I love a good bit of Poker every now and then. I’m not exactly a gambler, but there was a time when I enjoyed visiting friends for Poker night. LocalThunk’s Balatro simulates the idea of Poker, mixing it with something else I enjoy, Rogue-likes. As a result, you get a very strategic, sometimes infuriating experience.

Balatro looks complicated but is actually fairly simple. Each round of Balatro requires you to reach a certain chip amount by playing Poker hands. Depending on the deck you are using (Balatro’s version of multiple Rogue-like “characters), you get different amounts of discards to play with. You also only have a certain number of hands per round before the game ends.

If you manage to reach the chip amount before running out of hands, you move on to the next round. In between each round, you get to use a shop, which can let you buy new cards, buy tarot cards, planet cards, or Jokers. Tarot cards upgrade or change existing cards in your deck (in most cases). Jokers change the way you play, giving you chip multipliers based on certain conditions, extra chips, or even multiply your multipliers for larger wins.

Planet cards upgrade your hands. For example, if a pair gives you 50 chips with a 2 times multiplier at its base level, using a planet card to upgrade it may give you 75 chips at a 3 times multiplier for level two. The more you upgrade a hand, the better your odds of hitting those big numbers. This, combined with the use of Jokers and tarot cards, lets you pull off a variety of build options.

This is where things start to get tough. To some degree (like some Rogue-likes) Balatro requires a bit of luck. Sometimes even if you play perfectly, you won’t get good Jokers in the shop, or you won’t be able to put a build together. Most Rogue-likes have ways to compensate for this, but Balatro is unforgiving. With that said, the developer plans to provide a major content update in 2025, and has been doing balance adjustments off and on during patches to try and make things more balanced.

Even despite the balance issues and the occasionally unfair elements, Balatro has this “just one more run” feel to it that is incredibly easy to fall into. When I started playing, I would find myself playing for hours, even after I only intended a few runs. The game runs really well in the background too, so sometimes I have it open while I’m working on things, just playing around or two here and there.

So, if you want a new game to really sink your teeth into, Balatro is definitely worth your time. Even if you aren’t familiar with Poker, it might be something new to try. Also, with the development of new content in 2025, Balatro is a game to keep your eye on.

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Balatro

$14.99

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• Great Roguelike Gameplay
• Interesting Visuals
• Lots of unlockables and content

Cons

• Some runs are just unfair