#SoITried: Balatro, the Indie Card Game That Got Nominated for Game of the Year

As someone who plays games almost exclusively on the PlayStation now, I rarely get to try the latest and trendiest gaming titles that are available on the PC. Not that I could if I wanted to. My MacBook Air 2017 doesn’t exactly have the specs to run those kinds of games anymore. So what did I do when I heard that Balatro—an indie card game that even my 7-year-old laptop could run—was nominated for Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2024? I  quickly jumped at the chance to download it on Steam. It didn’t take me long to realize why such a simple game took the gaming world by storm.

Want to try Balatro on PC for yourself? Grab a mouse like the Logitech Lift Ergonomic Wireless Mouse from Next Upgrade Shop because that’s all you’ll need!

From Steam

Developed by a single indie developer using the pseudonym LocalThunk, Balatro is similar to the typical deck builders and rogue-like games I’ve grown accustomed to. It borrows from those genres, but still innovates in certain areas that make it wholly unique.

The first thing I noticed about Balatro is its accessibility, not just in terms of hardware required, but also in its core mechanics. Building poker hands (not at all different from the hands used in our local Pusoy) to score points was very easy to understand. But the more I progressed in my early playthroughs,  the layers of strategy and risk-reward decision-making revealed themselves thanks to the game’s roguelike mechanics. 

From Steam

From what cards to discard, to power-ups to buy in the shop, each playthrough showed the level of depth the game was capable of by just offering me different power-ups and asking me to overcome a different challenge while literally upping the ante. 

Each deck starts with its own unique advantages and disadvantages that you have to play around with. At one point, I had to simplify it for myself and went ‘All-In’ on building the perfect strategy for the Checkered Deck—a deck consisting of 2 sets of Spades and Hearts cards without any Clubs or Diamonds. It was easy for me to identify that I just had to build my strategy around maximizing the score I get for Flushes, and I’m ‘Golden’. It was a straightforward strategy for a game that’s built on throwing wrenches into even the best-laid plans.

Before I knew it, I spent over 24+ hours playing Balatro in the span of four days.

From Pudgy Penguins GIPHY

If not for the black screen bug that stopped me from opening the game for a few days, and allowed me to have a breather from my possible growing addiction, I’d probably still be in a rabbit hole of Jokers trying to complete an Erratic Deck run. A week after the bug was fixed, I easily started playing again without missing a beat. I even beat the highest difficulty using the Checkered Deck strategy I mentioned. It really is a testament to how replayable and easy to pick up Balatro is that you don’t lose interest even after a long break, nor is it difficult to get back on the grind. 

From Steam / Courtesy JR Carag

As of now, though, I'm happily retired from Balatro. But I wouldn’t be surprised if I boot up the game again and lose hours of my life once more.

“10/10. Would recommend”, but also… “Play responsibly.”

Start Gaming with Next Upgrade Shop!

You don’t need any fancy gear to start playing Balatro. All you need is a mouse like the Logitech Lift Ergonomic Wireless Mouse available at the Next Upgrade Shop, and you’re good to go!