| 3DNews |
Алексей Лихачев |
10 / 10 |
03-02-2024 |
A wonderful roguelike card game which twists poker rules in unexpected ways. It would seem that after Slay the Spire this genre won’t be able to surprise in any way, but cool ideas from independent developers continue to appear. |
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| COGconnected |
Lou Sytsma |
90 / 100 |
03-03-2024 |
Balatro is addictive. I’m not much of a poker or deck builder player, but I find the combination of the two irresistible. If you have an interest in either, then this game is sure to entice you. Especially since the game is out on every platform and is available now. |
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| DarkZero |
Ian Howarth |
8 / 10 |
03-10-2024 |
Though I have no doubt anybody who likes cards, poker, video games, or joy will have a great time with it, I feel I should also note that it does wear itself out significantly faster than most of its brethren. |
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| Digital Chumps |
Nathaniel Stevens |
9.5 / 10 |
02-25-2024 |
Balatro from developer LocalThunk is a marvel of a poker experience. While its base-level design is poker, the game’s complicated layers of beautiful strategic ridiculousness driven by upgrades, buffs, and jokers make for a unique experience that is both stimulating and challenging. |
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| Digital Spy |
Jess Lee |
4 / 5 stars |
02-21-2024 |
It’s easy to get a kick out of seeing how high the scores can get, but the game is as much about the gambles you take and the planning along the way. There’s a deceptive simplicity to Balatro due to its roots in poker, and it uses that to its advantage to reel you in while regularly finding new ways to surprise you. |
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| Echo Boomer |
David Fialho |
Recommended |
02-28-2024 |
Poker and roguelikes join hands in an experience that deserves to join the pantheon of games like Tetris and Solitaire. |
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| Entertainium |
Eduardo Rebouças |
Recommended |
03-15-2024 |
Balatro is in equal measures a sensational and maddening roguelike deck-building experience that will keep you going for that all-so-close high score for hours upon hours. |
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| Eurogamer |
Christian Donlan |
Recommended |
02-29-2024 |
Poker goes into the blender and emerges in fine form. |
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| Game Informer |
Marcus Stewart |
9.5 / 10 |
02-28-2024 |
Balatro is an ingenious and entertaining roguelike and one of my favorite games of the year. Playing it has become a near-obsession; everything feels perfectly designed to encourage you to keep trying because that next run could be the run of your life. Even after hours of play, I still can’t overcome Balatro’s biggest challenge: putting it down. |
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| GameBlast |
Farley Santos |
9 / 10 |
02-19-2024 |
Balatro emerges as a captivating example in the roguelike genre, skillfully blending poker elements with deck-building structure. The simplicity of its rules, combined with the strategic depth offered by the varied modifiers, creates an immersive experience. For strategy game aficionados, roguelike fans, or even for those who have never ventured into poker, the title offers a rich, challenging and, above all, fun experience, promising hours of challenge and satisfaction. |
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| GameLuster |
Nairon Santos de Morais |
9 / 10 |
02-19-2024 |
To put it in terms as simple as the game itself, Balatro is the best deckbuilding roguelike I’ve played. And I’ve played as many as there are cards in a deck (almost). |
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| GameSpew |
Kim Snaith |
9 / 10 |
02-19-2024 |
No two games of Balatro are ever the same, which is only one of the reasons why we love this poker roguelike so much. Sure, it’s annoying if your run doesn’t get off the ground — it’s easy to fail early on if you can’t get your hands on a good Joker. But when you’re in the swing of things, scoring tens of thousands with just one hand, you’ll feel like the most powerful card baron there ever was. Simple and devious, Balatro is, quite frankly, brilliant — and I’m going to be playing this for months to come. |
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| GameSpot |
Alessandro Barbosa |
9 / 10 |
03-07-2024 |
Balatro’s ingenious combination of poker and roguelite gameplay creates an intoxicating combination that’s hard to pull away from. |
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| GamingTrend |
Corvo Rohwer |
90 / 100 |
02-19-2024 |
While the idea of a poker roguelike might sound like a niche game, the flair and fun found within Balatro makes it an absolute must-play for fans of the genre. Breaking the rules of poker to score millions of chips in a single hand was a rush, and I was always chasing ways to push it even further beyond. While there are a few times you can feel snubbed by the luck of the draw, these are wildly overshadowed by the moments where you hit it big. |
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| Generación Xbox |
Frank Montes |
8.8 / 10 |
03-04-2024 |
The time has come to put the scales and find out if Balatro is really worth it. Believe us when we tell you that it is a game that fulfills its main objective, which is to entertain you and keep you with the controller playing. A sense of accomplishment and fun has been achieved that always makes us want to come back for a little more. |
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| God is a Geek |
Lyle Carr |
9.5 / 10 |
