What's the hype here?

[500KG]

Keep seeing this game mentioned everywhere as the next coming of Deez.
Unsure what all the buzz is about, what's the spin? I don't know poker, is that important?

[ulzgoroth]

I don't think hype has especially much connection to merit, but Balatro is a pretty good and fairly original take on the short-roguelike rush we've got lately. More raw numbers and card interactions, less RPG mechanics than your average entry.

Knowing poker is almost totally irrelevant. You'll need to know the composition of poker scoring hands (which doesn't take long) and to get a feel for the card-counting of which hands are feasible to draw for (but the game counts cards for you, and your deck isn't necessarily regulation).

[AlphaGodith]

don't need to know poker, the only things it has in common with this game is hand names and the concept of gaining chips with them.

the main buzz i think is just that it's a very satisfying and addicting game to play, with no fancy graphics requirements or button-pressing finesse. it stimulates happy neurons in your brain with number-go-up, very appealing sound effects, loot boxes (not exactly but same general idea with card packs), high scores, and collectibles.

[Twelvefield]

Originally posted by 500KG:

what's the spin?

Slow and clockwise. Hypnotic.

EDIT: Check this out - some people are obsessed with the spin:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/2379780/discussions/0/604143633269012518/

[見字飲仙地水！！]

it's everything from the first 2 comments, but i want to emphasize how much the satisfying sound design and little effects contribute to my enjoyment
aside from the charms of being able to play completely outrageous hands of poker and watching the multiplier boost the score to stratospheric levels, it's the high level of polish... the style of visuals, the music and sfx, and how the jokers have punny names......

it deserves overwhelmingly positive reviews

[Herbspiceguy]

I've never played poker before myself. You'll learn the hands fast enough.
The learning curve is more so learning how scoring works (chips, +mult, x mult), then joker and enhanced card synergies with more advanced like chaining re-triggers.

The hype is that the finding the right combination of jokers and enhanced/sealed cards, which offers a great variety of strategies, that will land you a win (beat ante 8) gives you an amazing sense of reward, more than most roguelike/-lites I've played, and I play a lot of them.
There's a ton of replayability/content through difficulty (stakes), different decks and challenges, as you gradually unlock more jokers, vouchers etc.

[Beefbayonet]

Personally, I believe the game is over-hyped, if you're a fan of the genre there are better offerings out there for sure, but its still a worthy addition to your collection.
It's a good game, presented very well, and easy to jump on and do a run or two.

[Scrub]

I love threads that try to be the contrariran this hard

[MISO4EVER]

Originally posted by 500KG:

Keep seeing this game mentioned everywhere as the next coming of Deez.
Unsure what all the buzz is about, what's the spin? I don't know poker, is that important?

I’ve never played poker before my extend of card game is go fish and uno lol.

The game shows you the hands and had a reference in the ui if you forget so you don’t need to know poker. Your experience with other rogue likes is much more needed than poker skills.

But the draw is it’s relaxing /
Casual and something you can play to that has a nice game loop once you get a good run going.

No quests no dialog no bs just mechanics sometimes we just want a game to play and pass the time while we watch tv in the background. It’s complex yet simple. Try it and find out

[MISO4EVER]

Originally posted by Scrub:

I love threads that try to be the contrariran this hard

People get triggered by popular things because it makes them feel unique to hate things other people like.

[Xaelon]

It's honestly just a chill game that's fun to play. Tons of depth and replayability. That's it really: solid game, reasonable price, no political messages or other BS of that nature.

Watch some gameplay and decide if it seems like fun.

Poker is just used as an overall theme anyway. The only part of traditional poker that figures into Balatro are poker hands(two pair, flush, etc) which you can double check during a run.