Balatro Made Me Appreciate Things I Usually Don’t

Highlights

Balatro is a captivating roguelike game that defies expectations with simple gameplay and endless possibilities.
Despite initial doubts, Balatro’s mix of mechanics feels simple and essential, enhancing each run.
The game’s unique visual style, developed by LocalThunk, may seem strange at first but becomes a vital part of its charm.

As many probably already know, Balatro is the kind of game that, once it gets its hooks into you, is really hard to put down and switch to other games. For me though, the case of Balatro suddenly consuming all my free time for more than a week now is quite unusual. After all, it is the type of game that, at first glance, I would typically pass by without even giving it a try.

See for yourself: I don’t like everything ‘rogue’, finding the idea of starting from scratch repeatedly too daunting. I struggled to get into brilliant games like Hades, Returnal, and even The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered ‘No Return’ mode, despite thoroughly enjoying the latter’s gameplay. Learning that Balatro embodies everything roguelike, as you can imagine, didn’t really pique my interest.

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It’s true, I generally enjoy deck-building and card games, having sunk an unhealthy amount of time in both Gwent and Marvel Snap — no regrets there. What initially attracted me to these games was the stunning artwork from various great artists and the top-tier graphics, design, and execution. Balatro, on the other hand, seems to offer none of that — it’s a cheap-looking pixelated indie game with extremely cursed Joker designs that could haunt your sleep. And yet, it all works, and giving it a chance was a decision I’m very happy about.

How It Started

The idea to try out Balatro was so sudden that I can’t even trace its origin. Naturally, I had heard about the game exploding on Steam, as many probably did, but I don’t usually follow hyped games, especially indie ones. These things happen all the time, so ignoring Balatro felt natural for me. I also never really played poker — aside from a couple of rounds with Arthur Morgan during my 200-hour Red Dead Redemption 2 playthrough, but that probably doesn’t count.

One evening, when I was in the mood to play something new and, more importantly, something very gamey without focusing on the story or engaging my reflexes, I thought of Balatro and bought it for a penny. Looking back, it was my best gaming purchase in years.

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Balatro is quick to introduce all its tricks: it took me about 15 minutes to learn everything and focus on playing. What I was left with were near-endless possibilities to find the perfect combo of consumables and multipliers to make the score go big. Simple math.

And speaking of consumables — I’ve already mentioned how I don’t enjoy them in gaming, so why do they work here? Balatro makes consumables feel almost like upgrade-like blessings that constantly improve your run. It also has more traditional, temporary consumables that can make the difference between beating a tough boss and losing your streak. Every bonus here feels vital, not just another item collecting dust in your inventory.

How It’s Going

Let’s briefly stop on Balatro’s appearance. I know the game was developed by a single person — LocalThunk — and while I have immense respect for people who can pull something like that off, my initial impression of the game’s looks was rather off-putting. Seeing Balatro screenshots for the first time, I never thought I’d grow so attached to its odd and bizarre visual style, especially with those ‘cursed’ Joker faces that sometimes look like incarnations of deadly sins.

Now, I couldn’t imagine how the visuals could be realized better here. In Balatro, everything is in its right place, and such unique execution is a vital part of the game’s charm. I couldn’t rest until I unlocked a few new Joker faces to see how they differ, follow their theme and reflect their perk through their design. Heck, I never even switched the game’s music in my 60+ hours with it, as I usually do — it just fits.

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Balatro is gameplay stripped of everything excessive, taking you back to the origins, like when you first tried Windows built-in amusements like Solitaire. You can play it anywhere, anytime, discovering new facets and unbelievable combos without any distractions. Just one more run, I promise.

Balatro proved me wrong on many things I previously avoided for various (and silly) reasons, teaching me how to appreciate all of them instead. From consumables to the entire roguelike loop and those bizarre visuals — it’s so refreshing to welcome something very different from what I usually play. I know it’s common advice to try out new genres when you feel stale about the games you usually play, and I never fully realized how effective that simple strategy can be.

The final bit of influence Balatro left on me is making me immensely attracted to other indie roguelikes I never knew I wanted in my life before. With its hooks finally letting go of me as I’ve unlocked almost everything Balatro has to offer, I’ve already tasted Vampire Survivors with its garlic flavor. And it seems I’ll stick with that one for quite some time too.