In fact, what can I say? The truth is, that view hasn’t changed—although, to be honest, it’s wavering a bit. After all, it’s been a good year – so has Animal Well, FF7 Rebirth, Astro Bot – Elden Ring DLC. But the truth is, simply being able to play it more often and in more places will put you firmly in the driver’s seat from such blasphemous thoughts. Idiot: Balatero yes Game of the year. Don’t doubt it.
No matter what, a balatero is still a balatero. If you haven’t played it before, it’s basically a roguelite structure game where you have to score more and more points with each successive “ante”, which is basically a level. You start with a standard deck of 52 playing cards, but score points by drawing cards from significantly larger decks – you must play cards to create decks that match those in the deck.
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All of this is addictive enough, but the brilliant twist in the story is how Balatello mixes this simple formula together; once launched, within minutes the game begins to crush its own rules. Joker Cards are the main method: Special cards, once acquired, drastically modify how and how much you score. But soon there will be more and more things to argue about, and you’ll need to tweak and enhance your deck to maximize your score gains. Of course, within a roguelike structure, it’s a heart-pounding race between you and the rising tide of demand to keep going.
marvelous. Much of its success lies in the deceptive simplicity of its design rules and then how each design decision is expanded to maximize depth. If game development is in a sense a creative act similar to cooking, then this is an example of a truly frugal chef at work: no ingredients are wasted, no part of the animal goes unused.
Oddly enough, I can also say that I think Balatro has somehow, inexplicably, made me a better poker player in real life – even though I’m a poker player Yearmy 150+ hours at Balatro have allowed me to identify and master hands faster in real-life games. Talk about unexpected bonuses!
All this on mobile devices working normally. Basically it’s the same game – but in the palm of your hand, Balatero’s multi-turn nature is deadly. Normally, the “sticky” elements in games only really get me in such a radical way in a 4X game like Civilization – but Balatero absolutely cracked it.
You’ll play this game in bed and be forced to tuck your phone under the covers so as not to disturb your partner while he’s already getting ready sleep But you’ve built a very exciting build on Ante 4 and now you need to understand the process. Frankly, you’ll be in the bathroom, your thing over, but you’ll be holed up there with the door locked and Balatello’s funky, slightly weird electronic music echoing around the room. One… more… bet.
I have some minor criticisms… but honestly, a lot of them come from getting used to gaming on a controller and then being forced to play on a relatively small touch screen. My main complaint is that it’s easy to accidentally sell the Joker if you swipe in the wrong direction – I ruined a run that way. But, having learned my lesson, I never did it again. For the most part, touch controls are smooth and intuitive and don’t detract from the experience.
I also don’t mind cross-saves as I work my way through all the different decks, missions, and challenges and already have a significant flow on PC. But then again, the balatero was so good that I honestly wouldn’t mind repeating it twice. This is probably the warmest suggestion.
