Balatro (video game)

Last updated

Balatro
Balatro cover.jpg
Developer(s) LocalThunk
Publisher(s) Playstack
Composer(s) Luis Clemente (LouisF)
Engine Löve
Platform(s)
Release
  • WW: February 20, 2024
macOS
  • WW: March 1, 2024
Android, iOS
  • WW: September 26, 2024
Genre(s) Roguelike deck-building
Mode(s) Single-player

Balatro is a 2024 poker-themed roguelike deck-building game developed by LocalThunk and published by Playstack. It was released on Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on February 20, 2024, with a port to macOS on March 1. Ports for Android and iOS were released on September 26, 2024. In the game, the player plays poker hands to score points and defeat "blinds". It received multiple nominations at The Game Awards 2024—including for Game of the Year and Best Game Direction—winning for Best Independent Game, Best Debut Indie Game and Best Mobile Game.

Contents

Gameplay

Playthrough

A round of poker against a Big Blind Balatro big blind.png
A round of poker against a Big Blind

Balatro is a roguelike deck-building game. Each playthrough of the game is called a "run." The player chooses a deck, each with unique effects, at the beginning of each one. A run is divided into eight antes with three blinds each of increasing difficulty. A blind consists of multiple rounds, where the player has to utilize various combinations of cards to score a minimum amount of points. [1] [2] To defeat blinds more easily, the player may choose to buy various cards which change the rules of the game. [3] [2] These items are bought in a shop in between rounds. [1] [4] [5]

Each ante consists of three rounds: a Small Blind, Big Blind, and Boss Blind. Small and Big Blinds can either be skipped or played; on skipping a blind, the player forgoes the normal rewards of defeating the blind or an opportunity to use the shop, but is rewarded with a "tag." Most tags give some benefit upon entering the next shop like free cards or booster packs, but some give effects instantly or when other criteria are met. Boss blinds provide additional challenges, such as debuffing the effects of certain cards or requiring the player to clear the round in only one hand. [6] [7]

In each blind, players have a limited number of poker hands within which they must beat a target score, as well as a limited number of discards with which they may replace up to five cards in their hand with different ones. The game ends if the player runs out of hands before reaching the target score. [8] [9] [10] [7] [6] [5]

During a round, the player draws cards from a deck of cards. Starting with a standard 52-card deck, new playing cards are added throughout the game. The player then selects up to five cards, with the objective of forming poker hands to score points. [10] [11] [12] The hand's base value is calculated and turned into "Chips," which are then multiplied by "Mult" that depends on the type of card and current jokers. [10] Joker cards affect the game in various ways, such as offering additional Chips or Mult when conditions are met or changing how certain poker hands can be played. [3] [13] [11] [10] [5]

Once a blind has been defeated, players are awarded with cash based on their performance, after which they are taken to a shop. Here, the player may use cash earned by clearing blinds or selling unwanted cards to purchase individual cards, packs containing a random set of cards to choose from, and vouchers which add additional perks and conditions for the remainder of the run. [1] [6] After the player wins 8 antes, completing a run, they can continue the game in an endless mode where they see how many points they can get. [3] The player is capable of beating 39 antes in endless mode before the game crashes. [14]

Cards

Jokers are the primary means by which players can alter their scoring in the game, among other effects. Many Jokers provide Chips or Mult bonuses based on certain conditions, and some provide an additional Mult multipliers. Other Jokers can reward money or consumable cards on meeting their conditions. Jokers can be found with or upgraded to variants like Foil, Polychrome, Negative or Holographic versions which provide further bonuses.

