Indie developer LocalThunk and publisher Playstack have announced a major milestone for their roguelike card game Balatro. About 11 months after its initial release in February 2024, the game has managed to sell 5 million units, an astonishing feat that isn't common for indie developers.
A Deal with the Devil
Balatro is a unique deckbuilder experience that has players using illegal poker hands to break the game and score massive wins. It's a unique spin on the genre that's easy to understand, but the entire loop is ridiculously addictive, and Balatro aims at making the whole experience feel psychodelic rather than just a regular poker game.
Each run will let players test out different possibilities with jokers that can create unique synergies and drastically change the possibilities. Losing isn't the end, as players will be able to unlock more hand options and take challenges with smarter options. There are eight difficulty options and challenge runs to try out, with players having the chance to test out their luck against specific seeds.
In our review for the game, which had a rare perfect score, Jordan Helm regarded it as expertly-crafted and one of the best experiences in 2024. While he considered...
