Will this replace my lost Hearthstone game mode?
I've been hearing about this game for over a year now. I finally took the plunge and now I can say: Help! I can't stop playing it!
A New Beginning?
We recently published an article about Duels, a roguelike game mode in Hearthstone. Duels was removed over a year ago, leaving me with a void that I didn't think could ever be filled. The hunt for the perfect run, the right combinations, and the fitting cards meant that sometimes I just couldn't stop. "Okay, that round was over so quickly, I'll just start another one" – and so evenings were filled with either puzzling things out on my own or racking my brains with friends on the couch to find the right move. After Duels was gone, a very specific game was repeatedly suggested to me. Now I've tried it and can say: I'm blown away.
Way More Than Just Poker
We are, of course, referring to Balatro, the roguelike deck builder from LocalThunk. To clarify: In Balatro, you play poker hands to accumulate enough chips to defeat the next "blind". There are plenty of jokers, but not in your deck. The jokers look at you and give you various bonuses and multipliers (called "mults" here) to improve your hands or interact with other cards. Because here, you're dealing with more than just hearts, spades, clubs, and diamonds, but also tarot cards that give you various ways to improve your cards, planet cards to improve the score of your hands, and powerful spectral cards that I don't want to spoil for you here. After each blind, you have the opportunity to basically turn poker completely upside down.
Every Bit Of Praise Deserved
What can I say? Even though I arrived a little late to the party full of clowns, I can't get enough of this game. Not only can you understand the game completely in half an hour and start building really strong decks right away, there's also so much to do: from starter decks that only contain numbers to increasing difficulty levels, this game can take hundreds of hours to complete. Other players agree, as Balatro has won several "Game of the Year" awards and received a whopping 97% positive reviews on Steam. Even the 3% negative reviews on Steam mostly say: The game is actually good, but it's just not for everyone. It would be terrible if everyone liked everything. For me, it's definitely exactly what I was looking for.
Indies For More Gaming Diversity
At this point, I would like to mention that the game was created by a single developer. The idea is actually quite simple, but so well thought out and crystal clear in its execution that you can't help but respect it. Indie games like this clearly show that creativity and true innovation come from passion and not from continuing with the familiar, "proven" game concepts. And it doesn't even cost $80: you can get the game in the Steam Sale for $13.49, and even otherwise you only have to pay $15. That's more than fair for the work that went into it and the hours of gameplay you can expect to get out of it.
Balatro has been very well received by gamers of all kinds, not just gambling enthusiasts. Even though frustration is not only present, but an integral part of the game, for which you are also teased at the end of the run, it really doesn't bother me; I actually find the little wobbly joker quite cute.
Have you already played Balatro and remained in good mental health?