Players can shape the deck through various means, which can be used to improve the odds of drawing specific hands. Additional playing cards can be obtained through booster packs at the shop. Tarot cards provide various one-time effects, such as changing cards to different suits, enhancing them to provide bonuses when played, or eliminating cards. [3] [10] Between these, it is possible to play non-traditional poker hands such as Five of a Kind, Flush House (full house of all the same suit), and Flush Five (five of the same suit and rank). [2] [6]

Planet cards raise the level of select poker hands, increasing their base Chips x Mult value when played. Spectral cards provide more effects beyond what Tarot cards can offer, such as applying finishes to cards that automatically apply bonuses when in play. [10]

The types of card decks that the player chooses at the beginning of a run also have their own effects; the player starts out with a "starter" series of decks, and completing runs can unlock new ones. [3] Clearing runs also unlocks "stakes" for the deck used which add more difficult conditions to the run. [3] [15] New special cards and vouchers can be unlocked for future runs by clearing certain conditions. [6]

Development

Balatro was developed by LocalThunk, an anonymous solo developer based in Saskatchewan, Canada. [16] In an interview, he said that he mostly plays online competitive games, and that he ponders roguelike games more than actually playing them. [17] Despite the game's theme, LocalThunk said he doesn't play poker, nor does he want the game to be used for gambling by casinos and players. [18]

Development began two-and-a-half years prior to release, and the game was initially intended to be one of several small games that were shared with friends. [19] [20] The initial idea was an online version of the Cantonese card game Big Two, which has players playing a number of cards to create poker-like hands. [21] After seeing the number of roguelike deckbuilders on Steam, and after watching a Twitch stream of Northernlion playing Luck Be a Landlord , a slot machine-themed roguelike, [20] [22] he was inspired to turn his Big Two clone into a single-player roguelike deckbuilder without online play. According to LocalThunk, he avoided playing any of the other deckbuilders to avoid taking ideas from these games, and had only played Slay the Spire near the end of development to understand how that game implemented its control scheme. [20] He at one point considered the name Joker Poker for the game, before settling on balatro, a professional jester or buffoon. [23]

On using the standard 52 playing card deck as a base LocalThunk said, "It’s this shared cultural game design tool that has evolved over hundreds of years," and on the game's success was quoted as being partly "because you’re borrowing from this really tried-and-true tool." [21]

The soundtrack for Balatro was written and produced by LouisF, a freelance Fiverr artist. [24]

A very early version of the game was circulated among his friends, who gave positive reviews after months of playing. [25] About a year prior to release, LocalThunk quit his day job to focus on finishing Balatro "to put on a resume." An early build was released on Steam, which eventually led to major streamers playing the game and providing pre-release publicity. As a result of this publicity, LocalThunk incorporated some player feedback into the final version of the game, including the addition of boss battles. [20]

Balatro was programmed in the Lua Programming Language using the Löve game framework. [26] LocalThunk's pseudonym derives from Löve's way of declaring variables, "Local", and a common variable name in his projects, "Thunk". [25]

Release

In 2023, prior to release, the game became available as a demo. It was removed by LocalThunk on January 1, 2024, and was brought back on January 25, with the new version containing 40 new Jokers, new bosses, and the ability to buy booster packs. The new version was uploaded alongside a new trailer and a release date for the full version of the game, February 20. [15] In April 2024, the game was made easier with an experimental balance patch, 1.0.1c. [27]

Shortly after the game's release, Balatro's PEGI rating was changed from 3+ to 18+ for "prominent gambling imagery" due to PEGI's strict rules on portraying gambling, causing the game to be removed from sale in certain territories. Publisher Playstack stated that they had discussed the game's content with PEGI prior to release (causing its initial 18+ rating to be lowered to 3+) and that, while being based on poker, the game does not portray any form of gambling, and intended to appeal the re-rating. [28] LocalThunk criticised the rating change saying, "Maybe I should add microtransactions/loot boxes/real gambling to lower that rating to 3+ like EA Sports FC ". [29]

Three free "Friends of Jimbo" updates, adding interchangeable cosmetic packs featuring crossovers with other video games, were released on August 27, October 24, and December 12, 2024, respectively. The first update features crossovers with The Witcher 3 , Vampire Survivors , Dave the Diver and Among Us , [30] the second update features crossovers with Cyberpunk 2077 , The Binding of Isaac , Slay the Spire and Stardew Valley , [31] [32] and the third update features crossovers with Divinity: Original Sin II , Shovel Knight , Potion Craft , Enter the Gungeon , Cult of the Lamb , Don't Starve , 1000xResist and Warframe . [33] Additionally, content based on Balatro was added to Dave the Diver via a free update released on October 24, 2024. [34] A large update to Cyberpunk 2077 in December 2024 added a Balatro-themed quest. [35]

