There is a phenomenon in gaming called Balatro (LocalThunk). It’s hard to describe what it is exactly, but I can start by saying it’s a poker-based game that is also a roguelike. If that sounds like a weird match-up, you’re right–but you’re also wrong. It’s developed by one guy, LocalThunk, who was inspired by a card game he played when he was younger. Obviously, it’s an indie game–I don’t think that needs to be said. Huh. I’m watching the launch trailer for the first time (which I included below), and apparently it’s pronounced Bal-a-tro (with the accent on the first syllable) not Bal-ah–tro with the emphasis no the second syllable (added h for pronunciation reasons). That’s neither here nor there, but it’s just interesting to me. Also, reading a bit of the AMA LocalThunk did, he’s apparently British (favourite, not favorite).
It’s gotten all kinds of accolades, including a nomination for Game of the Year. (At GeoffAwards last week. Week before? Sometime earlier tihs month.) It’s sold 3.5 million copies, which is wild for an indie game made by one guy.
It’s also a deckbuilder and has tarot cards and other special cards. It was on sale in the winter sale for Steam (they always have a sale, and I try to ignore it, but, damn. They get me almost every time), and I got it for $13.49, which was a steal! It was already a good deal at full price, $14.99, so any percent off makes it all that much more sweeter.
This game is dangerous. What I mean is that–well, let me put it this way. Ian said to me that it has Binding of Isaac ‘just one more run’ energy. I have put thousands of hours into that game and just gave it up early in this year.Do I need another game that will compel me to play it for hours every day? No.
Alos, I’m not really into deckbuilding games. I’ve tried a bunch of other ones and have had no interest in them. Gwent, the card game in The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt Red), left me cold. People went mad for it, but I did not play it any more than I had to. I also did not like Slay the Spire (Mega Crit), which was a very popular indie card game.
I started a hand and was immediately hooked. The tutorial is well-done, though some of the explanations left much to be desired. Not of the poker itself (the game just assumes you know how to play poker), but of the other stuff that makes the game so special.
There is not much to the visuals. Pretty basic, but that’s fine. I turned off the music because I like to wawch videos as I play games, and the music was driving me mad. In that way, it’s more like a casual game. When I used to play them, I would mute the sound as I played because it was distracting.
Side note: Casual game devs really need to get their shit together when it comes to muting sound. In 2024, I should be able to mute the sound before the first cutscene plays. Hardcore gamers like to say that hardcore games devs were lazy and repetitive, but they need to play casual games to appreciate what they have.
Casual games in a series are as iterative as fuck. They come out every few monoths or so, and each game is little more than a palette swap. I will say that they have gotten better since i played them, but they really are chum for the masses.
Back to Balatro. I wish they had explained a few things like you don’t have to play five cards per hand. Some of the descriptions are confusing, too. And the game isn’t clear how the spectral cards work. Or rather, that they apply to all the–it’s like this. Say one says that all flushes get a certain benefit/perk. The game will show the stats of flushes getting the perk, but then nothing else.
I had to Google to find out that it meant that all the future flushes in the run had that perk. That makes sense, but it’s not intuitive.
Also, my brain can’t do math the way it used to be able to do it before my medical crisis. Simple math is not simple any longer, which is an issue in this game.
Oh, I did not say what the basic premise is. There are three ‘levels’ to each round. Small Blind, Big Blind, and then…uh, Boss Blind. That’s not what it’s called, I don’t think, but it’s the boss of the three rounds. You have so many hands to make a certain amount of money each round. And you can unlock different decks that have different perks. one gives you one more hand per round. One gives you one more discard per round. One gives you more money, etc.
There are special cards you can buy in the shop between each round, too. Jokers that have different qualifiers. Tarot cards, planet cards, and vouchers. Each one does something different, and, thankfully, they tell you what they do each time.
It really is about the cards. I had one round in which I had a joker that gave me a free reroll in the shop. I had another joker that increased my multiplier every time I rerolled. You can imagine how good a combo that was.
I like and don’t like the roguelike element. Each third round (the boss round) has a negative attribute to it. One is that one suit is debuffed (there is one of these for each of the four suits, of course). Another is that you can only play one kind of hand that whole round. Like a flush for every hand. The worst so far is that you can only have one hand for that round.
The big thing is to keep an eye on my discards and on the perks. Synergies are important, and I am just scratching the surface with this game.
I’m not sure how much more I’ll play because I have a hunch that I’ll get frustrated soon. I will asy thayt it’s highly addictive and I have to be careful because once I start,I cannot stop. I want to give it a decent shot beacuse I know there is mor e to the game than what I’ve seen. There is a forum in the RKG Discord for the game, and I can’t wait to get tips and hints from people who are more experienced in the game than I am.