Balatro (video game)
Balatro | |
---|---|
Single-player |
Balatro (
Gameplay
Balatro is a
Once a Blind has been defeated, the player gets income depending on how many hands they have left as well as interest before being able to access the shop, where they may purchase various types of special cards. Jokers grant unique bonuses which activate under specific conditions, often increasing the score of the player's hand or generating more money and cards. Arcana cards, themed around the
The amount of these special cards the player can carry at the same time is limited to 5 Jokers and 2 consumables by default; players can sell special cards at any time to recover some money and free up their slots. Also available in the shop are 'booster packs' for each card type, which offer a random selection of that card type for the player to choose one or two of. The last special card type, Spectral cards, can normally only be accessed through these booster packs and grant large scale modifications to the player's cards, often with a high risk. All cards in Balatro can also be enhanced through various Jokers and Arcana cards, granting them bonus modifiers such as additional score when played or extra money when kept in hand. Jokers can be enhanced to increase the score of all hands played while the Joker is held, or grant additional slots for Jokers.
Upon starting each run of Balatro, the player is allowed to choose between different decks of playing cards with unique qualities; a deck may grant more discards, or may lack clubs and diamonds entirely, or may give the player additional income every round at the cost of interest. The player can also increase the difficulty of the game through "stakes", which add cumulative restrictions to the player's gameplay. Through winning the game with different decks and stakes, additional decks will be unlocked for the player to choose from when starting a new run. After reaching and defeating the 8th Ante's Boss Blind, the player is considered to have won the game, and may start a new run or continue with the game in Endless mode, where the blinds get exponentially harder forever, to see how far they can go.
Development and release
The one-person developer LocalThunk is based in Canada.[2] LocalThunk had developed Balatro over the two-and-a-half years prior to release, one of several small games he had developed over the previous ten years and shared with friends.[3]
Balatro had started based on an idea of the Cantonese card game
About a year prior to release, LocalThunk quit his day job to focus on finishing Balatro "to put on a resume." He uploaded an early build to 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, such as adding
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.[4]
LocalThunk and Playstack have confirmed plans for ports to Android and iOS mobile devices.[5]
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Push Square | 9/10[17] |
Balatro has received "universal acclaim", according to Metacritic.[6][7][8][9]
Alex Orona from Nintendo World Report called it "a smart game" with "deep mechanics" and "fast paced".[14] Jordan Helm from Hardcore Gamer called it "addictive" and "expertly-crafted".[13]
Within eight hours of release, the game had made over $1 million in gross revenue according to publisher Playstack, their fastest-selling game to date. Over 250,000 copies were sold in the first three days,[18] 500,000 copies in the first ten days.[19] and one million within the first month.[20]
References
- ^ Carpenter, Nicole (February 29, 2024). "How do you pronounce Balatro? We asked the developer". Polygon. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ "Playstack Goes All In on Developer LocalThunk's 'Balatro' in Latest Publishing Deal". Games Press (Press release). Playstack. September 22, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Machkovech, Sam (February 22, 2024). "Exploring Balatro's hype, its ingenious twists on poker, and its mysterious creator". GamesRadar+. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- ^ Wales, Matt (March 1, 2024). "Rogue-like poker hit Balatro pulled from sale in some countries due to unexpected ratings change". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ Hollister, Sean (March 15, 2024). "Smash hit Balatro is coming to iPhone and Android". The Verge. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
- ^ CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ "Balatro Reviews". OpenCritic. OpenCritic Inc. February 25, 2024. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ Donlan, Christian (February 29, 2024). "Balatro review - near-infinite poker possibilities". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ Stewart, Jordan (February 28, 2024). "Balatro Review". Game Informer. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ a b Helm, Jordan (February 19, 2024). "Review: Balatro". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ a b Orona, Alex (February 19, 2024). "Balatro (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ Stone, Abbie (February 19, 2024). "Balatro review". PC Gamer. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ Morley, Grayson (February 27, 2024). "Balatro cast a magic spell that made me like math". Polygon. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- Push Square. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
- ^ @PlaystackGames (March 6, 2024). "🎉 Incredible news! 🥳 Balatro has hit the 500,000 copies mark in just 10 days across all platforms! Thank you for your amazing support - we're beyond grateful! 🙏" (Tweet). Retrieved March 11, 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Robinson, Andy (March 18, 2024). "Indie hit Balatro clears 1 million copies". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved March 18, 2024.