LocalThunk and Playstack confirmed plans for ports to Android and iOS mobile devices in March 2024. [36] The ports were released on September 26, 2024, including a Balatro+ version for Apple Arcade. [37] The ports grossed $1 million in a week and $4.4 million in 2 months. [38]

A physical deck of playing cards using Balatro's pixel graphic arts, produced by Fangamer, is set to be released in 2025. [39]

Reception

Balatro has received "universal acclaim" according to review aggregator Metacritic. [40] [41] [42] [43] OpenCritic, another aggregator, said that 100% of critics recommend the game. [44]

The game's playability has received praise from critics. Simon Cardy from IGN described it as "ludicrously fun" and "remarkably approachable," [3] while Jordan Helm from Hardcore Gamer called it "addictive" and "expertly-crafted". [45] Charlie Brooker, the creator of Black Mirror , called it "possibly the most addictive thing ever created" and that once it was released for mobile devices, "humankind's activity is going to drop about 25%". [49] Writing for The Guardian , Keza MacDonald stated that "Balatro might be the best card game you will ever come across". [50]

In addition, the game's roguelike elements have received positive reviews. Abbie Stone from PC Gamer described gameplay as "strategizing your way to success," [8] and Alessandro Barbosa from GameSpot called each run "surprisingly fresh." [7] Chris Allnutt writing in Financial Times praised the "wonderfully retro VCR-style visuals, lo-fi music and irreverent sound effects." [51]

With the success of Balatro, LocalThunk kept to a low profile, not wanting much attention on their real-world identity and avoiding the stress that would come with it. [25] They have also used the attention drawn to Balatro to highlight other indie titles released near the same time, [52] including naming Animal Well , Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers , Arco , Nova Drift , Ballionaire , and Mouthwashing for their "Golden Thunk Awards". [53]

Following its popularity, the game has inspired significant activity from the player community, including memes, [54] the integration of other games within it, [55] and an unofficial port to the Apple Watch developed in January 2025, called Wee Balatro, which is awaiting the author’s approval. [56]

Sales

Within eight hours of release, the game had made over US$1 million in gross revenue according to publisher Playstack. Over 250,000 copies were sold in the first three days, [57] 500,000 copies in the first ten days, [58] one million within the first month, [59] and two million within the first six months. [60] It reached over 3.5 million copies sold in December 2024, less than a full year after release. [61] The game surpassed 5 million copies sold one month later in January 2025. [62]

Accolades

Balatro received nominations for multiple accolades. In 2024 it won Golden Joystick Awards' "Best Indie Game" and "Breakthrough" awards. [63] At The Game Awards 2024, it won "Best Independent Game", "Best Debut Indie Game", and "Best Mobile Game"; [64] it was also nominated for "Game of the Year", the first time a solo game project was nominated for the top honor. [65]

YearCeremonyCategoryResultRef.
2024 Golden Joystick Awards Ultimate Game of the Year Nominated [66] [67]
Best Indie GameWon
Best Audio DesignNominated
PC Game of the YearNominated
Breakthrough (Critic's Choice)Won
The Game Awards 2024 Game of the Year Nominated [64]
Best Game DirectionNominated
Best Independent GameWon
Best Debut Indie GameWon
Best Mobile GameWon
The Steam Awards Game of the YearNominated [68]
Most Innovative GameplayNominated
Best Game on Steam DeckNominated
2025 New York Game Awards Big Apple Award for Best Game of the YearNominated [69]
Off Broadway Award for Best Indie GameNominated
28th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Game of the Year Pending [70]
Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game Pending
Outstanding Achievement in Game Design Pending
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year Pending
Mobile Game of the Year Pending
Independent Games Festival Seumas McNally Grand Prize Honorable mention [71]
Excellence in DesignPending
Game Developers Choice Awards Game of the Year Pending [72]
Best AudioHonorable mention
Best DebutPending
Best DesignPending
Innovation AwardPending
Best Visual ArtHonorable mention

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References

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