Balatro is a brilliant blend of strategy and utter chaos – a roguelike deckbuilder based on poker. To my regret, I initially steered clear of this game as I thought, ‘Well, I don’t know jack about poker!’ Turns out, Balatro requires no prior knowledge of poker or even playing cards! Even if you know nothing about cards or poker hands, you’ll learn quickly.

Despite each run’s randomized nature, which is standard for roguelikes, Balatro involves lots of strategy. Since each run’s randomized, you can’t simply rely on a single strategy for each run. The strategy you go for changes dynamically as you come across different Joker, Tarot, Planet, and Spectral cards. The Jokers are the face of Balatro; these are quite literally wild cards with all kinds of different effects. There’s a large variety of Jokers, many of which synergize with each other, offering many different potential strategies. Winning in Balatro is almost entirely dependent on the combination of Jokers you accumulate, and you’ll be picky when it comes to which Jokers to buy and keep. You’ll also use and obtain consumable cards that alter your deck in useful ways, Planet cards that enhance the efficacy of the hands you play, Vouchers that provide permanent effects, and playing cards to add to your deck.

The game offers lots of variety thanks to its various card types, unlockable cards, and difficulties, decks, and boss types. It’s a game that’s seriously tough to put down once you get going. And a content update is coming in 2025! When I picked this game up to play it a short while whilst waiting for another game to download, I ended up playing it the whole day – and nearly every day since – without playing any other game. It’s addictive to a fault!

The game is finely polished, hardly any bugs in sight. The gameplay is snappy and satisfying, making it ever so addictive, and has eye-catching graphics and animations. On top of that, while there’s only one song that plays throughout the game, it’s a pleasing one that puts you in the mood, and I could listen to it until the day I die. The sheer amount of fervid love and care that went into this game is impossible to miss. Balatro is charming, infinitely replayable, and wholly captivating – easy to pick up; hard to put down. It’s become my second favourite indie title of all time, second only to Factorio. If you like roguelike deckbuilders like Slay the Spire, Inscryption, Monster Train, Cobalt Core, and Wildfrost, you’ll undoubtedly love Balatro!


There are a few areas I’d like to see improved, primarily the wording on some cards being confusing and misleading. For instance, effects on Jokers and Vouchers that say you lose one hand each round seem like a significant downside until you realize it’s a one-time effect.

Balatro also has no in-game encyclopaedia providing detailed information about what the cards do. The effects aren’t too difficult to wrap your head around, but some cards are unclear until you look it up. I’d like an extended description for any card by right-clicking it.

Aside from this, I’ve only encountered two trivial bugs and have had no major problems.

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In conclusion, Balatro is an excellent, brilliantly polished and charming roguelike deckbuilder based on the classic game of poker, but with more twists and turns than a rollercoaster. It’s an addictive, chaotic, strategic brain-teaser that feels impossible to put down. So stop reading and buy the game! You won’t regret it.