Balatro is shamingly, I admit, another game that I've picked up way past the initial hype train following its release. Some friends recommended it, but I never got around to play it. That was until the Game Awards 2024, where it received copious amount of praise and furthermore numerous awards, and deservingly so. I now knew I definitely had to play it,

After raking monstrous amount of hours, thoroughly playing through all mods & challenges, destroying my sleep schedule and finally completing all the achievements, I can safely say without a doubt that Balatro cozily sits amongst my most favorite and highest games ever played.

Balatro is dubbed the "Poker, but Roguelike" phenomenon, but in reality is anything that simple of. Broadly put, this game is a vaporwave-esque, CRT / Retro-VHS / psychedelic dopamine inducing, combo-breaking experience. It's an atmospheric deckbuilding roguelike, tightly designed in every of its aspects from gameplay, to audio, to visual, and more. It is tailored with countless game systems, mainly game altering jokers, helping you make sure the House can never truly "always win".

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I might be throwing a lot of flowers to this game, but what exactly is Balatro, and furthermore what makes it so dangerously good ?

Gameplay
As stated before, Balatro is a roguelike deckbuilding game, where its theme is centered around the game of Poker and its mystic surrounding it. The goal of the player is to reach, or more realistically surpass the level required score through a set amount poker hands, until you've reached the boss of the current stage. Clear these bosses, which all possess different unique debuffs to reach the next stage. Rince and repeat through eight different score-increasing Ante, or Stage, until you've made your way to the Final Boss. Beat this boss to win the run. Fail to reach the score with the amount of hands you're given during any round, and you'll lose the game.

The real fun though, is the game's main game-breaking mechanics : the Jokers, the shops, their vouchers and various "card Bundles" that appear between every round won.

Balatro offers a lot of systems to the player, the first one being the whopping 150 jokers to unlock and collect. These happy fellows are the main tool at your disposal to help you phase through every stage. They vary in power, utility and rarity. Some grant you flat multiplicative bonuses, some give you more gold, and some straight-up aid you in your quest to bend and break the game. Though they don't always appear as effective as you'd think, everyone single one of them can fit into a build, as niche as it might seem. They can help you win, sometime by a sliver, other times quite comfortably, and I'd recommend you try them all in different combination, as much as you can.

As said above, every shop possesses random card packs and vouchers, all buyable through gold you collect as reward for winning a round, or by interest. Their goal is to help you get increasingly stronger. While Jokers are the primary stars of your build, card packs are what can truly set it online, and make you power-spike to the Moon and beyond. Some packs can level up the strength of your poker hand, while some other help you completely reshape your deck, or additionally add new interactions to your cards. Vouchers, as for them, offer various ways to help you interact with the shop, by for example, reducing its item prices. There's also even more ways to temper the odds in your favor, with many more mechanics that I'll let you discover by yourself.

Some people claim online that every run in this game is "winnable", as bothersome as it seems. Well, I am said people, and though not every attempt might look promising at first, it is through repeated failure, trial and error, and by tempering with all of what Balatro offers that you'll inevitably get better at recognizing what works in certain scenarios, and what sets you back in others. I've had countless games where I felt robbed, though looking back, it was either lack of preparation, or straight up greed (looking at you Skip Tags). I've also had countless others where I breezed through by good early decision making, and you can too! This isn't to say that bad RNG never happens though. Bad draws are a thing in Balatro and after all... what's a game of chance without any chaos ?

Though you've played the game, but are still seeking to further customize your experience ? Try all 15 different decks the game offers, all with their own way to stack the chance to your side. Looking for a challenge perhaps ? Ascend through the eight difficulties, all hindering you in various ways. Or maybe you'd like to find the next game to tirelessly grind ? Complete all difficulties & side challenges, and grind your way to the 100% completion mark.

Visual and Audio design
When it comes to visuals and audio, Balatro is as well designed in these aspects than its others. All made in custom pixel art, this game presents itself as a familiar yet otherworldly scenario. From the wavey background that endlessly moves and changes colors, the CRT lines and wobbly VFX that ooze nostalgia, the punchy effects of the cards you deal, customize, alter and are dealt, to the crisps popping sounds of opening packs and scoring points, everything flows seamlessly. And how can we overlook LouisF's contribution with the mystic track that is Balatro's OST, which unobtrusively adds flair and ambiance to the experience, while effortlessly swapping depending of the various game states.

The recurring theme of Balatro is that everything is well thought-out, from gameplay, to what you see, read and can hear. No element is inherently useless, or overshadows and overcrowds something else. Everything has its place and role, whether it is to communicate crucial information, or help the player's decision making or elevate their agency. This is in major part as to why Balatro is able to deliver such tight gameplay experience: consistency and purpose.

To say that I'm biased or in favor of this game would be an understatement, especially after all the time I've spent playing it. Thought undoubtably I truly think that Balatro is one of the best experience I've had in terms of deckbuilding, paired with Slay the Spire. A well designed game that'll left you wonder how high can you truly go, and why is it 2 AM already? Jokes aside, I firmly believe that anyone who is curious and open-minded enough to let the game present itself to them could discover a new favorite in their catalogue, and have a similar appreciation. Not bad for a solo dev who's never played a deckbuilding game while making this. You can color me impressed!