NobleGamer Balatro Review

I recommend this game for people who can handle addictive games (insert plea for help), and really enjoy roguelite deckbuilders for what they are. Without one of these, whenever you hit your skill ceiling, enjoyment of the game will drop off very fast. This is because the core gameplay is relatively simple compared to the most prolific deck builders that involve combat. Instead, it is more of a solitary game where you create poker hands to beat the current round's score, and strategy is about handling the modifiers for all that. Many negative reviews don't understand the intent behind roguelite deckbuilders, but regardless there are other valid criticisms that I will touch on. Here is what you need to know: -After getting to the fourth level of high stakes out of eight on one deck and second level stakes on 5 others, there doesn't seem to be a lot more I'm motivated to unlock in terms of jokers and such. The game was still "worth it" for novelty of the game and playing it for 30 hours which is longer than vast majority of deckbuilder rougelites I've played. Beyond that, any additional time I've played is because of... ?The game's addictiveness comes from its activation of numbers-go-up lizard brain, being easy to play, and any satisfaction received from roguelite deckbuilders' core gameplay loop. ?Each run can take one hour to beat, or at least 30 minutes if you form a run-lasting set of jokers early (not likely). Pausing a run and closing the game works well, and if in the shop when paused, I think it will roll back certain types of purchases made at that shop. That's the most save scumming you will get. ?Like most roguelites, the gameplay is about making the best of what hands you get dealt (literally), but unlike some such games that only provide a couple different builds or strategies, there is significant enough variety among decks, jokers, and other cards that you have lots of options & strategies. It's just a matter of your tolerance for trying different strategies and how much you enjoy the core gameplay. ?There are two major run types: Regular deck-based runs that tend to modify your starting conditions & cards (5 available to start, ~10 more can be unlocked), and challenge runs (unlocked once beating 5 different deck runs) tend to make more drastic changes to the game. ?Then "stakes" are harder difficulty levels that unlock once you beat a lower difficulty per deck (you only start with one base stakes per deck). So if I beat blue deck's base stakes, then the only stakes-specific unlock is for the next level stakes for that one deck. Beating a stakes level for the first time using any deck usually results in unlocking a new deck. +There are 3 general types of cards that you use to build your score & synergies in doing so: Jokers that are held onto that modify stats & rules aside from your hand & deck, playing cards in your deck, and consumables that will modify playing cards and rarely modify jokers. Jokers have different rarities and so they show up in shops proportionally. They all work well together and present a variety of strategies, though... -Balance between hand types could be better. I think there are certain hand types, when considering their probabilities and available jokers, that could be stronger like 3/4 of a kind and straight flush. You might as well favor other hands.