Door Reviews: Balatro (2024)
this game is ruining my life
Balatro has been released for mobile recently. I have been avoiding this game to be honest, because I was scared of the man I’ll become when I become addicted to it. But somehow, when it came to mobile, I decided to get it. I needed something else to pass the time between commutes, and Slay the Spire was getting stale. And reader, past me was right. ‘Cos I’m ADDICTED TO THIS GAME. Time for me to tell you of what I think of this insanely good timewaster.
What’s it about? Poker, with a twist! Play poker hands and score higher the better your hand is. The twist here is that you can get Jokers between stages from the store to improve your scoring capability. Setup your Jokers well and sculpt your deck with various cards and vouchers. Climb your way through the ante’s and win!
STYLE (Gameplay, Graphics, Music)
The gameplay is simple if you know your poker. You draw 8 cards, and from those cards play a poker hand that will score you enough chips to win a round. When you win a round, you can cash in your winnings and use them to buy jokers, tarot cards, and various booster packs which can help sculpt your deck and improve your scoring capability. Each round becomes progressively harder to win, so you have to use your resources carefully and have a set of jokers and a deck that can lead you to victory.
It seems simple, but as I played through the game, I appreciated a lot of the subtleties of it. Everything can be a resource, not just your money. There is so much you can tinker with that can help give you an edge, and a lot of ways you can make your little Rube Goldberg machine of a setup. It really tickles my brain!
The UI is simple, and implemented well enough on my phone. I can easily drag and drop cards as needed. And there are a few accessibility options that can help make it easier to play, most notably the high contrast mode that can help you differentiate the suits.
The music is well implemented. You don’t even notice that it’s dynamic and changes when you go to different situations, like when you open different booster packs or go into boss blinds. It just feels natural enough.
The graphics are quaint. I love how the jokers have varied designs, all relating to playing cards and jokers. Some are obvious references, and some are subtle. I love the incorporation of tarot cards too, along with the planets and spectral cards. The designs for enhancing cards are easy to see too. It’s good design, I think, that I can tell what my cards are at a glance.
All in all, this game is just Pure Gameplay and I enjoy it a LOT! It’s so fun.
SUBSTANCE (Story, Characters, Impact)
This is absolutely not a game you play for the story. Because there isn’t one! The only narrative you’re playing is you getting lost in card game hell! Cards coming out of your sleeves. Cards appearing when you close your eyes. You will lose so much of your time with this game it’s unreal. But yeah if you want story then this game isn’t for you friendo
VERDICT
In summary this game is insanely addictive it has a lot of bells and whistles and a lot of math. If you’re into that you WILL have fun
Door Rates Balatro: 4.5/5!