Balatro: Roguelite Poker Deckbuilder (NSW/PC/PS/Xbox) - Out Now

I’ve five wins banked now, but two were with the same deck so I haven’t unlocked the challenge mode yet. I’ve had back to backs twice., so I’m clearly getting better at spotting a winning strategy (or the new Jokers are making it easier).

Last night’s was magnificent. Early on I had a spectral to turn all cards in my hand into 10s, and a joker that let me destroy a single card discarded for money, so I was destroying non-10s and building a pot of cash. After a few blinds I settled on pursuing 3-of-a-kinds because getting 4 was just a little too infrequent and burning too many discards to set up. So I power-levelled those with planets, stopped burning cards (because if you get through the desk entirely it’s game over) and kept buying tarots. If there was a glass option it’d go on a 10, steel would go on anything else. Filled up on uncommon or rarer Jokers that multiplied the mult or boosed 3 of a kinds, with one final polychrome Joker that also gave 1.5x mult for every uncommon Joker.

Between the glass 10s in the played hand, the steel non-10s held in hand and the big chain of Jokers, the final boss blind fell to a single 3-of-a-kind worth about 1,500,000 :lol:

I love this game, haven't got near a win and Jiggles post makes little to no sense at all to me. :fp:

5 wins achieved, challenge mode unlocked. some interesting ones in there so far.

I WON! w/ a single flush :toot:

Nintendo Life wrote:Balatro is a roguelike for gamers who don't like roguelikes... and then everybody else on top of that. It utterly nails what it sets out to do, providing an instantly accessible, satisfying, and addictive gameplay loop that anybody can grasp. It's an immensely enjoyable experience from the start, but as you get deeper in, there's really nothing else quite like it. We suspect we'll be hearing a lot about Balatro when conversations steer towards Game of the Year, because this is a clear and obvious frontrunner. Utterly sublime.

Source: Nintendo Life

High praise indeed from Nintendo Life.

It really is fantastic.

jawa_ wrote:
Nintendo Life wrote:We suspect we'll be hearing a lot about Balatro when conversations steer towards Game of the Year, because this is a clear and obvious frontrunner. Utterly sublime.
Source: Nintendo Life

Can't disagree.

I really wish I liked this as much as everyone else is. I got my second win not long after my first and have just had no real desire to go back to it.

Does it open up if you get to a specific ante? I've lost on ante 9 each time but I got the impression it was "just" an endless mode.

i think after you win a run it is just endless mode to see how far you can get.

got a fair few more wins under my belt now, 11 of the decks unlocked, first red stakes win. i hope more gets added to this over time, more decks and jokers would be nice.

It's been pulled from various stores (including Nintendo in the UK), most likely because it's been given a stupid PEGI 18 rating, with a warning that the game contains "prominent gambling imagery".

But actual gambling in the form of games with purchasable loot boxes is apparently fine.
https://www.eurogamer.net/rogue-like-po ... ngs-change

I despair.

How annoying, the game seems to be gathering great word of mouth and this will end up stuttering the game’s success.

Elsewhere:

I bought this on Steam, got it for £8, Incan already tell it’s going to be one of those games that gets its claws into me :lol:

Is this going to come back then?

Yeah, it’ll be back. Maybe with the 18 rating, until they can negotiate that. It was PEGI’s change that caused it to be delisted automatically. Guess they’ve got to resubmit it to stores with the new rating.

It’s extra shitty because they’d already successfully appealed against the 18 rating.

Playstack adds it's "especially disappointed" given that it has already "specifically address this topic" with the ratings board, which agreed to classify the game as 3+ following an appeal over its initial 18+ rating. When the appeal was successful, the ratings board is said to have told the publisher, "We have reviewed your product and determined that the disclosure of gambling themes was unwarranted".

Will EA Sports FC 24 be delisted also? Half the teams wear shirts advertising IRL gambling websites...

Boo, went to download this to find it's not on the eshop.

Gamecentral loved it:

In Short: An expertly constructed and intricate roguelite deck builder that draws on the language and concept of poker, before twisting it with an infinity of modifiers, unlocks, and delicately balanced risk and reward.

Pros: A huge and evolving challenge. Its complication at no point feels overwhelming and its appeal relies on no prior knowledge of poker. Great value for money.

Cons: There’s no undo button, so mistakes can be catastrophically easy to make. Laser narrow focus does eventually start to get tiring.

Score: 9/10

Great run, big scores.

Balatro: Roguelite Poker Deckbuilder (NSW/PC/PS/Xbox) - Out Now

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