02-22-2024 |
Balatro is a masterfully crafted Roguelike card game, that’s easy to learn thanks to its poker mechanics but hard to master. |
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| Hardcore Gamer |
Jordan Helm |
5 / 5 stars |
02-19-2024 |
Wielding nothing more than a deck of cards and a poker-themed twist on proceedings, developer LocalThunk has conjured something incredible and awe-inspiring with Balatro. What starts as a relatively-novel twist on the deckbuilding format quickly blossoms into an experience that’s equal parts methodical, experimental, chaotic but satisfying all the same. A game that rewards clever thinking, mathematical meddling and having the courage to be just that bit braver in uncovering just how far one can push its systems at play. Wherein success and failure alike stand as equally memorable moments to build off. A paradigm for what roguelikes and deckbuilders should aspire towards, Balatro is addictive, expertly-crafted and the new front-runner for what is easily the best gaming experience of 2024. |
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| Hey Poor Player |
Andrew Thornton |
4.5 / 5 stars |
03-08-2024 |
Despite that, Balatro is an incredibly easy-to-learn deck builder with plenty of room for experimentation. Even after hundreds of runs, you’ll still encounter new options and combinations to twist your brain around. Even if roguelites and deck builders aren’t normally your favorite genres, Balatro is a game you need to check out. |
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| IGN |
Simon Cardy |
9 / 10 |
03-08-2024 |
A deck-building poker roguelike of endlessly satisfying proportions, Balatro is the sort of fun that threatens to derail whole weekend plans. |
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| IGN Italy |
Stefano Castelli |
9 / 10 |
03-12-2024 |
A smart and engaging re-implementation of the classic poker game, including hundreds of different cards and special effects. |
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| Metro GameCentral |
Nick Gillett |
9 / 10 |
03-04-2024 |
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. |
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| Nintendo Blast |
Alan Murilo Pereira Duque |
9.5 / 10 |
02-25-2024 |
If you’re looking for games that are easy to learn, difficult to master and practically impossible to put down, there are very few similar titles on the market like Balatro. Even with one or two mistakes, it’s difficult not to recommend this game. I only advise you to be careful with your productivity if the Switch is always within reach and you like cards: suddenly just ten more minutes can turn into hours spent searching for the perfect joker, and this is not even remotely a bluff. |
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| Nintendo Life |
Oliver Reynolds |
10 / 10 |
03-01-2024 |
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. |
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| NintendoWorldReport |
Alex Orona |
9 / 10 |
02-19-2024 |
Now, please, let me play my Balatro in peace. I got an idea for a sick flush strat that I want to try out. So I’ll y’all later. |
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| Oyungezer Online |
Mert Gökhan |
9 / 10 |
03-14-2024 |
Balatro is one of the best examples of the growing number of deck building games in recent years. With the freedom it offers, the joy of new strategies and much more, it’s a royal flush. |
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| PC Gamer |
Abbie Stone |
91 / 100 |
02-19-2024 |
A roguelike deckbuilder debut already worth of joining Slay the Spire and Monster Train at the King’s table. Essential. |
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| PlayStation Universe |
Sebastian Hawden |
10 / 10 |
03-01-2024 |
It will be very difficult to find a game I have enjoyed exploring more than Balatro this year. Learning its mechanics were like learning a new language and it was all-encompassing. Balatro should be the design template going forward for many designers, it contain 0% fat and is trimmed to perfection. Not a pixel or mechanic is wasted in this immensely addictive roguelike. Its a shame that so many people will just gloss over its pure presentation and design. Bravo all involved. |
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| Press Start |
Kieron Verbrugge |
9.5 / 10 |
03-17-2024 |
Balatro is one of those deceptively-approachable ideas that will absolutely consume you the more you start to puzzle out its secrets and intricacies. It somehow makes playing the same game over and over feel completely fresh in possibility each time, and doles out just enough new ideas and just the right amount of intoxicating feedback to keep you thinking “one more game” well into the AM. |
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| PSX Brasil |
José Viana |
95 / 100 |
02-26-2024 |
Balatro is a true phenomenon. Simple in its execution, but giant in its complexity. |
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| Pure Xbox |
PJ O’Reilly |
9 / 10 |
02-21-2024 |
Balatro is an incredibly clever indie gem that uses the bones of regular poker to build an incredibly approachable and fiendishly addictive new experience. There’s a wonderfully slick core to this one, building decks and taking on dealers as you add wild special cards and variables to your pack is trance-inducing stuff and, backed by a fantastically understated soundtrack and perfect visuals, it makes for one of the first proper, actual, absolute must-play games of 2024. |
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| Push Square |
Stephen Tailby |
9 / 10 |
02-21-2024 |
