s …"

"Balatro is an astonishingly addictive take on Poker that&s;s utterly impossible to put down. Occasional difficulty spikes aside; it&s;s a piece of simplistic genius that we&s;ll keep on our Steam Deck forever."

"Balatro is a true phenomenon. Simple in its execution, but giant in its complexity."

"Balatro is one of those deceptively-approachable ideas that will absolutely consume you the more you start to puzzle out its secrets and intricacies. It somehow makes playing the same game over and over feel completely fresh in possibility each time, …"

"No two games of Balatro are ever the same, which is only one of the reasons why we love this poker roguelike so much. Sure, it’s annoying if your run doesn’t get off the ground — it’s easy to fail …"

"With its unlockable deck types, tricky economy, advanced joker concepts, challenge runs, and ascension-like “stake” system, Balatro offers countless hours to engage its treacherous machine of diversion. If this was preinstalled with Windows in lieu of Microsoft’s mandatory, productivity-wrecking Solitaire …"

"Balatro is addictive. I’m not much of a poker or deck builder player, but I find the combination of the two irresistible. If you have an interest in either, then this game is sure to entice you. Especially since the …"

"Balatro is a masterfully crafted Roguelike card game, that&s;s easy to learn thanks to its poker mechanics but hard to master."

"Balatro is a must-play for anyone looking for a fresh take on card games. Its innovative gameplay, polished design, and engaging progression system make it a standout title that’s impossible to ignore. Just be prepared: once you start, you may …"

"Balatro is an ingenious and entertaining roguelike and one of my favorite games of the year. Playing it has become a near-obsession; everything feels perfectly designed to encourage you to keep trying because that next run could be the run …"

"Balatro is one of the best examples of the growing number of deck building games in recent years. With the freedom it offers, the joy of new strategies and much more, it&s;s a royal flush."

"Balatro from developer LocalThunk is a marvel of a poker experience. While its base-level design is poker, the game’s complicated layers of beautiful strategic ridiculousness driven by upgrades, buffs, and jokers make for a unique experience that is both stimulating …"

"An expertly constructed and intricate roguelite deck builder that draws on the language and concept of poker, before twisting it with an infinity of modifiers, unlocks, and delicately balanced risk and reward."

"Balatro is a roguelike for gamers who don&s;t like roguelikes... and then everybody else on top of that. It utterly nails what it sets out to do, providing an instantly accessible, satisfying, and addictive gameplay loop that anybody can grasp. …"

"Balatro is an incredibly clever indie gem that uses the bones of regular poker to build an incredibly approachable and fiendishly addictive new experience. There&s;s a wonderfully slick core to this one, building decks and taking on dealers as you …"

"Balatro deals a winning hand with its innovative twist on an age-old formula. It breaks the rules of poker in many fun yet unfair ways, with playthroughs that are as varied as a shuffled deck. It’s a title I can …"

"Quite frankly, it’s a miracle I’ve even managed to finish writing this review, my past week or so dominated by Balatro. When I’ve been playing it, I’m absolutely absorbed in its clever and satisfying gameplay. When I’m not playing it, …"

"It will be very difficult to find a game I have enjoyed exploring more than Balatro this year. Learning its mechanics were like learning a new language and it was all-encompassing. Balatro should be the design template going forward for …"

"A deck-building poker roguelike of endlessly satisfying proportions, Balatro is the sort of fun that threatens to derail whole weekend plans."

"A smart and engaging re-implementation of the classic poker game, including hundreds of different cards and special effects."

"Between the main game, seeded runs, and a Challenge mode to really test your skills, there&s;s endless fun to be drawn from Balatro. With so many variables to experiment with, sleek presentation, and hypnotically addictive gameplay, this is easily among …"

"I never would have expected that a roguelike could work so well in a card game before I played Balatro. It’s simple and guides you in so well, but escalates quickly and is happy to crush your run at any …"

"A wonderful roguelike card game which twists poker rules in unexpected ways. It would seem that after Slay the Spire this genre won&s;t be able to surprise in any way, but cool ideas from independent developers continue to appear."