Between the main game, seeded runs, and a Challenge mode to really test your skills, there’s endless fun to be drawn from Balatro. With so many variables to experiment with, sleek presentation, and hypnotically addictive gameplay, this is easily among the best deckbuilders, and possibly among the best roguelikes, we’ve played yet. |
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| Rock, Paper, Shotgun |
Katharine Castle |
Recommended |
02-19-2024 |
A clever roguelike card game about cheating your way to victory, Balatro is a generous and mesmeric take on poker with endless strategic possibilities. |
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| Screen Rant |
Leo Faierman |
5 / 5 stars |
02-19-2024 |
With its unlockable deck types, tricky economy, advanced joker concepts, challenge runs, and ascension-like “stake” system, Balatro offers countless hours to engage its treacherous machine of diversion. If this was preinstalled with Windows in lieu of Microsoft’s mandatory, productivity-wrecking Solitaire back in the 90s, modern civilization as we know it could have very well ground to a halt. For fans of deckbuilders, Balatro is an addictively delicious, menacing creation which devours hours without mercy. It should be handled with great care. |
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| Seasoned Gaming |
Steve Esposito |
9 / 10 |
02-19-2024 |
For a deck building rogue-like, a concept I have seen so many times over, Balatro thrives within its style. |
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| Shacknews |
TJ Denzer |
9 / 10 |
03-05-2024 |
I never would have expected that a roguelike could work so well in a card game before I played Balatro. It’s simple and guides you in so well, but escalates quickly and is happy to crush your run at any moment with the smallest strokes of misfortune. That’s what makes the variety of jokers and bonus cards so fun to explore. Every new option provides an opportunity to buck the house advantage. It leads to an appealing gameplay loop that kept me wanting to try all sorts of new angles and strategies. Balatro is something far out of the ordinary, and heaven forbid it ever makes its way to mobile because my casual time will powerless against it (please?). |
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| Siliconera |
Jenni Lada |
10 / 10 |
03-06-2024 |
The poker roguelike. Balatro is a hypnotically satisfying deckbuilder where you play illegal poker hands, discover game-changing jokers, and trigger adrenaline-pumping, outrageous combos. Switch version reviewed. Everything comes together beautifully and seamlessly in Balatro, and it is now one of my favorite deck-building games ever. |
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| Softpedia |
Cosmin Vasile |
8 / 10 |
02-23-2024 |
Balatro is fast and addictive, a game that takes familiar ideas and adds enough twists and turns to keep players engaged. Take a look at the Collection to see how many potential jokers, booster packs, tags, and more can influence a run. Each run generates a sense of excitement and possibility, even if it ends quickly after a run of bad card draws. |
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| The Games Machine |
Alessandro Alosi |
9 / 10 |
02-24-2024 |
Balatro ends up straight and with merit in the strokes of genius category. The recipe from which its sexy gameplay is born is simple and elaborate at the same time, and this is precisely the great strength of an original, charismatic, challenging but also deeply customizable roguelike deckbuilder. |
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| Use a Potion |
Unknown |
9 / 10 |
03-11-2024 |
Balatro has taken a simple concept and turned it into one of the most tantalising and addictive deck builders that I’ve ever played. Playing the perfect combination of Jokers to pull off a victorious hand is always rewarding, whilst seeing your deck build up with each successful blind gives a satisfying sense of progression that makes the puzzle-like gameplay all the more captivating. And when you do fail? It’s hard not to just dive into another playthrough, with Balatro taking that ‘one more game’ concept and turning it into the cancellation of your plans for the rest of the day just so you can keep playing. It’s that damn good. |
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| VGC |
Jordan Middler |
5 / 5 stars |
03-11-2024 |
Balatro is an astonishingly addictive take on Poker that’s utterly impossible to put down. Occasional difficulty spikes aside; it’s a piece of simplistic genius that we’ll keep on our Steam Deck forever. |
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| Video Chums |
A.J. Maciejewski |
8 / 10 |
02-27-2024 |
It’s impressive how long Balatro’s simple gameplay can keep you entertained so be sure to play it if you enjoy a good ol’ game of poker. |
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| WayTooManyGames |
Leonardo Faria |
9 / 10 |
02-20-2024 |
I am not exaggerating when I state that Balatro is a masterpiece of a game, a bonafide achievement in gameplay design. A single developer was able to take the core principles of poker, add in a ton of roguelike elements on top a brand new gameplay loop, and come up with something so addictive it will possibly ruin your productivity at work. This damn thing is basically a virtual drug. It’s so simple, so inviting, and downright impossible to put down. |
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| XboxEra |
Jesse Norris |
10 / 10 |
02-19-2024 |
Balatro is my new gaming obsession, I frigging love it. Deckbuilding roguelikes have had some phenomenal games over the years. Balatro reaches the lofty peak of Slay the Spire and has me hooked even harder than that incredible game ever did. You should buy it, now. Buylatro! |
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